Caroselli's Baby Chase by Michelle Celmer Read Free Book Online

looking amused. “What you two do in your free time is no one else’s business.”
    Was she doing this here, now, only so that she would have witnesses? So that if he promised not to say anything, then did, it would make him look like an even bigger jerk than he already might be.
    She was good at this. But so was he.
    “While we’re being so honest, should we tell them what happened in my office this morning?”
    Tony shot him a look. “Really not necessary.”
    “You mean what didn’t happen,” she said and told Nick and Tony with regret, “We ran out of time.”
    Both men looked to Rob, waiting for his reply, because obviously he hadn’t gotten the response he’d hoped for by putting her on the spot. Did nothing rattle her?
    “And it won’t be happening again,” he said, establishing that he was the one to end it, not her.
    “And of course I understand why,” she said. “I’ve learned from experience that it’s a terrible idea to engage in a physical relationship with a coworker, especially a subordinate.”
    Subordinate? She was the subordinate, the temporary consultant. Did she honestly see herself as ranking higher than him?
    “I’d like your opinion on something,” Carrie said, leaning forward to address Nick and Tony. “Say you have a one-night stand with a woman. You both know that it’s never going to be more than one night. Now, it’s the wee hours of the morning, she’s asleep and you decide to go. Do you wake her and say goodbye, or maybe leave a note? Or do you just leave without a word?”
    Nick glanced over at Rob. “I might get my ass kicked for saying this, but I would definitely wake her and say goodbye.”
    Carrie turned to Tony. “And you?”
    “I would at least leave a note.”
    Carrie looked over at Rob and gave him a “so there” look.
    “Boy, would you look at the time,” Nick said, glancing at his wrist when, ironically enough, he wasn’t wearing a watch. “Tony, we’ve got the thing we need to get to.”
    For an instant Tony looked confused, then he said, “Oh yeah, right, that thing . Of course. We wouldn’t want to be late for that.”
    Nick grabbed the check that the waitress had left on the table.
    “Here, let me give you cash for mine,” Carrie said, reaching into her bag.
    “Oh no, this one is on me,” Nick said as he and Tony slid out of the booth.
    “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll buy next time.”
    If there ever was a next time, they could count Rob out.
    “You two enjoy the rest of your breakfast,” Tony told them. As if Rob had any appetite left.
    As soon as they were gone he switched to the empty side of the booth, which was actually worse than sitting beside Carrie. The deep cleft of cleavage at the low-cut collar of her top drew his gaze like a moth to a flame. The dull light leaking through the open blinds gave her pale gray eyes an almost-translucent quality.
    “Well, that was fun,” Carrie said.
    “Amused yourself, did you?”
    She smiled, sliding her empty plate to the edge of the table as the busboy cleared the dirty dishes and utensils. She sure could put away the food. She had stopped just shy of licking her plate clean.
    “Tony and Nick seem like really nice guys,” Carrie said. “I take it Tony isn’t married.”
    “No, he isn’t.”
    “Single?”
    “Why? Are you interested?”
    She cocked her head slightly. “Why? Are you jealous?”
    “He just came out of a relationship, and the last thing he needs is someone like you messing with his head.”
    “Is that what I’m doing?” she asked, resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin in her hand. Then he felt a shoeless foot sliding up his left calf.
    Damn her.
    When she’d made it up to his knee, and clearly had no intention of stopping, he grabbed her stocking foot and removed it from his leg with a warning look, thankful for his long wool coat to hide anything that had sprung up . “You’re taking cheap shots.”
    “Am I?”
    “You don’t really believe