“Listen to me.” I harden my voice, not to scare her but so she understands we’re in this together and I’m fucking serious right now. “I need you to call your people, I’m going to send Elliot over there right now. Honestly, he’s a good guy, a friend I guess if I had one. He was a forensic accountant before he started here, one of the best in the world. I had to offer him a hell of a lot to tempt him away from his last place. We’re going to figure out what’s going on, but more than that, we’re going to get you out of whatever this hole is so we can move forward. I know you’ve got something I want. It’s you, but it’s all of you. I’m all in, baby. That means you, your business, everything in your life. I’ve got your back. No more saying no. I’m your partner and besides that…I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day before with anyone.”
“You haven’t? Ever.”
“Nope. I never even passed them out in elementary school. The anger inside of me took hold and you’re the only thing that seems to be the cure. But, I’ll tell you something no one else knows.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to give up my own v-card to you on Valentine’s Day.” My balls nearly seize up and let go just saying it.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Never. But, waiting is not an option anymore. If I don’t get my dick in that little honey hole of yours soon, you’re going to break my heart…come on. Let’s get the business out of the way so the pleasure can begin.”
“But, there’s one more thing.” Her eyes start to glaze with tears and I want to hurt something or someone.
“What? God, baby, if you cry I’m going to cry and please, don’t make me cry.”
She pulls a shoulder up and I think I’m going to implode, then she finally speaks. “Your assistant, Maggie?”
“Don’t even say her name. Just, my former assistant. But, go on, what about her? Did she do something else?” I ball my fists as Milly shakes her head.
“It’s not that, she just told me she heard of my company. Because you had her send dead flowers like, a bunch of times. So, I guess I’m confused. You had a lot of girlfriends and you like, broke up with them using my flowers? It’s okay, a lot of people do that, it’s part of our business model. It’s just, you’ve probably been with a lot of women so are you telling me you’re a virgin just to make me feel better?”
Fucking Maggie. I’m going to be dealing with that when I get back.
“Baby.” I smile and pull her hands to my lips. “I’ve been an angry asshole for a lot of years. I like to win and, well, I wasn’t such a great winner. I never sent any women flowers from your company because we broke up. I sent them to competitors, rivals. I like to pour salt in the wound, so to speak. It was always business. Never personal.”
“Okay.” She stares at me and I wonder for a second what she sees in me.
I’m older, I’m not pretty, I’m sort of an asshole, I have a temper and I could stand to hit the gym a little harder, but all I see in her eyes is desire and I feel like the luckiest man alive.
CHAPTER 7
Milly
“What a day.” I lean my head back into the soft leather of the seat as I sip on the grape-flavored sparkling juice, letting the events of the last forty-eight hours consume me.
“As in, it was a good day?” Reid stands next to my seat, wearing a lighter gray suit paired with a sapphire-blue tie and his standard blindingly-white shirt.
“The best.” I look out the window in wonder, seeing only darkness and the rush of clouds going by.
“I can think of some ways to make it better.” He steps behind me, reaching into a huge box I didn’t notice until now, as I swivel my chair for a better view of whatever is about to happen.
I feel strangely at home here in this sort of luxury, and my only guess is that it’s because I feel at home with Reid and the setting doesn’t matter much.
The plane is small with only six seats and one long bench, and a refreshment center. There’s a single door toward the back of the plane but I imagine it’s storage or something, not nearly as luxurious as the main cabin where we are now.
But, even here, in the middle of all this newness, the memories of spending the day together, solving problems, listening to his ideas on how to send my little business venture into the stratosphere, all I can seem to think about is how long it’s been since he kissed me.