Under His Command (For His Pleasure, Book 17) by Kelly Favor Page B

back home, Easton.” She stared at him, horrified. “I want to go to the club with you. I got scared is all.”
    “Look, this isn’t going to work,” he said, his voice growing calmer, his shoulders relaxing as they got further away from the club. “We’re not cut out for each other, you and me.”
    Kennedy stared out the window, blinking back tears. “So I’m fired?”
    “No, of course not. You have your job, but this—this extra-curricular thing we were starting—it’s over. It wasn’t a good idea in the beginning and now it’s definitely not a good idea.”
    “Okay,” she said, her voice emotionless. She felt flat, completely alone, the world was gray and cold and dreary.
    “I think you agree,” he offered.
    She shrugged and grunted, still looking out the window.
    He seemed to give up on the conversation, and they drove the rest of the way back to her apartment in silence. He stopped directly in front of the building. As she was about to get out, he put a hand on her forearm gently.
    The warmth and tenderness almost made her sob. She couldn’t look at him.
    “Kennedy,” he said. “Why don’t you take the day off tomorrow?”
    “Why?” she said.
    “I think it’ll be easier to start fresh if we both take a day away from each other.”
    “Great,” she said, pulling angrily away from him, grabbing her purse, and running away as fast as possible.

    ***
    The rest of the night was a blur for Kennedy. She spent most of the time crying and sitting around replaying the events of the afternoon, replaying her conversations with Easton and wondering how it could have all been different.
    Eventually, she fell asleep, curled up in bed, her arms around an old stuffed animal that she’d kept from her childhood. The tears dried on her face, but when she woke up the morning, her cheeks were still wet as if she’d been crying in her sleep. She couldn’t recall her dreams, but there was a melancholy, heavy sensation on her chest.
    She wished she could just go into work and be near Easton, even if everything was going to be different now. Being away from him was worse than being with him and having him ignore her. If she was at least in the office, there was the chance of something opening up between them, changing.
    Yet he had commanded her to stay home, take the day to adjust to the new reality that they would be simply boss and employee, without any strings attached or expectations of more.
    Kennedy found she hated the idea.
    There was nothing to do, however, so she got up and showered, put on makeup and got dressed. She wanted to send herself a message that whether or not Easton accepted her, she was still valuable.
    Kennedy put on some water for instant coffee.
    Not long after that, as she was sitting and sipping her coffee, there came a knock on the door.
    “Hello?” she called out, standing up. Instantly her heart was beating faster, hoping against hope that it was Easton.
    But her heart fell when the answer came through the door. “Hey, it’s Blake.”
    She affixed a smile, disappointed in herself for not feeling happier at his visit.
    She opened the door and he was standing there looking dapper in khakis and a button-down shirt with tie.
    “On your way to work?” she said.
    “Yeah, I don’t have much time,” he said. “I heard your TV and thought I’d swing by real quick.” He studied her face. “Is everything all right?”
    “Yes,” she lied. “Just taking a personal day to do some things around here.”
    “I was wondering if you might want to see a movie tomorrow night. My treat, of course,” he laughed.
    She hesitated just long enough for him to wince a little bit.
    “I’d love to,” she said, smiling wider.
    He slid his hand through his hair. “You sure about that?”
    “Yes, really I am. It would be great to go to a movie with you.”
    “Okay.” He seemed about to say something else but then thought better of it.
    “Well, I should head out to work. Good luck with…whatever