Free Bargaining with the Boss by Allison Gatta Page B

was the moment when she'd throw him out or quit. Slowly, he opened her mouth and then—
    Ding dong.
    "Pizza's here," she said, and then sprinted for the door.

Chapter Seven
    " T his pizza is ..." She hedged, trying to find the word.
    "Terrible." He bit a chunk out of his piece of bacon pizza and nodded.
    "I'm glad I'm not the only one." She ate the pizza nonetheless, wrinkling her nose in the hopes it would help her ignored the canned taste of the mushrooms.
    "I guess you had better stuff in Italy," he said.
    If he'd meant to disguise the leading tone in his voice, he'd done it poorly. Not that it mattered. She'd already made up her mind on that front. He'd read her personnel file, fine. He knew about her marriages. Fine.
    That didn't mean she had to embarrass herself further.
    And to tell him about all that...
    She shook her head. "My Photoshop skills are limitless, I guess."
    "Come on, Natalie. You've got statues from the Louvre. You've got figurines from Africa--"
    "Pier One is great for that stuff."
    "Don't bullshit a bullshitter. I don't get the air of mystery. Were you really like a secret agent or something? Are you in the witness protection program?"
    "Yes." She took another bite of canned mushroom pizza. She really had to go get some garlic and red pepper. Maybe then it would taste better. And she'd have a couple minutes to develop an exit strategy.
    "What could be so bad? I've seriously never met anyone so guarded in my entire life."
    "You're one to talk." Yes, that was it. Shift the subject. Throw him off the trail.
    "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "You flit from woman to woman. You never leave the office unless you're on a date. Nobody lives like that unless they're afraid of sharing too much of themselves with someone."
    "Maybe so." He picked a piece of bacon off his pizza and popped it into his mouth.
    She shouldn't have thought it was cute, and it was even crazier to think it was sexy, but there was just something about the way his mouth moved...
    The way his jaw looked strong and commanding when he--
    "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." His words broke through her thoughts and she nearly choked on her pizza.
    "You what?" She coughed.
    "Don't be so dirty. I'm saying you're right. I have my own little Dr. Phil episode going on inside my tortured soul. But I'll share it with you if and only if you'll share your Oprah Special of a life with me." He shrugged. Like he was asking about the weather instead of, say, her innermost secrets.
    "Are you crazy?'
    "No, just curious."
    "I don't see why. And why do you think I'd be curious about you?"
    "Because you are." He spoke with so much certainty that she didn't have it in her to argue. That and, of course, he was right.
    She hated it, didn't understand it, resented it, but there it was: the truth. She wanted to know more about him. But enough to tell him all about her?
    That was a hefty bargain. Even bigger than the one he’d wanted before.
    In truth, she might have slept with him a million times if only to avoid telling him—or anyone else--this.
    “You don’t know what you’re asking me.” She hedged, but the ice in his eyes had melted into a cool, understanding blue. He was listening. Really listening. Interested.
    And for the life of her she couldn’t decide whether that made it better or worse. Yet, even if she tried to argue with herself, she knew her decision had been made.
    "You have to promise not to judge me," she said and he held up his hands in a show of innocence.
    "No judgment here."
    "And you can't tell anyone at work. Including Eliza. And Garret. And Rachael."
    "Deal."
    "And--"
    "Natalie. The longer you post-pone this, the more nervous you're going to be. "
    He was right. She just had to rip the words out. Like tiny band-aids on a series of paper cuts covering her boy. She cleared her throat.
    Best to start at the beginning. With Jimmy. And with Dad.
    "Well, I was married twice."
    Brooks nodded. "I know."
    "And you know I'm twenty