Revenge Sex by Jasmine Haynes

was desired. She was the showpiece, but she was
also a damn good executive admin.
    Holt eyed him when he didn’t answer. “Trouble
in paradise?”
    He wasn’t merely Clay’s boss, but also his
friend. They’d gone on numerous business trips and talked over
drinks. Holt knew why Clay’s wife had divorced him. He knew the
kind of games he played with Ruby and that their relationship was
based primarily on sex. And Clay knew Holt—who’d married young,
divorced young, and had one daughter—liked to play with dominance
and submission. They didn’t, however, get into girlfriend bashing
or overly deep personal discussions.
    But Clay had to tell him something. “I’m
staying at the Marriott for the time being.” The statement held a
wealth of information.
    Holt nodded, getting the subliminal message
without pressing for details. “Sorry to hear that.”
    “ You’ve got my cell number
if you need to get hold of me.” He paused. “And Ruby and I have
agreed never to bring our personal problems into the
workplace.”
    “I trust you both.” Holt clapped him on the
shoulder. “Ruby was long overdue for a day off.”
    Two women would have taken hours to say what
needed to be said. Men weren’t like that. He’d take a few nights
for thought and strategy, determine what needed to be done. Then
he’d do it.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Clay had left Ruby.
    Jessica stood at the copy machine in HR, her
ears roaring, heart pounding. She’d been on her way to pick up some
payroll paperwork. She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, barely
stopping outside the door to Holt Montgomery’s office suite. But
she’d heard. Ruby was sick today, and Clay was staying at the
Marriott.
    Yet he said he wanted to keep his
professional relationship with Jessica intact. Which meant no
fooling around with her.
    A fist closed around her chest, making it
hard to breathe. What did it mean? That he didn’t want Ruby
anymore, but he didn’t need Jessica either?
     
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Ruby wore her fuzzy pink slippers and her
baggy sweats. Comfort clothes.
    On Sunday, she’d been sure Clay would come
back. She hadn’t done anything that bad. But he didn’t come
home. He didn’t phone. Monday morning she’d called in sick. She
figured Clay needed a sign of her contrition, like she’d been so
upset this weekend that she couldn’t even make it into work on
Monday. O f course, she was upset,
totally. It would have been very difficult to go through the
motions while Clay was at work upstairs in his office. The perfect
solution, a sick day.
    He still hadn’t called by Monday afternoon.
She dished out a bowl of ice cream. Some comfort food was in
order.
    The doorbell rang, and her heart leapt with
joy. It would be just like him to ring the bell.
    It wasn’t Clay. “What on earth are you doing
here?” she snapped.
    Bradley stood right where Clay should have
been standing, his face hangdog and apologetic. Of course, he did
look good in faded jeans that outlined his lovely package. “We’ve
got to talk, Ruby.”
    “No, we don’t,” she said, starting to close
the door. All she needed was for Clay to show up and find Bradley
here. She was not making that mistake again.
    But Bradley put his foot in the door. “I
quit.”
    She gaped. “Why the hell would you do that?”
This wasn’t the economy to walk out on your job.
    “So he doesn’t have anything to hold over
me.”
    “Clay wouldn’t hold anything over you.” Clay
wasn’t like that. Then again, she hadn’t expected him to walk out
either.
    “He’d have made our lives miserable.” He gave
her such an earnest look, with caramel brown eyes like a worshipful
pet.
    But really, he wasn’t making sense. “Why
would he do that ?”
    “When you leave him for me.”
    It wasn’t a good look for her, she knew, but
Ruby let her jaw drop. “Are you insane?”
    “It’s the only way, now that he knows about
us.” He smiled, making his stubbled chin more prominent.
    She remembered that