Free Romancing Tommy Gabrini by Mallory Monroe

seemed to take her by surprise.   But he wasn’t taking it back.   For
some reason, around her, he had no stomach for beating around the bush.
    “I
don’t know what I can do about it now,” Grace said slightly defensively.   “The work’s gotta get done, and I’ve gotta
work.”
    Tommy
smiled.   “Understood.   But you have to make time for yourself, too,
Grace, come on.”
    “Tell
that to Jillian, will you?   I can’t catch
a break with that woman.”
    “You’re
her chief of staff, at least that’s what I think she said.   That should give you some pull.”
    “Yeah,
right.   I’m her chief flunky.   That’s about it in the pull department.”
    This
concerned Tommy.   “Why would you stay on
a job if it was that limiting?”
    “It’s
complicated.”
    “Try
me.”
    Grace
thought about it.   “My father used to
work there.”
    “At
Trammel?”
    “Yeah.   He was the vice president.   I was already working there as Jilly’s
assistant, but after Dad died I guess Jilly promoted me in honor of his legacy
or some such business, but she still views me as just her assistant.   So here I am.   Chief of staff.   Which is a good
job, don’t get me wrong.   The department
heads respect me because they know I can at least talk to Jilly when they can
barely get an audience with her.   But
it’s grueling work.   I feel like I put
out fires all day long.   I can’t even
remember the last time I was able to take me a vacation.   It’s always some crisis I have to deal with.”
    “That’s
no way to live.”
    “I
know,” Grace said, looking to see what that sudden burst of laughter across the
room was all about.   Tommy took a look
down the length of her as she looked away.  
    “Do
you like massages?” he asked softly when she returned her attention to him.
    She
hesitated before answering.   She knew it
was probably one of his usual lines to get a woman interested, but Tommy had
such a serious look when he spoke about even unserious things that she wasn’t
too sure.   “You mean in general,” she
asked, “or for myself?”
    “For
yourself.”
    “Yes,”
she said, getting serious too.   “I love
massages.”
    “When
was the last time you had one?”
    “Oh,
my goodness,” Grace said, looking up.   Tommy looked at her long, smooth neck when she did.   “It’s been a long time.   Probably some years,” she admitted as she
looked back at him.
    “I’ll
have to give you one.”
    The
way he said that caused Grace’s vagina to tingle.   But she played it off.   “Oh, you will, will you?” she asked with a
smile.
    “I
will.”   He wasn’t smiling at all.
    “I
don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “I
know it’s not a good idea, are you kidding?” he asked.   “It’s a terrible idea.”   Then he smiled.   “But what does that have to do with anything?”
    Grace
smiled, too, and then she laughed.
    What
she didn’t realize was that she had two keen eyewitnesses to her laughter.   Nayla Santiago, her best friend, and Jamie
Rogers, another close friend, had been spying them from the moment Grace
hurried to Tommy’s side.   And they both
were baffled.  
      “Who is he?” Jamie asked as his small dark
eyes trailed up and down Tommy’s impressive physique.
    Nayla
shook her head.   “I have no idea.   I thought you knew.”
    “I
don’t know a thing, child.   She never
mentioned him?”
    “Not
to me she didn’t.”
    Jamie
looked him up and down again.   “He’s
delicious,” he said with a smile.   “I
have to give him his props.   White boy
got game.”
    “But
who is he?” Nayla wanted to know.   “You
saw how happy Grace was to see him, and the way he’s got her laughing now.”
    “Ain’t
she happy?” Jamie agreed. “But then again who wouldn’t be with eye candy like
that on her arm?   And look at that outfit
he’s wearing, girl.   I’ll bet it’s worth
thousands.”
    “And
those shoes, check them out.”
    “Oh,
your boy got