Page 64 of Illicit Education
Nodding, I left Laurel and made my way to Mina’s office. The door was closed, so I braced myself and knocked lightly.
“Come in.”
Swallowing hard, I opened the door and walked inside.
Mina’s gaze met mine as she lifted her head, her eyes softening quickly. “Rylan, how are you?”
“Fine. Really.”
She motioned toward the door. “Close the door, please.”
I did as she asked, then settled into one of the chairs facing her desk. An expensive rolling suitcase sat near the door. She’d said she was rarely here yesterday; did she stay in town longer than she’d planned because of my little freak out?Punch me.
“Rylan, I–”
“I’m sorry about last night,” I quickly interrupted.
“No, honey,I’msorry about last night.”
“What? Why?”
“You weren’t ready. I pride myself on my ability to gauge a person, and…” She sighed. “I knew better than to let you go off on your own.” She tilted her head. “Would you like to talk about what you saw?”
I licked my lips, then tugged the bottom one between my teeth.
“It’s okay to talk to me about this. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that in this case, it’s probably necessary.” She paused, considering her next words. “I know that I asked you to sign something that says you won’t discuss what happens in my stores or my clubs, and that is in place to protect the privacy of my patrons, but you and I can speak freely about anything. Any time. Do you understand? I know everything that goes on in my clubs. Please feel free to speak candidly.”
With a deep breath, I said, “That internship I told you about?”
“The one at the publishing house.”
I nodded. “Well, the owner is one of your members.”
“I know. And…” Mina sighed. “I take full responsibility for allowing you to see your boss in such a… private situation. I’m sure that made you quite uncomfortable, and for that I am sorry, Rylan. I need to do better as the proprietor of the Rabbit Hole.”
“But that’s just it…” I shook my head. Was I really going to bethishonest with her? “I wasn’t uncomfortable by what I saw.”
Mina’s expression didn’t change. She wasn’t surprised by this news at all.
I swallowed hard. “I liked it.”
She nodded sagely. “Laurel explained that you might have been a bit caught off guard by that reaction.”
I snorted. “A bit?”
Mina smiled. “He’s a powerful, handsome man, Rylan; it's understandable that you might have a crush.”
I nearly snorted a second time. A crush? This was so much more than a crush. It felt so much bigger, so…
Powerful.
All consuming.
But I nodded my agreement anyway. “Yeah. A crush.”
“Do you feel comfortable enough to continue working here?”
“Yes,” I answered quickly. “Of course.” I shook my head, motioning toward the floor. “I’m not uncomfortable down there, either.”