Executive Jeff Wallace has lusted after Evan Hawthorne since the moment his new employee first stepped into his office for a job interview. Evan is almost ten years Jeff's junior, fresh out of grad school, and one of the best salesmen in the office. Jeff thinks he's hot as hell and as luck would have it, he knows Evan is just as interested.<br><br>The only problem? There's a sticky little paragraph in the employee handbook that keeps Jeff from doing anything more than fantasizing about his new employee. The clause that states, in plain English, that managers and their immediate employees cannot fraternize. They can't get together, not even outside the office, just because Jeff's the boss.<br><br>Jeff has pleaded with his own supervisor, Kirk Morris, to change the rules. Why shouldn't he? Kirk owns the damn company and spends most of his time bonking Jeff's secretary. But it's a no go ... until Jeff finds himself working late one evening with no one left in the office but Evan, who decides to take matters into his own hands regardless of what the employee manual might say.

Double Standard

Something in his voice stops me in mid-step.I glance over my shoulder and seehim,the phone receiver in one hand,his tie loosened,the top few buttons on his shirt undone.His gaze rakes down my body as if I’m a tall glass of cool water he’s eying on a hot day such as this.His full lips twist with indecision—he wants to say something more,I suspect,something special.He wants to move past this tentative stage,break through the meniscus that traps us in these roles.He wants me,I know it.I feel it.


But his courage falters.The phone in his ear starts to beep and he hits the release button to silence it.That small distraction is all we need to remind us where we stand,who we are.I take another step toward my office and he clears his throat,the moment lost.“Pizza okay?”he asks.“What do you like on it?”


“Whatever you want is good with me,”I tell him.I mean that in more ways than one.


Chapter 7