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Authors: Erika Wilde
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her perfectly.
“I will keep your opinion under advisement,” Raina said with a grin. “Now, don’t you need to be somewhere? Like work?”
Paige made a face at her. “I’m my own boss, remember? I could stay here all day…”
“Not gonna happen.” Raina raised a brow and pointed toward the front door. “Thank you for your help this morning, but I can handle things from here.”
“Well, if you need help handling him , just let me know.” Paige gave her a sassy little finger wave as she headed toward the front of the store. As she passed behind Logan, who was still talking to Aaron, she placed the back of her hand across her forehead and feigned a swoon that made Raina laugh.
As soon as her friend was gone, Raina met up with Aaron and Logan. “Everything good here?” she asked, wanting to make sure her manager was comfortable with the situation since Aaron, who was a competing body builder and looked like a linebacker, normally provided security for the store.
“Absolutely, boss,” Aaron said, a troubled frown furrowing his dark brows. “Your safety is my main concern.”
She placed her hand on Aaron’s muscular arm and didn’t miss the way Logan’s gaze zeroed in on that familiar touch—though he had nothing to worry about. Aaron was like a brother to her, nothing more. “Well, with the two of you in the store, I don’t think I have much to worry about.”
Aaron excused himself to go and help another customer who walked in, and Raina turned to face Logan, who was still frowning at her, his chest puffed out a bit more than usual.
“Something wrong?” she asked, though she definitely had an idea what had agitated him. She just wasn’t sure if she was more amused or annoyed that he was suddenly asserting a bit of alpha dominance in her workplace, and in public.
“Anything going on between you and Aaron?” he asked, a clipped note to his voice.
She deliberately rolled her eyes, making sure he saw her act of insolence. “He’s my employee and a friend, nothing more.”
“Good.” He gave her a hot, lingering, possessive stare that made her stomach muscles flutter and accelerated her pulse. “Do whatever you need to do work-wise. I don’t want to be a distraction or get in the way, so pretend like I’m not even here.”
Was he serious? As if ignoring the fact that he was in her store was even a remote possibility. He sauntered off to check out the placement of the security cameras and to familiarize himself with the layout of the store.
As she surreptitiously watched him, she saw the boutique through his eyes—the clean, modern design, the elegant, upscale décor, the luxurious, high-end items she carried and sold. She’d worked hard to make the place warm and welcoming and a comfortable environment for her customers. And despite those people who looked down on her for what she did for a living or judged her without even knowing her, she was proud of what she’d accomplished with Sugar and Spice. Seeing that Logan was impressed with the store, too, made her feel ridiculously pleased.
But Raina was a realist, and experience had taught her that while he might be initially fascinated with her and her shop filled with bondage toys and erotic lingerie, chances were that his intrigue would shift to embarrassment if he ever had to introduce her to his family or friends and had to openly explain that she owned an adult boutique that sold vibrators, anal beads, and sex swings. It was all well and good enjoying a bit of kink in private and on the sly, but she was a secret most men liked to keep well hidden.
She shook her head of those depressing thoughts and went behind the front counter to check the computer there, to see what kind of online orders had come in overnight. While her store held its own and turned over a nice profit, her website sales were nearly double the boutique’s, and it was almost time to hire another employee to help Callie with packaging and mailing orders.
Raina
“I will keep your opinion under advisement,” Raina said with a grin. “Now, don’t you need to be somewhere? Like work?”
Paige made a face at her. “I’m my own boss, remember? I could stay here all day…”
“Not gonna happen.” Raina raised a brow and pointed toward the front door. “Thank you for your help this morning, but I can handle things from here.”
“Well, if you need help handling him , just let me know.” Paige gave her a sassy little finger wave as she headed toward the front of the store. As she passed behind Logan, who was still talking to Aaron, she placed the back of her hand across her forehead and feigned a swoon that made Raina laugh.
As soon as her friend was gone, Raina met up with Aaron and Logan. “Everything good here?” she asked, wanting to make sure her manager was comfortable with the situation since Aaron, who was a competing body builder and looked like a linebacker, normally provided security for the store.
“Absolutely, boss,” Aaron said, a troubled frown furrowing his dark brows. “Your safety is my main concern.”
She placed her hand on Aaron’s muscular arm and didn’t miss the way Logan’s gaze zeroed in on that familiar touch—though he had nothing to worry about. Aaron was like a brother to her, nothing more. “Well, with the two of you in the store, I don’t think I have much to worry about.”
Aaron excused himself to go and help another customer who walked in, and Raina turned to face Logan, who was still frowning at her, his chest puffed out a bit more than usual.
“Something wrong?” she asked, though she definitely had an idea what had agitated him. She just wasn’t sure if she was more amused or annoyed that he was suddenly asserting a bit of alpha dominance in her workplace, and in public.
“Anything going on between you and Aaron?” he asked, a clipped note to his voice.
She deliberately rolled her eyes, making sure he saw her act of insolence. “He’s my employee and a friend, nothing more.”
“Good.” He gave her a hot, lingering, possessive stare that made her stomach muscles flutter and accelerated her pulse. “Do whatever you need to do work-wise. I don’t want to be a distraction or get in the way, so pretend like I’m not even here.”
Was he serious? As if ignoring the fact that he was in her store was even a remote possibility. He sauntered off to check out the placement of the security cameras and to familiarize himself with the layout of the store.
As she surreptitiously watched him, she saw the boutique through his eyes—the clean, modern design, the elegant, upscale décor, the luxurious, high-end items she carried and sold. She’d worked hard to make the place warm and welcoming and a comfortable environment for her customers. And despite those people who looked down on her for what she did for a living or judged her without even knowing her, she was proud of what she’d accomplished with Sugar and Spice. Seeing that Logan was impressed with the store, too, made her feel ridiculously pleased.
But Raina was a realist, and experience had taught her that while he might be initially fascinated with her and her shop filled with bondage toys and erotic lingerie, chances were that his intrigue would shift to embarrassment if he ever had to introduce her to his family or friends and had to openly explain that she owned an adult boutique that sold vibrators, anal beads, and sex swings. It was all well and good enjoying a bit of kink in private and on the sly, but she was a secret most men liked to keep well hidden.
She shook her head of those depressing thoughts and went behind the front counter to check the computer there, to see what kind of online orders had come in overnight. While her store held its own and turned over a nice profit, her website sales were nearly double the boutique’s, and it was almost time to hire another employee to help Callie with packaging and mailing orders.
Raina
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