My comment makes a burst of laughter bubble over her lips. Then she nods. “Okay. When I’m thirty, and we’re both single, then we call it quits on dating and get married.”
It’s a start.
Grinning at her, I say, “Deal.”
She snuggles against my side, then murmurs, “All joking aside, thanks, Christopher. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’ll never have to find out,” I whisper as I close my eyes.
Chapter 2
DASH
Dash 25; Christopher 27
Pressing Christopher’s extension, I wait for him to answer.
“Yeah?”
“Are you ready?” I ask. We still need to get dressed before heading over to Tristan and Hana’s place for the Halloween party they’re hosting.
“Ten more minutes,” Christopher grumbles.
Letting out a sigh, I turn off my computer before I get up and walk into his office. Where Christopher’s office is totally closed off for privacy, my office has glass partitions, so I have a clear view of the hallway seeing as I’m not only a director at Indie Ink but also Christopher’s PA.
He glances up, then mumbles, “I said ten minutes, Dash.”
“And we both know that’s bullshit,” I call him out. Reaching over his desk, I close the folder of our latest deal. “We’re already late. Let’s go.”
I walk to where his jacket is hanging, and taking it off the hanger, I hold it open so he can put it on.
Christopher lets out a huff, but at least he gets up. When he’s done shrugging on his jacket, he mutters, “You know I’m the CEO, and you’re the PA, right?”
I don’t get offended by his words because I know he’s overworked and tired. Between Danny, Christopher, Ryker, and myself, we practically run Indie Ink. “Yeah, and it’s part of my job to make sure you don’t work yourself to death.”
Christopher and I have a deal that what happens in the office stays in the office. We don’t let our work relationship affect our friendship.
Adjusting the lapels of his jacket, I glance up at him. “It’s already past seven. We still need to get ready.”
He takes a deep breath and luckily doesn’t argue with me.
The office is quiet as we leave, and once Christopher is driving us to our apartment block, I say, “You haven’t taken any time off since you started at Indie Ink. You’re going to work yourself into an early grave.”
Christopher shoots a glare my way. “You know taking a break is out of the question. With Tristan starting his own business, we’re down one person.”
“Delegate the work then,” I argue.
“Stop worrying about my workload. Besides, it’s only until Jade graduates.” Jade is the daughter of a close family friend. She’ll be taking over bringing in new business once she joins Indie Ink.
I shake my head, muttering, “That’s another two years.”
Christopher parks the car in our building’s basement. Once we’re out of the vehicle and walking to the elevator, he says, “I’m fine. Stop worrying.”
The doors slide open, and we step inside. I swipe my keycard and press the buttons for both our floors. “As your best friend, it’s my job to worry. You’re going to burn out at this rate.” Glancing up at him, I add, “When did you last date? God, I can’t even remember. We also haven’t had time for our weekly dinners.”
The doors slide open to my apartment, and I move forward to keep the doors from closing while meeting Christopher’s gaze. “I love you, and I’m not just going to stand by and watch you become a workaholic. There’s more to life.”
Christopher takes a deep breath, and sounding annoyed with me, he says, “After this deal, we can resume our weekly dinners.”
Shaking my head, I step out of the way so the doors can close while muttering, “Don’t do me any favors.”
Letting out a sigh, I walk to the stairs that lead to the second floor and my bedroom. I kick off my heels, and tugging my blouse out of my skirt, I pull it over my head.
Just then, Christopher comes into my room, saying, “Sorry, Dash –” His words cut off the second his gaze lands on my bra.
“Yep, you definitely need to get laid. It’s not like you to be speechless at the sight of a bra.” I joke as I walk to the bathroom. I turn on the faucets in the shower so the water can warm up, then walk back into my room. Christopher’s gone, and it makes a chuckle bubble over my lips.
You’d think he’d be okay with seeing me in my underwear with the number of times he’s seen me in a bathing suit.
I strip out of my skirt and underwear, then quickly shower. I wanted us to go as an Avatar couple, but seeing as we don’t have time for that kind of make-up, I settled for us going as Arwen and Aragon from Lord of the Rings.
It takes me an hour to get dressed and do my make-up, and once I’m ready, I grab my clutch and head up to Christopher’s penthouse situated above mine. Our keycards are programmed, so we have access to each other’s apartments. We also chose this building because it’s close to the office, and it was the only one with two apartments available.
When the elevator doors slide open, I see Christopher sitting on the couch, fast asleep.
As I walk toward him, I take in his square jaw with the light stubble. Feeling a slight flutter in my stomach, I shake my head and instantly suppress the emotion. It has always been a constant battle to not fall in love with Christopher. He’s everything I want in a man. Dominant, loyal, protective, successful, hot as hell… damn, the list is endlessly long.
For a moment, I consider canceling our plans so he can rather go to bed. But knowing Tristan and Hana are expecting us, I walk over to the couch.
I sit down beside him, and placing my hand on his leather pants, I give his thigh a pat. “Christopher.”
His eyes snap open, and he shoots forward. When he realizes he dozed off while waiting for me, he brings his hand up and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry.”
“We’ll only show our faces then call it a night,” I say.
When I get up, Christopher’s eyes drift over me. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he rises to his feet. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” I nod to the elevator. “We’ll stay an hour at most. Okay?”
He nods as we leave his penthouse, and seeing how tired he is, only makes me worry more. Unless we have a family function to attend, Christopher works from five in the morning until midnight, every damn day. He’s been surviving on only three to four hours of sleep since Tristan left Indie Ink.
Walking toward the car, I say, “Ryker and I can deal with the contracts, so you have more time to focus on bringing in new business.”
“Ryker has a lot on his plate as the company attorney,” Christopher states the obvious as we climb into his Mercedes Maybach. Uncle Carter got Danny, Christopher, and Tristan one each when they started at Indie Ink. I have my own car but hardly ever use it.
“Then I’ll handle it,” I offer.
“You’re already swamped,” he argues.
“I can get an assistant,” I try to come up with a plan which will help us both.