Leon laughed, and I did too. I loved how personable he was. I said, “Well, there’s no one at home waiting for me, and I don’t plan on that happening anytime soon. Whenever you need me and whatever you need me for, I’m always available.”
“Good man.” Leon nodded. “That’s what I want to hear.”
God, I was good. I tried not to beam with how proud I was.
“It’s hard when you have a family. Both my kids are grown now—my son’s starting graduate school, and my daughter’s heading into undergrad in the fall. I missed a lot. I don’t regret the life I have—my family means the world to me—but I wish I would have held off a little longer, gotten my legs under me before we started a family.”
That made sense. “I’m sure that was hard, trying to do it all.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Not sure what has me thinking about that.”
“It’s because everyone is growing up, and you’re more sentimental than you want everyone to believe,” Amy said with a smile.
“You’re fired.” Leon winked at her. He stood. “I’m going to head out for the day. Will, after you finish up that presentation I asked you about earlier, you’re free to go.”
“Sure. I’m almost finished with it.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “Thanks, son. You’re doing a great job.”
My chest got tight with an unfamiliar emotion. It was ridiculous to get all mushy because he’d called me son and said I was doing a great job, but it wasn’t something I’d heard a lot of in my family. “Thank you, sir.” He looked at me, and I added, “Leon.”
With a smile, he was gone.
“He likes you,” Tiberius said. “He sees something in you. Leon’s never wrong about those things. If he gives you a compliment, know that he means it. He’s not the type to bullshit you, and if he thinks you’re special, you are. He worked his ass off to build Crane Entertainment into what it is. It also takes a lot for him to trust, and he trusts you.”
I heard what he was trying to say. “In other words, don’t fuck it up?”
They both laughed. “Exactly,” Amy replied.
“I don’t plan to.” I pushed out of the chair. “I’m going to go finish my work so I can get out of here.”
Tonight was my date with Jameson, which I was strangely excited about. Even our quick phone call the other day had me smiling when I thought about it. Who the hell knew awkward could be so endearing? I’d met the guy once and talked to him only once afterward, but he was taking up a lot of my mental time. There was something charming about him, and that sure as shit wasn’t something I’d ever looked for in a potential bedmate before.
Which wasn’t what was happening here either. I’d be smart to remind myself of that.
After I finished Leon’s presentation, I packed up my stuff and went home.
I showered and shaved before deciding what I wanted to wear. I settled on a short-sleeved button-up and a pair of nice jeans.
“Shit,” I said, glancing at the time after I finished getting ready. The last thing I wanted was to be late, and I’d be cutting it close.
I made sure I had all my shit, went down to my car, and typed in his address. It was in Ansley Park, which was definitely more affluent than my neighborhood, but there were higher-priced areas for sure.
I got lucky and found street parking in front of the traditional-style condominium. It was brick with this smoky-gray siding. When I got out, I realized my legs felt slightly wobbly, which was strange as fuck. I didn’t get nervous on dates, especially not fake dates. Well, bought dates, not that I’d ever been on a purchased date before, but whatever. The point was I didn’t get nervous about taking people out. It was kind of my specialty.
I whispered to myself, “Stop making me weird, Jameson,” which, yeah, was pretty weird in itself.
I approached his unit, and just as I got to the door and raised my hand to knock, the door was pulled open. “Hi. Sorry. Saw you through the window. Yikes, that sounds creepy. I wasn’t being odd and stalking the streets for you or anything. I just happened to be there, and happened to see you, and…I’m shutting up now.”
My cheeks legit hurt, my smile stretched so big. What in the hell was it with this guy?
“Well, for future reference, you might be rambly, but I don’t think you’re a creepy stalker, but if you decided to become one, I would be okay with the stalker part as long as it wasn’t creepy,” I teased as I took in what he was wearing. Jeans with a short-sleeved, gunmetal-gray shirt and a pale-pink bow tie. I’d never dated a guy who went out to dinner in a bow tie, but like everything about Jameson, it was cute.