Overtime

Chapter 8

Before I can leave the dance floor a man steps up to take Jackson's place. He politely asks for my hand and I have too big of a heart to turn him down. I take his hand and place my other hand on his shoulder. He's slightly shorter than me so I can see his thinning hair. The top few buttons of his shirt are undone, showing off his dark chest hair. He's kind of chubby and I can tell he's a lot older than me."My name is Robert. What's yours?"

"Emery. Nice to meet you."

He smiles. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. What do you do for a living?"

I blush slightly from his comment. "I work in the Lancaster household as a maid."

He raises his big eyebrows. "No woman as beautiful as you should be cleaning. You need to be put up on a pedestal," he says, stopping. He removes his hands from me and reaches inside his suit jacket to retrieve his business card. "I'd be more than happy to employ you. You should give me a call sometime."

Before I can take the card Jackson rips it from his hand. "She won't be needing that. Do you mind if I step in?"

Robert laughs. "Go ahead."

I pull the card away from Jackson and smile. "Thanks for the dance."

Robert nods before walking away. Jackson takes the card away and slips it into his pocket before pulling me in for a dance. "Do you even know who that is?"

"It's Robert," I chuckle.

He shakes his head. "Do you know what he does for a living?"

"Well, no-"

"He produces porn, Emery."

I raise my eyebrows in shock then smirk. "I bet it pays better than cleaning your house."

His lips curve into a small smile and he shakes his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

I smile as we slowly sway back and forth. Removing my hand from his I place it on his shoulder. His hands gently grip my waist and he pulls me closer. "Do you have any plans this week?"

"Besides cleaning your house? No."

"Jasmine and I are going on a business trip to Florida and I'd like for you to come."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because I want you to be there," he says, his hand slipping around to the small of my back. "It'll give you the chance to explore and see new things. Have you ever been to Florida?"

"No." I look towards the table to see Jasmine watching us and I pull away from him. "This inappropriate. I'm your employee and you girlfriend is right there."

He raises his eyebrows in shock. "Girlfriend? You think Jasmine -" he laughs loudly, causing several people to turn our way. I blush from the attention. "She isn't into me, trust me. She isn't even into my gender."

My face heats from embarrassment and I put my hands over my face. After a moment he pulls my hands away and smiles at me. "So what do you say about Florida?"

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm your employee."

He rolls his eyes. "I don't care about that."

"I do. I'm not a whore."

He frowns. "I never said you were. Look, I've made it clear that I'm interested in you. I thought maybe the feelings were mutual."

I look away from him as I have an internal debate. If I admit that I like him too I'll have to face finding a new job. There's no way I'll work for a man who I'm in a relationship with. At this point in my life, know I need to get out and have some fun. He is the only man who has ever shown interest in me. "Okay."

"You'll go?" he asks hopefully.

I turn to him and nod. "Yes, but I'm going to get a new job when we return."

He frowns. "Why?"

"I won't work for a man I'm seeing."

He takes a deep breath. "Fine, but you can stay with me until you find an apartment."

That's actually a good idea since I'd rather not move back in with my parents but I know have enough money saved up to find a place quickly. "Okay," I nod.

He grins. "Great. Let me get some of these old people out so we can let the real party begin."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"This is a charity event. I send out two invitations. One to the older people so they can show up for dinner and donate then leave," he says. "And another to the younger people who show up later for the music and alcohol."

"Do they donate too?" I ask.

He nods. "I paid for an open bar but all drinks are a dollar. You'd be surprised how much we get off of that."

"Smart," I say with a small smile. "I'll be at the table with Jasmine."

Before I can walk away he gently pulls my chin towards him and kisses my forehead. "Thank you for agreeing to go with me... and for coming tonight."

My eyes flicker down to his lips and I swallow. "You're welcome."

He smiles before letting me go and walking away. I join Jasmine at the table who teases me about the kiss but I tell her it was nothing. All I know is that I'm looking forward to feeling his lips again. Perhaps on mine next time.

Jasmine and I have a couple more drinks as we watch the guests begin leaving. As they leave, a larger crowd of younger people come in and raid the food tables and bar. Once it's down to mostly the younger guests, Jackson makes a speech and states that there will be a shuttle to take people to the hotel down the street. When the more upbeat music begins playing Jasmine drags me out to the dance floor. We dance together until someone places their hands on my hips and I am surrounded by the wonderful scent of him.

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