Free Sex, Lies & Her Impossible Boss by Jennifer Rae

wanted more. She wanted him. But she was just another woman pretending to give him what he wanted but all the while manipulating the situation to benefit herself. It was an act to get her show back on air; he knew that. Just like that kiss. An act. She didn’t feel that. They barely knew each other—there was no way she felt all that she was pretending to feel. But her eyes. They looked so sincere. As if she weren’t even thinking about the show—just him and her and what they were doing right then.
    The lift landed awkwardly and the doors opened. Outside in the sun Cash walked. Walked and walked and tried to breathe, but it was hard in the city. His shoulders ached. For a moment he wished he were back on the farm. Where he could sit on the back of a ute in the middle of a paddock and think. No distractions, no people, no sounds except the far-off bleating of a lamb. Here in the city he was never alone. There was always someone wanting his time—his attention. But he’d been gone from the farm for nine years. He hadn’t felt the pull to go back there in a long time. When he’d returned five years ago for his father’s funeral he’d barely been back at the farm five days. Why would he? Charlie and Jess had the farm running better than he ever could.
    Instead of heading to the harbour, Cash turned and headed for the park. It was the only place he knew where he could sit and let his head fall forward and pretend he wasn’t in the city.
    He’d run into Charlie and Jess a few times on his occasional visits to the farm. Charlie had grunted at him and he’d grunted at Charlie and their mother had given them a lecture. Never, not any of those times, did he speak to Jess. Nor did she speak to him. Her eyes were only on Charlie. Charlie—the superstar. Charlie; who’d dug the farm out of some serious financial trouble, who’d charmed the banks into lending him more money and who everyone believed brought the rain down in the drought of ninety-eight by sheer force of will.
    Everyone loved Charlie and it wasn’t until Cash had started to play rugby that anyone had taken any notice of him. He’d even played for Australia for a couple of years—but of course as soon as Charlie had joined the team Cash had been back on the bench. It was that summer that he’d met Jess. Jess had stroked his boyish ego and made him feel as if there might be something about him that was better than Charlie. Until Charlie came home. Then it happened all over again.
    But that was years ago and Cash hadn’t thought about it in a long time. He’d never questioned his choices. Until Faith started asking questions about love and relationships and trust. Cash found a bench and sat, trying to forget. ‘You have a closed mind and a closed heart and that makes you a soulless person. A person who is incapable of being loved. No one could ever love you, Cash.’
    Cash breathed out and opened his eyes. He’d told her he didn’t want to kiss her to stop her thinking that she was able to manipulate him. That kiss was all about control. She wanted it but he wasn’t going to let her have it. He was in charge here and he was just going to forget that kiss. That mind-blowing, incredibly erotic kiss that kept coming back to him at the more inconvenient times. Like right now.
    But just as he had pushed Charlie and Jess and the farm and everything else out of his mind to concentrate on work, he would do the same to Faith. Forget about her and her low-cut tops and silky hair and her smile that lit up her face. Work hadn’t let him down once in the past nine years. He’d worked his way to the top. He’d been the superstar. Everyone had listened to him and, for once, Charlie hadn’t swooped in at the last minute to claim all the glory. Cash stood to leave. He had to get back to the office—the phone would be screaming by now.
    As he walked Cash focused on the joggers as they bounced past him. He watched them run, wondering if they realised how stupid they