by Lexy Timms
“Shh!” I hissed, glancing toward the living room even though I knew there was no way they could hear her through the walls and over the sounds of their own conversation. “I haven’t told him that yet,” I added.
“I’m sure he knows,” Leanne said. “Your face is a dead giveaway.” She shook her head, still smiling. “I’m really happy for you. He seems like a really great guy. And you guys just work well together.”
“I know,” I said, unable to keep the silly grin off my face as well.
Leanne’s own smile turned sly. “I’m sure you’ve realized, but he’s really good with the kids too,” she pointed out. “I noticed it at the hospital, but especially tonight, he’s just great with them. And they really love spending time with him too.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Oh no,” I said, holding up both hands. “We are so not at that point yet.”
“Yet,” Leanne said pointedly. “Does that mean you’ve thought about it?”
I shrugged but didn’t respond to that. I was sure the grin on my face was more than enough response for her. Sure enough, she laughed, but mercifully, she let the matter drop.
“How’s working alongside him?” she asked. “Anything weird about that?”
“No, it’s actually been better than I thought it would be,” I told her. We hadn’t really had a chance to chat much over the past two weeks; she’d been running around crazy between the hospital and the kids’ activities, trying to keep things as normal as possible for them. So I realized I hadn’t really told her anything about work since before we had gone public with our relationship.
“There’s definitely some challenges,” I admitted. “Some sidelong looks in the business meetings and that sort of thing. But I think as people realize that I’m still there to do a job, and that I know what I’m doing, they’re actually kind of happy about it. They trust me to care about the business just as much as Daniel does, I guess. Or maybe not quite as much, because everyone knows what a workaholic he can be. But they know I’ve got their best interests at heart even when I’m contradicting Daniel on something.”
“That’s great,” Leanne said. “And it’s not awkward around the office, with the people you actually work with?”
“Nah, they all know Daniel. He keeps himself kind of separate from the rest of them, but they all know him well enough that they know better than to believe the tabloids and all the sensational stories about him. They know he’s a good guy. I think they’re genuinely just happy that he’s finally found someone who doesn’t love him just for his money.”
The words slipped off my tongue so easily, and I expected Leanne to call me out on it. Love. It was the first time I had said it aloud, even to myself. But I didn’t try to take the words back, and even though I could see the corners of Leanne’s mouth twitch with amusement, she didn’t tease me about it now.
“Do you think you’re going to keep working for him long-term?” Leanne asked. “Not because of your relationship but just because I know you can be a little flighty when it comes to jobs. No offense.”
“No, you’re right. I haven’t held down a job for longer than eight months since I graduated, I think. But I do think I’m going to keep at this one. At least for now,” I agreed, nodding my head. “I like the position. It feels like this is the one I’ve been waiting for.” I paused and shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Eventually, I still would like to be CEO, and I doubt Daniel is just going to hand the reins of his family company over to me. But at the same time, I feel like there’s a lot for me to learn here at the moment, and I’m eager to see what he can teach me. He knows a lot more about managing expectations and really building rapport with people than I could ever imagine.”
“Yes, he certainly has his charisma,” Leanne said, grinning at me. She dried off her hands as I finished wiping off the last of the dishes. Then, she gave me a hug. “We should be getting home, I’m sorry to say. I wish we could stay for a glass of wine and to chat a little more, but the kids really need to be in bed; it’s a school night. And Matt probably needs to head that way as well. He’s still on some pretty serious painkillers, and they make him a little drowsy.”
“No problem,” I said, giving her a big hug. “And seriously, the offer still stands, even though Matt’s back home now: if there’s anything you need, anything that either Daniel or I could help you with, just let us know. Whether it’s dinner or ferrying the kids around or anything.”
“Thanks,” Leanne said, smiling gratefully. “You guys have been fantastic through all of this. I’m just sorry that this is what it took for us to realize what a great guy you’ve found yourself.”
I waved that away. “Come on, let’s get you guys home,” I told her.
I ended up carrying Layla down the stairs while Daniel followed with Zach in his arms; Leanne supported Matt just in case, much to his grumbled protests that he wasn’t an invalid. But he seemed appreciative as he hugged both me and Daniel. “Thanks for everything, you guys.”
“I’ll call you when everything settles down so we can get lunch or something, Abby,” Leanne added, giving a little wave from the driver’s side of the car.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
Daniel wrapped an arm around my waist as we watched them drive off. Then, he steered me back into the building. “I just need to grab my jacket, but I can get out of here if you want,” Daniel said as we went back up the stairs. “Did you guys already finishing cleaning up, though? Because I can also help out with that.”
I laughed and glanced back over my shoulder at him. “If I didn’t know better, I would say it sounds like you don’t want to leave,” I joked.
“Maybe I don’t,” Daniel admitted.
I turned toward him, pulling him into my arms so that I could kiss him. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t want you to leave,” I breathed against his lips. I could feel his smile more than see it.
