He paused.
“That would be no fun.”
He reached out and touched me. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what he did. He touched my arm softly.
“I asked you here so we could talk about last night. I don’t think you understand why I want to talk about it. It’s not to give you trouble or tell you that can never happen.”
“It’s … then what?”
“It’s to tell you that I want it to happen. I want to see you again, outside of work. Like in my house, often. I want to get to know you.” He smiled softly. “I never would have guessed you wanted to open a hot chocolate business, and knowing that just makes it even clearer to me that I want to keep getting to know you.”
“Are you saying—”
“I’m saying I’d like to ask you out on a date.” He cut me off; his eyes locked on mine. “I won’t fire you if you say no, but I’d really like you to give me a shot.”
“You’re my boss.”
“So?” He raised an eyebrow.
“It’s wrong. I shouldn’t date my boss.” I turned away from him. “I’ll … I’ll look like I’m just trying to sleep my way to the top, not that I could blame anyone for thinking that. I’d think it too. I … If I ever succeed, if you ever want to do anything nice for me it will just look like I fucked my way into it. I can’t do that.”
“What if I wasn’t your boss?”
My eyes widened. Was he going to fire me?
“I…” I swallowed dryly. Yes. A noise behind us made both Dean and I spin around.
Thank God. The buzzer on the stove was going off. I rushed over to it having totally forgot I set it to make sure of not forgetting to put the rice in. I poured the rice I’d measured out into the boiling water and took a deep breath before forcing myself to do the one thing I didn’t want to. I turned to face Dean.
“Had you been to Vegas before you bought the casino?” I asked, trying to change the topic.
“Only a couple times.” I was so thankful he’d actually let me. “I like it here …” He bit his lip looking around.
He looked sad.
I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I’m sorry, I thought. I just … I couldn’t do it. Could I?
Oh, I wanted to so bad. I wanted nothing more than to let him take me on the kitchen floor, or to take him; I wasn’t sure what one it would end out being, but I couldn’t. I’d told myself it would never happen again.
You can’t live in the past.
I knew I couldn’t, but I couldn’t risk repeating it again. Turning away from him, I looked down at the rice. “I’ve dated one of my bosses before.”
I hadn’t planned on telling him. I didn’t even think before doing it, standing there still as could be and closing my eyes as my stomach knotted with dread. How could you be so stupid? Think before you fucking speak. I forced my eyes open but didn’t dare look at him.
“And it didn’t turn out very well?”
“What makes you say that?”
“You won’t date me, not to mention you said dated, which would imply it’s over, and normally when relationships end it’s not a good thing.”
I grinned, turning to face him. “Well, you’re right.” The grin vanished as quickly as it had come. “It didn’t end well. It ended with me being outed, him humiliating me in front of all my co-workers, and then firing me.”
“And you’re scared that if we have anything other than a professional relationship, I’ll do the same.”
Yes.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I just stared blankly at the floor.
His warm hand touched my arm. “I want you,” he whispered. “I have no clue what it is about you that makes you so … interesting, but there is something that makes me want to get to know you, listen to you and hear your life story.”
I stared at him blankly. That had to be a line, right?
“Maybe it’s because you don’t actually try to flirt with me, and I have like fucking 76 girls in that casino alone who try to get a date with me every time we talk. I like you. I like the fact that you don’t want to work at my casino all your life.”
I licked my dry lips, trying to restore some moisture.
“I can’t force you to give me a shot, but that’s all I’m asking for. Just a couple of dates, and you will have my word that I can be two separate people; someone you date and your boss. I won’t cross the lines between them. I won’t fire you if you break up with me.”
“You say that now.”
“Do you want me to do up a contract?”
I stared blankly. He sounded like he actually meant it. “I …”
“Just a couple dates, that’s all I’m asking from you. And if you want a contract that says I will not fire you if we break up, I’ll do one up. I’ll sign it.”
Chapter Four
I didn’t have time to answer him because the buzzer went off, letting us know dinner was ready. We ate making small talk, but I couldn’t get his words out of my head. I knew I needed to decide what to do, but I couldn’t.
I wanted to say yes so badly, but there were so many things to think about.
“What if everyone finds out?”
“What do you mean?”
“At work. About us. You know, if I said yes.”
“Then they find out.” He shrugged. “They will eventually if we’re together for more than a couple months. And they will realize that we are both being professional and not letting our relationship get in the way.”
“And what if they don’t agree?” I asked as we turned down my street a while later.
“Then that’s their issue, don’t you think?” He came to a stop in front of my apartment building. “Are you saying you’ll give it a shot?”
“I’m …” Was I? It was now or never, right? “Yes. But just one date.”
“Then I’d better make it amazing.”
He grinned as he leaned towards me, pulling me into a soft kiss. His lips barely brushed mine, but it was still enough to make my heart skip a beat.
