I put up my hand to stop her from telling me what she would do to said coffee. I learned a long time ago that she was my assistant, but she would never fetch me coffee. To prove her point, she would get the order wrong every time, or she served it scalding with no milk. It was just not going to happen. “I have a meeting at six.”
“Do I have to come?” she asks, and I shake my head. “Is it Manning?”
“Yes,” I say. Manning came over not too long ago to let me know that he’s leaving his wife. I wasn’t shocked in the least, and it was about time. I’ve worked with Murielle a couple of times, and all I wondered was how someone like Manning could be with her. She wasn’t horrible per se, but she wasn’t the nicest. Where Manning does not want to be recognized, she wants everyone to know what she is doing.
“I mean, I’m not going to say it’s about time,” Lizzie says, “but it’s about fucking time. That woman is horrible.” I look at her, pinching my eyebrows together. “I didn’t tell you, but once in the beginning, she thought I was going after Manning because I laughed at his joke. Called me a horny bitch and told me to stay away from her man.”
I look at her in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it was a non-issue,” she says, and I just shake my head. “Are you going to let her keep her position on the foundation?”
“As long as she acts respectfully, I don’t see why not,” I say, and she laughs.
“That lady wouldn’t know respect if it came to the house and knocked on her door,” Lizzie says. “I also have the press release ready for Manning.”
“Perfect, I’ll let you know when to release it,” I say, and she gets up. “You can take the rest of the day off,” I say, and she throws her head back and laughs.
“So kind of you,” she says. “It’s four thirty.”
I laugh, looking at my Rolex. “Okay, then take tomorrow off.”
“Bye,” she says, walking out and holding her hand up in a wave. “See you tomorrow.”
She is not one to just lay around and take the day off, even if I suggest she should. I get up and go to my bedroom to slip on something more comfortable. The past three days have been a fucking roller-coaster ride.
From rushing to Buffalo to signing Graham, it’s just one thing after another. I smile, thinking about how none of it would have been possible without Becca. I don’t know what she told Martin, but he didn’t even try to fight to keep Graham.
After changing into my jeans, I grab a white T-shirt and slip it on. Grabbing my keys and leather jacket, I walk out of the house and make my way over to the address Manning sent me. I pull up and see the lights on inside and outside.
I walk up and ring the doorbell, my heart beating a little bit faster than it was before. I blame it on walking to the door, but my head laughs at me. The door opens, and I see Becca. God, she is even more beautiful than she was the last time I saw her. She is wearing white pants that hug her hips but fall to the floor, and her orange turtleneck looks so soft my hands itch to reach out and touch it. To touch her. “Hey,” I say to Manning, and then I turn to Becca. “Good to see you.”
She just nods at me as the doorbell rings again. I move to the side so she can open the door, and I hold my breath at her proximity and tuck my hands in my pockets to stop from touching her. Candace comes in, and I wonder how she is doing with all this.
I follow everyone into the dining room, listening to Becca talk, and I’m not surprised about what all she did. I just lean back in my chair and watch how she handles herself. The way she taps her finger on the table when she’s listening.
“Hopefully, this will be over very soon, and we can pop champagne for another reason,” I say, getting up at the end of the conversation after Jaxon calls his father. “Becca, why don’t I take you to dinner?” The words are out of my mouth before I can take them back, and I look at her, afraid that if I look at Manning and Candace, they will see something I don’t want anyone to see right now.
Becca looks at me and tilts her head to the side. “Depends on what you’re thinking.” I can even see the little smile she tries to hide.
“Whatever you want.” Game on. She stands and closes her laptop.
“I’m thinking pizza,” she says, “in Italy.”
I look at my watch and do the calculations in my head. “If we leave now, we can get there for lunch.” She turns, and we say goodbye to everyone, and I walk out with her.
“So where are we going?” she asks, standing beside her SUV. I want to wrap my hand around her waist and pull her to me. Lean down and kiss her lips. Fuck, this is not good.
“Why don’t I follow you to your house? You can drop off your car, and then we can decide,” I say, opening her door for her without giving her a chance to think about anything. She gets in, but I can see her mind spinning. “Relax, Becca.”
“I’m usually the one in charge,” she says.
I lean in with one hand on the door and the other hand on top of the SUV. “When it’s you and me, I’m the one in charge,” I say, and I see her eyes go a deeper green. I could easily lean in just a touch more and find out what she tastes like, but instead, I step back and close the door.
I walk to my SUV and make plans while I follow her back to her place. She hands her keys to the doorman and walks over to my SUV. I get out and open the door for her. “Thank you,” she says, getting in the SUV. I get in and look over at her as she puts her seat belt on.
“It’s killing you, isn’t it?” I ask, and she rolls her lips and nods her head.
“You have no idea,” she says and turns to me. “Are you going to give me a hint?”
“Okay,” I say, pulling away from her building. “Originally, I was going to fly us to New York.” She gasps in shock.
“I was kidding about having pizza in Italy,” she says. “Okay, fine, I wasn’t but New York?”
“Yeah, if it was earlier, we could have done it, but it’s almost seven, so we wouldn’t get there until ten, which is eleven with the time change.”
“You’re serious?” She turns and puts her back to the door. “You were going to take me to New York at the drop of a hat.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I figured I owed you a lot more than that.” I look over at her, and I wonder if I kiss the shit out of her would her lips still shine like they do now. Putting the SUV in the park, I look over at her. “Until I can do more, this will have to do,” I say, reaching for the door and opening it. I walk around the SUV, seeing her leg come out. Her red bottom shoes suddenly make me think of sex. It’s all fucking Lizzie’s fault. She stands and turns to shut the door. I can’t even tell if she’s wearing underwear under those white pants.
“Where are we?” she asks, looking around.
“This might not be Italy,” I say, grabbing her hand. Our fingers intertwine with ease. Neither of us says anything else as we look down at our hands locked together.
The restaurant lights shine, and I look around and don’t see any empty tables outside for us to eat at. I open the door to the restaurant with my free hand and hold it open for her to walk through with me following. Her hand remains in mine like neither of us wants to let go.