Dispute Resolution

Chapter Fourteen

Quinn stared at the phone. The words 'Booty Call' kept jumping out at her. Was she really going to do this? Was this even smart? The man hated her three weeks ago and now she was about to embark on a casual affair with him, no strings attached where she got to call the shots. It sounded good on paper. It sounded downright delicious on paper, but the practical implications made her falter. What if she rang him and he wasn't interested anymore, what if he had a similar arrangement with another woman or worse, what if she fell in love with him?

There were warning signals everywhere, with flashing red lights and blaring sirens, questions, doubts and indecisions, but Quinn knew she was going to ignore every last one of them. She tapped the screen and his number began to dial.

"Here it is," Kat trilled as she approached her workstation.

Quinn quickly cut the call and shoved her phone in her pocket like she was hiding something. Thankfully Kat didn't notice. She placed a newspaper down in front of her.

"It looks amazing,' Kat continued.

"It does look good," Quinn agreed when she realised what Kat was showing her, trying to hide her shaky voice at the same time.

"I knew you'd like it and it's a double page," Kat said.

"Wow, great work, Quinn." Sam the sports reporter had joined them and was looking at the latest edition of The Daily Times. He was grinning broadly at her.

"Thanks, Sam," she said trying to sound calmer.

"See, Gray can't hate you that much if he's given you a double page spread," Kat told her.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "He does seem to hang around you a lot whenever he's here," he noted.

"Sam does have a point," Kat added and Quinn shot her a murderous glare.

"He's looking for a reason to fire me," Quinn replied. "As he keeps reminding me."

"Well he is single," Kat continued. "He could be interested."

"He's not," Quinn ground out.

"I don't know. He did give you a double page spread."

Thoughts of what she and Gray did on top of her double page spread chose that moment to flash into her brain.

"What's your point?"

"You sure you're not secretly seeing the boss?"

"No," Quinn denied.

"In that case how about a date with me?" Sam said.

"Um..." Quinn stalled.

"Sam, she's not interested in a sports reporter," Kat said, finally getting back on her side.

"Sorry, Sam, but I'm not. I'm not interested in dating anyone right now."

It was a shame. Sam was really cute and she probably would've said yes to him, if she hadn't just had the most incredible sexual experience of her life with the man she had just been vehemently denying any involvement with.

"Well let me know when you are," Sam said and Quinn smiled at him.

"You'll be the first to know."

****

Gray watched the scene before him from a distance. He couldn't hear what they were saying and Quinn still hadn't detected his presence so he observed with interest for a while, watching as a young male reporter smiled at her before he returned to his own workstation. Bizarrely he felt a pang of jealousy flash through him, something he'd never felt with Victoria, not even when he'd caught her red handed in bed with another man.