It took everything I had not to pull him closer to me.
“You don’t work tomorrow, right?”
“How—” Of course, he knew. “Right.”
“I’ll pick you up around noon, alright?”
I nodded. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you then.” Leaning forward, I kissed him quickly. My mind raced. I wanted nothing more than to keep kissing his soft lips, but I forced myself to pull away and get out of the car.
Chapter Five
By noon, I felt like I was about to puke.
“It will be fine.” Katie had spent the past three hours trying to calm me down, but it wasn’t working.
“I could have just screwed everything up. For all I knew this was a test.”
“Becca, this isn’t Brad we’re talking about. You have to let go of the past.”
“Easier said than done.” I turned to my best friend. She didn’t understand how hard it had been. It had felt like my life was ending, and I couldn’t go through that again. I bit my lip.
I knew she was right—that I had to get past the idea that Dean and Brad were the same people because they weren’t, but still. It was hard not to think like that after everything I’d been through. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart.
Three soft knocks on the door made my heart race again. “I’ll see you later,” I said, grabbing my purse and glancing at myself in the mirror again. Maybe it was a little too much. The black dress fell to my knees but still fit me tight enough that I didn’t look like I was trying to hide my figure—even my small boobs.
I’d picked a pair of high heels to make my legs look better, since I’d always gotten lots of compliments on them and still did.
I forced a smile over my lips to help pretend I wasn’t nervous, even though being pretty sure I would be sick due to my nerves. My fingers curled around the handle, and I pulled the door open. “Hey.”
“Y-you look … amazing.”
>
“Thanks.” I swallowed dryly as my cheeks flushed, closing the door behind me and getting a good look at him. It was the first time I’d seen him in something other than a suit. And damn did I like it. “You don’t look all that bad yourself.”
He wore a pair of normal jeans and a black T-shirt that showed off muscles I’d never even noticed before. My head tilted to the right as I looked him over carefully. His hair was freshly washed by the looks of it, without any product in it. His green eyes sparkled.
“Are you ready?”
“Of course.” We made our way down the stairs and towards his car. “Are you not working today?”
“I let the girls know I had an appointment this afternoon and not to expect me back until tomorrow.”
Was he planning on us being that long? I bit my lip. What could he have in mind?
“And they just said okay?”
“What are they going to say? To me at least.” He gave a soft laugh. “I’m sure they all had something to say to each other about it, but that’s okay. I don’t really care what they want to talk about when they are at work as long as they do their job and the customers don’t overhear them saying anything too rude.” He circled around the front of the car with me and reached for the door.
“Thank you.” I gave him a smile as I slid into the passenger seat. He closed the door and strode to the driver’s side. “What did Melina say?”
I was still trying to figure out what their relationship was.
“That I’d better be home at a reasonable time because I’m dreadful to deal with if I don’t get enough sleep.”
“Oh, you two live together?”
“No, she lives with her boyfriend, but we like to carpool together when we can. You know, just so we can catch up. I like to bounce ideas off her for the casino and other projects. It helps me think, and I find she asks good questions.”
I nodded. Melina had a boyfriend, that was a pretty good sign that they weren’t together, but on the other hand, it was possible they were; I mean boyfriends weren’t known to stop some people from sleeping around.
I bit my lip. It was just a first date; I still didn’t really have a right to ask about it, did I?
Screw it.
“So, you two aren’t sleeping together.”
For a split second, I thought Dean was going to slam on the brakes as he turned to look at me.
“Of course not!”
“I had to ask.” I shrugged. “The girls at the casino weren’t sure and … I didn’t want to get between you two … I mean, the way you look at each other, I can tell you’ve known each other a long time.”
“We have; since I started my first casino.”
“And when was that?”
“Close to a decade ago.”
My brow furrowed. Longer than I’d expected. Just how old was he? If he’d been working at least a decade, that would mean he was at the very least 30, which really wasn’t that much of an age gap between us. But he’s probably older. I closed my eyes and tried to quit thinking. Let’s just cross that bridge when it comes.
That would be the rational way to do it; the question was whether I was going to be rational or not. Knowing me, I’d ask him by the end of the night.
“And just to be clear,” Dean’s voice brought me back to reality. “You don’t have a boyfriend or anything, right?”
I laughed softly. “No boyfriends.”
“Good to know, I would want to know if some guy was going to try and kick my ass.”
“You wouldn’t just drop me back off at my place.”
Dean caught my eye. “Trust me; even if you did already have a boyfriend, after what I have planned, you’d be reconsidering your options.” He sounded so sure of himself. “And I think you might actually be worth getting my ass kicked.”
My cheeks flushed. Why would he think that? I mean, there really wasn’t anything that special about me, was there? I didn’t dare ask. Instead, I changed the topic.
“So, do I get to know what you have in mind?”
He smiled alluringly. “Well, it’s nowhere around here.”
