Upstairs, the Boltons didn’t even have to point us to the latest issue with the construction. The wide-open wall filled with dry rot was self-explanatory.
Weston and I were already looking at it when Sam and Travis walked over.
“This whole wall needs to come out,” Travis said. “There’re some leaky pipes above that must’ve been trickling for years. The wood is soft and warped.”
The wall ran the length of the entire ballroom. It had to be at least a hundred feet.
“What about the leak itself?” Weston asked. “How much of the pipe needs to be swapped out?”
“We can probably contain the leak and fix the current problem, but that’s only a Band-Aid. The pipes all along the ceiling should be changed. They’re pretty badly corroded. Now’s the time to do it since the walls are wide open. But that also means a delay of a few days at least and another plumbing bill.”
Weston and I looked at each other. I shook my head. “Let’s just do it right. The last thing we need is to start holding events in here and have leaks spring up.”
Weston nodded. “I agree.” He looked at Sam. “How soon can you get us an estimate?”
“I can start working on it now and bring it up to you by the time I get out of here tonight at eight.”
“I won’t be around this evening,” Weston said.
Travis looked at me and smiled. “I can drop it off with Sophia.”
Weston’s jaw flexed. “She won’t be around tonight either. We’ll both be busy, all night. Tomorrow morning is fine.”
Travis gave us a questioning look, but he knew better than to ask. Instead, he gave a curt nod. “All right. Sounds good.”
On our way out, I teased Weston. “That was the equivalent of peeing on a fire hydrant.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ll both be busy all night? You might not have used the words, but it was pretty obvious what you were saying.”
We arrived at the elevator bank, and Weston pushed the button. “Would you like to fight about it? We could cross sex in public off my to-do list. I’m sure it would make Saul in security’s year. He’s been working a lot of double shifts since we haven’t replaced the night guard yet. I’ve been meaning to pick him up a bottle to say thank you. But I think he’d like listening to the way you moan much better.”
I scowled at him as the elevator doors slid open. Weston put his hand on my back, guiding me to enter first.
“Why am I even having dinner with you tonight?” I asked. “You’re such an ass.”
He stood behind me in the elevator and whispered in my ear, “Because you like my cock.”
I squirmed. “It’s often the only part of you I like.”
When the doors slid open on our office floor, I stepped off. Weston stayed in the elevator.
“Aren’t you coming?” I said.
He smirked. “I will later. Be downstairs at six thirty, Sophia.”
Chapter 21
* * *
Weston
Whose bright idea was it to go out to dinner all the way across town, to a fancy restaurant with appetizers, dinner, dessert, and dancing?
“This restaurant is beautiful.” Sophia looked around. “Have you been here before?”
I shook my head. “Did you wear your hair up for me?”
“You do that a lot, you know.”
“What?”
“I ask you a question, and rather than answer it, you respond with a question on a totally unrelated topic.”
“I guess sometimes I have a one-track mind when I’m around you.”
She smiled. “Yes, I did.”
I was confused for a second. She’d jumped back to my question about her hair. “Thank you. But since you did that, you can expect me to be distracted all night.”
Sophia looked even more gorgeous than usual. She wore a red dress with a halter top and a fuck ton of cleavage on display. The way the top wrapped around her neck showcased that collarbone I loved so much. My eyes bounced back and forth like I was in a tennis match, volleying from round, full tits to her succulent neck.
I’d had the menu in my hand for a few minutes with my head tilted down, though I still hadn’t read a single word. So when the waiter walked over to take our order, I wasn’t even sure what my choices were.
“I’m going to have the pistachio-encrusted sea bass, please,” Sophia said.
I handed the waiter my menu. “Same.”
When he walked away, Sophia sipped her drink with a smirk. “You have no idea what was on the menu, do you?”
“Nope. Guess I’m lucky I usually like what you like.”
“What’s going on in that head of yours that has you so preoccupied, Lockwood?”
“You sure you want the answer to that question?”
She giggled, and I swear a rush of heat seeped through my chest. I’d gone out with gigglers before, and Sophia was definitely not one of those. During the day, she wore conservative business clothing and worked hard not to let anything super feminine overshadow her capabilities. She laughed during a business lunch, and wore high heels, both of which I found sexy as shit. But something happened when she went into date mode. She let her guard down, and all that pent-up feminine stuff came flowing out. So, yeah, I was attracted to Sophia the businesswoman. But Sophia the woman out on a date who allowed herself to giggle freely? She was absolutely mesmerizing.