“But you didn’t just make it work. You are fantastic at it.”
His loyalty to his family touched me deeper than I thought possible. I saw him in a new light.
“How did you work your way through it? I want to know more.”
He looked at me over the rim of his glass, as if calculating something. Then he set the glass down on the bar table between us, running his fingers over the back of my hand slowly, seductively.
“I’ll tell you under one condition.”
“And what would that be?”
“Join me in the private box to watch.”
My cheeks flushed. This wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined I’d get into one of those boxes. The temptation was eating away at me. But how was I supposed to pull myself together with him next to me the entire time?
“I promise I don’t bite,” he whispered.
“I’m beginning to think you’d promise anything to get me where you want me.” He kept touching my hand, and I felt those fingers as if they were trailing up my inner thighs.
He smiled. “True. But I did brave this just to spend some more time with you, so....”
I brought my other hand over my chest, letting my jaw drop theatrically. “And now you’re blackmailing me. Tsk, tsk.”
We fell into silence, but he held my gaze until I couldn’t do anything else but nod. He led me to the box, which was every bit as elegant as I’d assumed. Plush chairs with red velvet, white and gold wood, and even a small table with refreshments and snacks.
“You have your own snack buffet. Where are the rest?” I asked, sitting in the middle of the row.
“No one else.”
I swallowed. Well, that could be problematic. Luckily, the box was open enough that this didn’t feel intimate. When he sat next to me, I had to reconsider that.
“So, tell me more. Before the movie begins. I’m genuinely curious. I mean, those reports and stuff couldn’t magically become easier for you.”
“They didn’t. Which was why I needed to spend more time on everything. I had to plan my day very meticulously to get stuff done. You have no idea how much easier voice recognition technology has made everything. Dictating emails or having software read out certain reports. I even dictate most text messages.”
“This is... wow. I don’t even have words.”
“Fuck, you’re lovely.”
“Reid....”
“You are.” His eyes were pure fire. I wanted to ask more, but I had the uncanny feeling that he was about to kiss me. I couldn’t let things go there, no matter how much I wanted to. Instead, I decided to change course.
“Want to go through the interview questions now?”
He shook his head. “That’s what tonight is for.”
“But we can make a head start. Actually, we could probably breeze through all of them while we watch. You wouldn’t even notice.”
“But then you’d have no reason to stop by tonight, and I wouldn’t have an excuse to have you all to myself.”
Oh, God. The tone of his voice. The heat in his eyes. I couldn’t even breathe.
Luckily, the movie started then. For the first time at a private screening, I was only half-paying attention. I needed to get out of our commitment tonight but didn’t know how. Besides, I did need to get that interview. Better to get it over with already.
The movie was over all too soon, and I hoped he didn’t want us to dissect it, because I hadn’t caught all the details.
“Should we grab a cab together?” he asked as we slowly exited the theatre.