Page 15 of Sizzle
“You said ‘FNG’ is a joke,” I say, smiling.
“Oh, that. It stands for ‘freaking new girl.’” She’s smiling back at me and it takes a second for it to register.
“New girl,” I say. “You work here?”
“As of yesterday, I do,” she says.
And all of a sudden, it hits me.
“You’re Joelle Munroe,” I say, shaking my head. “The food blogger.”
Her eyes go wide.
“There is no possible way you recognized me from the internet,” she says, a little shaky. She suddenly looks like she’s about to bolt so I raise my hands.
“Not exactly,” I tell her. “I’m a friend of Elliot James. He told me he was trying to schedule a meeting with you.”
Joelle lets out a breath, visibly relaxing. “Oh! Alex, as in 'the roommate’ Alex?’”
“That’s me,” I say. I wonder where she got that from. Workplace gossip, most likely.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I say, meeting her eyes. “I thought Elliot was looking to hire you as a consultant.”
“He was, but I talked him into part time,” she says with a secret grin. I feel that grin in every cell in my body and my breath catches at the conjured image of Joelle naked on my bed, grinning at me just like that. Like she knows all my secrets and revels in that knowledge.
Dangerous thoughts to be having, maybe, but I’m not ready to walk away yet. As luck would have it, the couple sitting next to me decides it’s time to take their not-so-subtle petting somewhere else.
“Can I buy you a drink? I’d love to hear about it.” I stand to hold out the recently vacated stool. Joelle bites her lip, hesitating, and that tiny movement hits me in the gut. I shift slightly, just enough to hide my fly behind the stool.
“Okay,” she says and takes a seat. I manage to climb back into mine without doing serious injury and if she notices the tented fabric in my lap, she doesn’t mention it.
“So Elliot hired you part time,” I say, waving at Meg. She holds up a finger. “What position?”
For a second, I think I spot a faint blush on her cheeks, but it’s gone the next instant. Must be a trick of the light in here. All that neon and the TVs and mirrors.
“Ah, I’m starting on prep,” she says. “Once I get the hang of it, I’ll train for the front line.”
“Cooking,” I nod. “Of course. Makes sense.”
“If you knew Elliot was meeting with me, I guess he’s told you about the menu changes, too?” she asks.
“He did. Since you’re here I take it you’re going to ride in and save the day?”
Her eyes go wide and this time I know the color in her face isn’t just a trick of the light.
“What did you say?” she stammers. I repeat my question, fascinated as her blush deepens.
“I misunderstood you, sorry,” she says. Meg stops in front of us and Joelle’s relief is so palpable I could reach out and touch it as she places her drink order.
What did she think—
Oh. I said ‘ride in.’ Did she hear ‘ride him?’
The vision flashes through my mind before I can stop it—Joelle straddling Elliot over the chair in his office, riding him hard. Just like that, my dick goes from semi to semi-automatic.
I shift in my chair, trying to get a goddamn grip as Meg and Joelle laugh about something. This woman whose work I’ve admired off and on for years, who turns out to be possibly the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, who is now sitting down to have drinks with me in the closest thing I’ve had to a date in over a year—all this and the thought of her riding Elliot’s cock has me about to shoot off in my pants.