Going Down (Quickies #1) Read Free Page B

argument. “He doesn’t know that.”  
    “And now he won’t find out, because you’re having dinner with him.”  
    “I would’ve gone out on ten dates with your boss if it got you out of that damned office. But if this bothers you, then I guess I can call it off. It’s not like he can do anything about it now since you already went to your party. Which,” I said as I eyed a turquoise number on the hanger in front of me, “I hope was worth it.”  
    Paige grinned, leaning on her elbows. “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “Totally worth it.”  
    “That wine Carter sent over-”
    Paige hummed her approval. “Do we still call it wine when it cost four hundred dollars a bottle?”
    “No,” I laughed. “We call that nectar of the gods. Liquid gold. Which reminds me, we need to make friends with some rich people. They can afford the good stuff.”
    “Seems like you’re well on your way to making friends with him,” she said suggestively. “He must have felt really bad.”  
    Ah, there it was, the patented Paige Turner guilt trip that she somehow always managed to put on herself whenever someone did something nice for her because they had something to make up for.
    “Or maybe he’s expecting something in return.” It was terrible, but part of me? Part of me hoped.
    “You gonna give it?” Paige was looking at me with her eyebrow quirked up; no judgment or anything, just genuinely curious.  
    “No,” I replied with a nervous laugh, and Paige didn’t buy it for a second. Like I said, terrible liar. “Hey, is this weird for you?”
    “Is what weird for me?”
    “Me having dinner with your boss.” Me sleeping with your boss, is what I really wanted to say, because I honestly hoped that would happen, who was I kidding?
    Paige shrugged. “A little? Not that you’re doing it, per se. It’s just the way the whole thing came about, I guess. I feel like maybe you’re being pressured into something you don’t want to do on my account, and I don’t like that.”  
    I sighed. “No pressure, I promise. I want to go.” I wanted to go because I was attracted to Carter and I was curious about him and what he wanted from me. Even though I knew those things probably wouldn’t amount to anything good, I just had to follow them through to see where they led. “You know no one can make me do anything that I don’t want to do.”  
    That seemed to pacify her. “Okay, I just wanted to make sure.” She bit her lip for a few seconds before finally moving on. “So…what are you going to wear?”  
    I pulled out the flirty, flowing turquoise dress I’d been eyeing before and held it up to my chest, fanning the skirt out as I posed. “What do you think?”  
    Paige tapped her chin with her index finger, giving me an amused and knowing look. “I think that I won’t wait up for you.”  
    I rolled my eyes as I walked into the bathroom, desperately trying to ignore the handful of butterflies that had just started flapping their wings inside my stomach.  

    I made it down to the first floor of our building right as the clock struck seven, and when I opened the front door, the driver Carter had sent for me was waiting by the curb, standing in front of a sleek black sedan. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was expecting: a stretch limo? An SUV? An armored vehicle? Anyway, I was surprised by the simplicity of it, because I figured Carter, being the billionaire he was, would send something ostentatious. Not that I knew any billionaires apart from Carter, but I always operated under the assumption that they spent their money on all manner of toys (cars included). This car looked like one I’d see cruising the busy streets of Manhattan. I guess there are times when it paid to blend in, and commuting was probably one of them.  
    “Good evening, Miss,” the driver said, offering me a friendly smile as he opened the back door. He was older; his hair more salt than pepper. He reminded me of my father, which,