Me: Absolutely. Thank you for understanding.
Mason: Don’t worry, I won’t be offended if you take a little time to tell your parents about us.
Me: I still have to figure out what is going on myself.
Mason: I am positively infatuated with you, Emily. I miss you already, and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Good night, angel.
Me: Good night.
The way he spoke was so intense, as if we were already together. It was a lot to process.
After a massive pasta dinner, I fell asleep dreaming of the way Mason held me when we were almost dancing.
Those thick strong arms around me triggered feelings that I’d never had before. All I could think about was what would happen when we were alone somewhere other than his
office.
Like after dinner tomorrow night.
***
I woke up extra early so I’d have more time to get ready.
Mason was such an elegant, distinguished man that I would have assumed he would go for women who were the willowy, model type. I was petite but curvy, with a bit of a round face, and a penchant for wearing a lot of bright flowery colors.
Deciding that splitting the difference would be the safest bet, I wore a muted lavender dress, with minimal silver jewelry. Once I added a tiny peacock brooch, I looked like a slightly quieter version of myself.
As I drove to work with Dad, there was absolutely no way I could tell him that I was starting to date his boss. That in itself was completely strange. But the fact that Mason was older, and an incredibly powerful billionaire, made the whole thing sound ridiculous.
Honestly, I didn’t know whether Dad would even believe me.
As we walked into work through the impressive gray marble lobby, my dad turned to me. “You know I’m incredibly proud of you, right honey?”
“Yeah, thanks, Dad.”
“I’m taking the afternoon off so that your mother and I can beat the traffic out of town. I’ll see you Sunday night,” he said.
Normally I would give him a huge bear hug goodbye, but it didn’t feel right in the office. “Have a great time,” I said, heading down the long hallway to Mason’s office.
Mason was already there when I entered the room. He jumped up, closing the door behind me, and in a flash, his arms were around my waist, tipping me back into a long, delicious kiss.
“Office,” I murmured.
“Can’t help it. Missed you.” When I finally pulled away, his thick brows raised. “Don’t tell me that my sweet little girl is shy?”
“A little,” I whispered. “Time and place.”
“Sorry, angel.” His lip twitched with a tiny smile as we sat down and sipped our coffee. I smiled to see that he already had one ready and waiting for me, with a ceramic lid on the mug to keep it warm..
“Wow, this is great, what is it?” I asked.
“Medium roast Moroccan latte with oat milk and a touch of cinnamon,” he said.
Taking another sip, I let the flavors spread across my tongue. “It’s incredible.”
“You are incredible,” he said softly, setting down our cups so he could hold my hands. “We closed the deal last night with that new company because of your coaching,” he said. “The marketing team are beside themselves, and even Sandra likes you.”
He leaned in to whisper, “I wasn’t sure she liked anyone. She tolerates me, because I pay her double what she earned at her last job.”