He strokes her cheeks again, still holding her closer than he really should in his current guise, with no mask on. I wish I'd had the sense to realize, the night you flubbed "shiitake" for "shibari," what you really were, what we could be... I wish I'd made a move then.

He knows it probably would have been a bad time; she'd been hit on earlier that day by another prospective employer and he was trying to be on his best behavior and the most non-threatening boss possible... but in retrospect...

If I'd taken you home and tied you up that very night, you wouldn't be crying now.

It's not that simple; it never is. But he feels like he's overcomplicated her life so badly.

"I have. Repeatedly. I'm taking liberties I'm not supposed to."