I turned away from him and kicked off my shoes. “I am, however, exhausted, and we have early meetings tomorrow morning. Plus, I’ll need you to catch me up on everything you talked to Aaron about. So if you are staying over, it’ll probably be just to sleep. I hope that’s okay?”
Daniel caught me around the waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. “That’s more than okay,” he told me, lightly kissing my neck before releasing me and looking around the place. “But seriously, there’s nothing else that needs to be cleaned up in the kitchen or anywhere? I’m sorry I didn’t help with that, but I was afraid that Matt was going to try to step in, so I figured it was probably better to keep him occupied.”
I laughed. “It’s almost like you know him,” I said. “That’s definitely something he would have tried. So thanks. For that and for everything else. I know Leanne and Matt have already thanked you effusively, but I just want to make sure you know how much all of this has meant to me as well.”
Daniel shook his head. “I’m the one who owes you a thank-you,” he said quietly, looking more serious than I had ever seen him before. “You’re the one who saved me.”
I frowned, not sure what he meant by that. Saved him? I didn’t know what to make of that. But before I could ask, he was kissing me again, his lips soft against mine. I surrendered to the kiss, feeling all my emotions bubble to the surface. I was so tempted to say it, to put words to how I really felt about him. But still, something held me back. The timing just wasn’t right, not yet. Or maybe I was afraid that saying it now would ruin the perfect night we’d already had.
Even though the more time I spent with Daniel, the more convinced I was that he loved me as well. I sure hoped so, anyway.
Daniel smiled at me as he pulled away, and I wondered if I even had to say the words. Leanne had told me that my emotions were clearly written on my face earlier, and I imagined that that was only more the truth now, with Daniel’s body close to mine, his warm arms wrapped around my lower back.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said quietly, before I co
uld decide whether I really wanted to say it now or not.
I nodded and let him lead me into my room.
Chapter 27
Daniel
I WOKE UP BEFORE ABBY on Tuesday morning, but not by much. I stared at the soft expression on her sleeping face, noting how sweet she looked like this. Her bare skin was pressed up against mine, and it was almost too warm there beneath the covers. I didn’t want to move, afraid that I would disturb her into wakefulness. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
It wasn’t long before Abby’s alarm went off, birds chirping in a sweet melody. She wrinkled her nose as she reached over to shut it off. Then, she looked over at me, yawning hugely. I laughed. “Good morning to yourself,” I said, unable to keep the amusement from my voice.
Abby gave my shoulder a light push and then rolled away from me. “You know I’m not a morning person,” she reminded me.
“Oh, I know,” I said. “Not until you’ve got your coffee in you, anyway. And I would have made you coffee, but I didn’t want to wake you up any earlier than I had to.”
Abby sighed. “And I appreciate that,” she said. “But I would also appreciate coffee. I’ll be right back.”
I laughed, listening as she padded to the kitchen and got the machine going. I made a mental note of a gift idea: one of those coffee machines that she could program to start itself at whatever time she wanted. Of course, that was assuming that we continued living in separate houses for long enough for that not to be redundant, since I already had one of those.
I smiled at the thought of us living together, and the thought only sweetened as we both got ready for work. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when Abby finished making the coffee. She leaned against the counter watching me.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, a little unnerved by her gazing at me while I did my morning’s dental duty.
“Just, we’re not in a hurry. You don’t have to brush like that,” she said, miming the quick brush motions I was using.
I rolled my eyes and spat into the sink. “Thank you, but I’m not brushing like that because I’m in a hurry. I usually use an electric toothbrush, and I just want to make sure that I use the same vigor.”
Abby burst out laughing. Then, she shook her head. “You know, if you wanted, you could have an electric toothbrush in here. There’s plenty of space in the cabinet.”
“I’ll think about it,” I told her, already making a mental note to buy another one. I hadn’t wanted to take that step before, sure that it would make her feel uncomfortable since I would basically have my appliances there. But it was good to know she supported that.
I really preferred the feel of my teeth after the electric brush, I had to admit.
Abby brushed her own teeth while I fixed my hair, sleeking it back into its normal style. Then, she splashed me in the face with water. I shook my head and gave her a push. “Troublemaker,” I muttered under my breath, and she laughed.
I called my driver and told him to pick us both up at Abby’s that morning. We headed to the office as we normally did, together. And once there, it was time to put on our professional personas.
I still sort of hated how far we had gone to ensure that our personal lives and our work lives were two separate things. Of course, I understood the logic behind it. In fact, I was even more a proponent than Abby was of keeping things strictly professional around the office, because it was a lot more awkward if a guy got suddenly interested in someone around the office. The last thing I needed was to start thinking of Abby bent over that table, or her spread out on the couch in my office.
Or rather, I could think of it all I wanted. So long as I didn’t have the mental images to go along with it.
So it was a good thing. I kept telling myself that. But at the same time, it was definitely a little weird to pretend, for the most part, as though we never saw one another outside the office. Pretty much everything we did outside of work, even things like dinner with her brother and his family, were off-limits. I had a feeling that to the casual observer, we didn’t even really act like we were friends.
