CHAPTER SEVEN

"Oh my God, the Dufort'sare so fucking hot," Missy said as she followed Leilani to the bathrooms.

"Yup."

"You must be so horny all day long."

Leilani stopped dead.

What was wrong with this girl?

"You did not just say that. Blake is my boss, Missy!" she cried.

"I know, but come on, we all want to bang him." Missy shrugged, unperturbed, and nudged her farther along the hallway.

Bang him?

Jesus.

"Me, I want the big one. Daniel. Mother of mercy, did you see those thighs? I bet he has a long schlong to match. Girl, he can sit on my face any day."

Oh, my God.

"Please stop talking," she muttered.

"You know who I think would suit the fancy one?" Missy continued.

"Which one is the fancy—no, stop. Don't answer that," Leilani said.

What is wrong with me? Don't encourage her.

But now she was a little invested and needed to know.

"Fletcher. He's fancy. Does marketing and stuff. Carol from accounts. She's older, but I think she'd be into doggy style. I can see him liking that."

Someone please save me.

"I heard she was dating a younger man, and they were into threesomes. Can you imagine that? Carol with two men. I guess it could be another woman. I wonder if she's bi. Do you think she's bi?" Missy asked. "I have no gaydar, I just can't tell."

Leilani pressed open the door to the ladies room and walked over to one of the cubicles. Missy was waiting for her answer when she turned.

"I do not think about Carol's sex life. At all," she said, then shut the door with a bang.

"Is that you, Leilani?" CAROL asked from the cubicle next to her.

Oh, my fucking God.

As she dropped her face into her hands and began to pee, she heard Missy cackling.

It must've been ten minutes later when she finally emerged. She didn't even care that someone might think she was doing number two. In fact, Leilani wasn't sure if she was more concerned about Jacob or Carol at this point.

At least Missy had gone.

For now.

After quickly washing her hands, she dried them on the Dufort-emblemed hand towel and dropped it into the nice basket. Then stepped out of the restroom and joined the party.

Everyone had drinks. As she'd arranged, the servers circulated with bottles of wine and trays of food. The music was pumping, and people were starting to dance already.

When she reached the management table where she had been sitting all afternoon, she saw all the Dufort men had shrugged off their jackets and rolled up their sleeves.

Goddamn.

Missy was right. They were all incredibly handsome. But one stood out to her more than the rest.

Jacob.

The man stared at her as she reached for her purse and checked her phone.

No messages.

Of course there weren't.

Amy and Vanessa were out on a double date tonight with their husbands, and her mom knew she was at a work event and would be home a little late.

And that was about the extent of her life.

Bella stepped away from Blake and joined Leilani. "Thanks again for an excellent job today. I hope we aren't keeping you from someone special tonight."

Leilani smiled. "No. I'm single." And living with my mother. "Congratulations on the wedding, by the way. I haven't seen you since. Did you have a nice day?"

She'd snuck a glance at the wedding photos on Jacob's Instagram, but wasn't about to confess to that.

"It was magical. Huge, but magical." Bella glowed, shooting a glance over to her husband. "We'll go on our honeymoon after the baby is born. Plus, both of us have too much going on in our business lives."

Leilani took a glass of champagne from the server, thanking him.

"That makes sense. Both of my girlfriends are married. One with a baby on the way. Only one of them had their honeymoon directly after. It's a thing nowadays."

Other than that, Leilani had nothing to contribute to the conversation because she was pretty sure Bella would also be bored hearing about how she once dated Kenneth and how he'd been more interested in his spreadsheets than her clit.

Probably.

"It is. Why go just because it"s tradition if the timing is disruptive?" Bella shrugged. "Fun fact: I read that honeymoons originated in medieval times. Couples would drink mead made from honey for thirty days after the wedding to bring good luck and fertility. Well"—she rubbed her small tummy—"we nailed that one already."

Leilani chuckled.

"Are you excited about becoming a mom?"

"Scared, but yes. My mom died a few years ago, so I'm a little emotional about it, to be honest. Oh God, listen to me. You don't need to hear this."

Without realizing what she was doing, Leilani reached out and touched her forearm. "I do. My...my mom is...she's..."

Bella softened and moved closer. "Is she dead?"

Tears filled her eyes. "No. Not yet. But she's dying."

Before she knew it, Bella's arms were wrapped around her, and a tear leaked from one eye. She felt like an idiot, but despite the timing, it was like she needed to talk to someone.

Someone who wasn't her friends that were wrapped up in their lives and seemed to think she would always just be happy Lani and be fine.

She wasn't fine.

She was also scared.

"What have you done to my PA?" Blake asked, snapping them out of their hug. "Do not break her. I can't run the place without her."

Leilani straightened and laughed, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine."

See...I'm fine.

It was an automatic response people gave, so they weren't a burden.

"I wasn't breaking her. I was hugging her." Bella nudged him. "Sweetie, let's have lunch next week and talk without these big men around."

"I'd love that." She said, ignoring the fact that Bella was her boss's wife and that might not be appropriate.

Blake didn't seem to mind. He smiled at her with kindness in his eyes, and she had to stop herself from hugging him next.

Please don't.

Don't be awkward.

Next minute, a large warm presence came up behind her.

"I don't want to state the obvious, but you'll have far more fun on the dance floor with me than these two." Jacob reached around, taking the drink from her hand as his hard body pressed against hers. Then he placed the flute on the table.

Leilani drew in a breathless gasp.

His lips brushed against her ear as he added, "Don't think, just do as I tell you."

Then, with a hand on the small of her back, he led her away.

She didn't even try to resist.