Free Seductive Guest by E. L. Todd

escort I hired. He crossed the line then stepped back over and over, dancing around what was appropriate and what wasn’t appropriate. But his position on the line never bothered me. And I thought that was interesting.
    “Meadow?”
    Nathan’s voice came into my ear and I looked up at him. “Mr. Maxwell, what can I get you?” I pushed River from my mind and reminded myself I was at work.
    “Are you okay?” he asked. “I said your name a few times but you didn’t react…”
    My head was in the gutter. “I’m sorry, Mr. Maxwell. It’s been a long day.”
    Nathan eyed me with intelligent eyes that saw right through my words. “So, you’re seeing someone?” His voice didn’t contain any excitement or joy. But it didn’t contain irritation either. I had no idea how he felt about it.
    “Yeah, we’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.” I kept my answers vague like River told me. I wasn’t sure how River knew Nathan would ask me about him. He was dead on about it. And it was surprising since River hadn’t even met Nathan.
    Nathan nodded slowly. “It seems like you guys are pretty serious.” He stared at me like he was waiting for an answer to a question he never asked.
    How did I answer that? I tried to remember everything River told me. “We’re just hanging out…taking it slow.”
    Nathan watched me like a hawk.
    He’d never stared at me like that before. I felt like I was the only person in the room. Actually, I felt like I was the only person in the building. He regarded me with a slightly cold look. There was something else to it but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.
    “I see…”
    This was getting weird. I’d never been in this situation with Nathan before. Was he jealous? Or was he just annoyed that I was making out with River while at work? I had no idea what he was thinking.
    “Where’d you meet him?”
    Why did he want to know? “At a bar.” I didn’t know what else to say. That I hired him to pretend to be my love interest? I’m sure that would go over well.
    “It looks like he’s really into you.”
    Seriously, this was weird. We’d never had a conversation like this. “Uh, I think he’s just affectionate. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
    He chuckled. “He’s head-over-heels for you and you don’t even see it.”
    I shrugged. “I guess I don’t pay that much attention.” I felt like a bitch for saying that. I had to pretend I didn’t care about River’s feelings at all. That wasn’t something I would ever do. Why did it make me more desirable to not care about someone’s feelings? I would never understand sexual politics.
    “Or maybe you’re just blind.”
    There were no words on my tongue. What did I say to that? I tried not to get overly excited by Nathan’s interest. Last time I read too deeply into his actions and I got ditched at a fancy charity event while he fucked some blonde all weekend. That was a mistake I wouldn’t make again. Nathan would have to give me a clear sign before I let my guard down. “Well, I should get back to work. Is there anything you need?”
    “Actually, there is one thing.”
    “What is it?”
    “Don’t call me Mr. Maxwell,” he said. “I prefer Nathan.”
    “Of course,” I said with a nod.
    “Thank you.”
    He headed back to his office.
    And I sat there, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

River
    “How’s your new client?” Jett asked as he sat across from me. He was on his third beer.
    “Not bad,” I said. I kept most of the details to myself.
    “Is she weird? Annoying?”
    “No,” I said. “She’s actually really cool. And she’s got beautiful eyes.”
    “Blue?”
    “Green.”
    He nodded. “At least you got a good one.” Jett was being careful around me. He knew he pissed me off when he set me up with that horror named Theresa. It still irritated me when I thought about it. The brat slapped me around with a purse like I was her little bitch. If she were a dude, her face would have