Then again, for me, that was the same sort of line that I had pretty much always tried to draw with my employees. In a sense. I interacted, chatted and stayed up-to-day with them. But I steered clear of the office parties, for the most part, and I didn’t go out for drinks with them. I was the boss and had to keep a decent working relationship.
Things had just been different when my advisor had been Gerrard. And it was a mistake I’d learned from. He and I had been close. And Abby and I of course were close, but there was just a different air to the meetings that we had together. I sometimes wished that she weren’t my advisor anymore, or that we had drawn the lines somehow differently.
But this was just the way it had to be for now. Things would change, no doubt, as we and everyone around us got more comfortable with the idea that we were together.
I was surprised, though, to see an email from Abby in my inbox. She had sent it from her home email address that morning, probably from her phone while she was waiting for the coffee to be ready, and I had to smile when I saw it. Thanks for being fun with me, it said, with a little smiley emoji.
I responded with a message to Abby’s work email: You’re the best, with a heart emoji at the end.
So maybe the lines would blur more and more as we continued to figure this thing out. There was no harm in sending a few cutesy emails to each other was there? No one would ever see them except for us, and maybe the poor IT guy who managed the servers. And it wasn’t like our relationship was a secret around the office.
I didn’t get a message back from Abby just then, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I continued to go through my morning routine.
Abby knocked on the door just as I was finishing responding to the most pressing of the emails. “Hey, I got all your stuff about the meeting with Aaron,” she said, giving no sign that she had received the email from me. It felt nice to have a little office secret to share with her, if I was being honest.
“What did you think about his proposal?”
“I think there are a lot of solid points there,” Abby said, taking that as a sign to come farther into my office and have a seat. “But I think we could do better. Here’s my counter-proposal.” She slid the paper across the desk toward me, with her comments marked in bright green ink. I nodded as I read through her points.
“These are good ideas,” I told her. “Aaron’s out of town, so we won’t be able to do a follow-up meeting in person, but I’ll see if I can get him on a video conference later in the week and we can flesh this out with him.”
“Sounds perfect,” Abby said. We turned our attention to our meetings and then hurried through one after another for the rest of the morning.
“Phew,” Abby said as we walked out of the last one.
I raised an eyebrow over at her. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were tired,” I joked.
She snorted. “Anyone would be tired trying to keep up with you,” she said. “I don’t know how you do it. I get about the same amount of sleep as you, but you’re like the Energizer Bunny. And you don’t even require three cups of coffee in the morning to do it.”
I laughed. “Years of practice?” I tried.
“I think you’re just nuts,” Abby said, shaking her head. “I think someone forgot to tell you, somewhere along the line, that you’re a cyborg.”
I grinned at her. “Go have lunch,” I suggested. “We’ve got a pretty easy afternoon, so take your time.”
“No chance that you’ll join me?” Abby asked, suddenly switching roles from the professional persona to the more personal one.
“Wish I could,” I said regretfully. “But I have a wonderful call with my broker scheduled, so I get to chat with him while I eat.”
“I don’t envy you,” Abby said, shaking her head. “I’ll see you later, boss.” She flashed me that cute salute that she often did as she was leaving.
I gri
nned at her. “See you later,” I echoed.
I headed back to my office, happy in spite of the fact that I couldn’t go to lunch with her because of this stupid phone call I had to take. More and more, the business was starting to feel like business, in a way that it never had before. But if that was the price I had to pay to keep Abby by my side, then so be it. It was more than a fair trade.
Erin knocked on my door almost the moment I sat down. “Hey, I know you have that call coming in a minute, but there’s a man here to see you,” she said, sounding almost worried.
I frowned, especially confused at the fact that she didn’t tell me just who it was. That wasn’t normal protocol. But I nodded at Erin. “Send him in,” I told her.
The man walked in moments later, dressed in a sharp suit. Another businessman, maybe? But why hadn’t he called to set up an appointment like they normally did? And why had Erin just let him in like this?
I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, the man walked right up to my desk and set a file down in front of me. “Daniel McGregor, you’ve been served,” he said. “My client and I will see you in court.”
I stared down at the file as the man walked out, shock and confusion swirling through me. I was almost afraid to pick up the file to see what it was about. The business, or something more personal?
I slowly picked up the file and opened it. Then, I swallowed hard.
Gerrard was suing me for assault over that fight in the bar.
It was something I should have seen coming. But I had naively assumed that if he hadn’t already tried to take me to court over it, then he wouldn’t. After all, he had just as much to lose. I could take him to court for all the shit he had leaked to the media about me.
Of course, I would need solid proof to do that. And I would need to want to destroy his reputation, something I had never wanted to do.
I stared down at the file, planting my hands flat on either side of it. Of course this would come now, right when everything seemed to be going well. I knew that Abby had reservations about dating me after that night. I knew that she had been worried about the kind of guy that I might turn out to be.
