Seven Nights of Sin - Lacey Alexander [5]
“But you’re going to tell me anyway, right?”
Brenna leaned closer. “Just swear you won’t tell anyone, Kel. Jenkins would probably fire me if this gets out—from both my jobs.” She rolled her eyes at the craziness of it all.
Kelly raised her eyebrows. “Both?”
Brenna let out a breath, then sat down on the corner of Kelly’s tidy desk and told her everything, concluding with her impending trip to Vegas, on which she would be leaving in only four ridiculously short days.
To her vast surprise, when she finished Kelly was smiling. “Problem solved,” her friend said. “Instant lover. Just add lust and stir.”
Brenna’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“You heard me. Damon is the perfect lover for you. No fuss, no muss, no long or messy attachment. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It’s the perfect fuck.”
Brenna blinked again, barely knowing which aspect of this to tackle first. “Okay, to start with, Damon Andros has barely ever even looked me in the eye—so I’m pretty sure he’s not dying to get me into bed. And to end with—are you even listening to me? Jenkins intends for me to baldly lie to Damon for an entire week during which I will be with him during every waking second! That’s seven full days and nights of lying.”
Kelly appeared unfazed. “Let’s focus on the nights. And on the fucking, not the lying. Because trust me, with a few tweaks, he will be dying to get you into bed. You’re a very lucky girl, Brenna,” her friend said with a confident smile, as if this were a done deal. “You get to have down and dirty sex with Damon Andros, something most women only dream about. I mean, doesn’t the man just make your pussy quiver?”
Brenna simply slapped her hand to her forehead. “You’re crazy. No, wait—you’re driving me crazy. I need your help with a moral dilemma and all you can talk about is sex.”
But it was as if Kelly was in her own little world now. “I’m taking you shopping this weekend. Block out all of Saturday and plan to get an early start at the Third Street Promenade. Wear your most supportive bra. Or, actually, never mind. We’ll get new bras—you’re going to need some very hot lingerie. And I’ll wrangle you an appointment with my hairdresser. He’s always booked solid, but for me, he’ll squeeze.”
Brenna merely sighed, exhausted even though it wasn’t yet 9 A.M. “I can’t afford your hairdresser. And what’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Nothing. They’re great for sending out that I’m-going-through-a-bad-divorce-leave-me-alone message. Not so much, though, for the do-me message.”
Brenna sucked in her breath. “I don’t want to be done. And even if I did, Damon would not be the guy.” He was totally hot, but just as totally out of her league. Out of her universe. To the point of being intimidating. She’d be embarrassed to even express interest in him since surely he’d find it laughable. Or maybe pathetic.
Then she shook her head, thoroughly exasperated. “But to get back to the actual point—I’m not concerned about sex. I don’t need a man, remember? What I’m concerned about is…this is sort of like I’m stealing his job. And lying to him about it—to get him to help me steal his job. It’s despicable.”
Kelly shrugged, finally shifting her focus to the problem at hand. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s all in your perspective. On one hand, he brought this on himself. It’s not that he’s really doing anything other people aren’t, but he’s failed to use even a modicum of discretion and now it’s coming back to bite him in the ass. On the other, you are going to be participating in a big lie that benefits you, which does make you guilty as charged.” Then she leaned slightly forward, narrowing her gaze on Brenna. “That said, we’re talking about a dream job here, and Jenkins wants you for the part. It’s an enormous opportunity, and you’d be a fool to pass it up. So that’s why you need to get your head on straight about this. You have to commit to the lie, commit to the sin.”
Brenna drew in her breath, chest tightening. “I hate lying.” Now that she thought about it, it had been a lot easier to listen to Kelly’s plans for an imaginary seduction than