“What?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? I stared out the window just in time to see us take the exit leading towards the airport.
No. There was no way we were actually going to an airport, right? That would be crazy, right?
There had to be a reason he wanted it so early, and he told everyone not to expect him back at work until tomorrow.
I turned to him, trying to pretend I wasn’t thinking like that. “Really? Then where is it?”
“You asked for a hint.” He grinned as he turned down the street leading to the airport.
Oh, God, we were actually going to the airport. Don’t say anything. Maybe it was just a restaurant that was, like, on the same street or something. If I said something, I’d made him look like this wasn’t good enough, so I didn’t say anything. I just stared out the window as we made our way closer and closer to the airport. Finally, he turned into the parking lot. I still didn’t say anything.
Instead, I waited until the car came to a stop, and he opened his door. I followed his example, and we headed into the building.
“Okay, this is some sort of joke, right?”
“Joke? No! Of course not. I told you; I was going to make this special.” He grinned as he made his way up to a desk and turned his attention to the girl behind the counter. “Hi, I booked two tickets—under the name Brant.”
“Dean Brant?” The girl asked after a couple seconds of looking.
“Yup.”
“Alright.” There were a few seconds of silence as she printed off two tickets and handed them to us. “Special occasion?”
“First date,” he said, taking the tickets from her. I saw the look on her face as she stared at him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not.
Dean turned, touching the small of my back, he led me away from the counter and towards security as he handed me a ticket. I stared down at it with wide eyes. “Canada?”
He nodded. “I have a friend there who has this great little place. Perfect for a first date.”
“You’ve got to be joking, right? There is no way this is real.”
Dean chuckled. “If I was joking, you wouldn’t go on a second date with me, so, of course, it’s not a joke. Have a little faith in me, would you?”
“I’m sorry.” I said as we came to a stop in the line. “It’s just hard to believe that some guy’s idea of a first date is taking me to Canada.”
“Well, Paris was all booked.”
I stared at him in shock. Not because of what he’d said, but because he sounded like it was honestly what he meant.
“You … you tried to get us tickets to Paris?”
“I thought about it, but getting there and then getting back before the day was over would have been tricky. So I figured California might be a better idea anyways.” He smiled widely.
My mind raced trying to comprehend it all. It wasn’t working. I couldn’t. There was no way I could wrap my head around this.
“So tell me, other than making hot chocolate, what do you like to do in your spare time?”
“I like animals, though of course, I don’t get to have any because our landlord won’t let us have pets.”
“It sucks when apartments are like that.”
“Is that why you bought a place?”
“No. I honestly can’t have a pet; I work too much for it, and that would just be unfair to the dog because it would be a dog I get. I don’t like cats all that much.”
I snorted as we approached the security check out.
“So, just wondering, you do have a passport, right?”
“Yes.” I smiled at him. I’ve never needed it before, but I do have one.
“Oh good, ’cause I don’t think they were going to let me smuggle you in.” He grinned widely.
I laughed. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to bribe me into the country.”
The flight actually wasn’t all that bad. We made our way off the plane in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
I stared around, trying to take everything in as I hitched my purse over my shoulder and Dean reached out and took my hand.
“So, you just thought you’d bring me to Quebec?”
“Well, I wanted French, but like I said … Paris wouldn’t work, so here we are.”
I shook my head. I don’t think I’d ever had something this romantic happen in my life, and I doubted it could ever happen again. “I can’t believe this,” I whispered. No one was ever going to give me a better first date, that much was for sure.
“Well, are you hungry, or would you rather do some sightseeing first?” Dean glanced down at his watch. “We have to be at the airport for 9:00 p.m. tomorrow morning, so I we have lots of time. I looked around until I found a clock. 3:00 p.m. He was right; we did have lots of time.
“Let’s … let’s look around.” I let him lead the way out of the airport. “Have you ever been here before?”
“A couple times,” he admitted.
“So you know all the good spots?”
“Well, I was thinking since you’ve never been here we could hit a Canadian classic. Have you ever had poutine?”
“No.” But I sure as hell had heard of it, and I was more than willing to give it a try.
“You’re not on any sort of diet, are you?”
I laughed quietly as we made our way out of the airport and towards a taxi. “I’ve tried a couple times, never works for me. I just gave up.”
Dean laughed, pulling me close to him. “I like you.”
“I would sure as shit hope you do.” I bit my lip. Right. Despite the fact we were on a date, he was still my boss, and I needed to pretend to be sorta professional. He didn’t seem to mind me swearing. He just grinned.
Chapter Six
“Okay, so that was really amazing,” I said as we sauntered back to his car. It felt good to be back home, back in the U.S., but I was going to remember that night for the rest of my life.
I chewed my lip as my eyes flickered shut for a fraction of a second.
“Tired?”
Naughty and Nice Page 32
