Page 68 of Dirty Boss

“Do we have to do this again?”

Tiffany took a deep breath, gathered herself, and shook her head. “No. We don’t. What’s up?”

“I’ve got an event to go to in a couple of weeks. I was hoping you’d take Charlotte a week early.”

“You want to swap weeks?”

“Well…” I glanced at my computer screen, where emails poured in. Once this subcontractor was dealt with, and I’d bagged Noble as a new investor, and the lawsuit was handled…

Tiff sighed. “Of course I’ll take her. What’s the event?”

“Just some charity thing. It’s for work.”

“Uh-huh,” my ex-wife replied, looking unsurprised and unimpressed. “Fine. You know I love having Lottie here. Just send me the dates and I’ll shuffle things around.”

“Thanks, Tiff.”

“Yep.” She gave me a closed-lipped smile and hung up the phone.

Sighing, I turned back to my computer, but my fingers hovered over the keyboard and mouse. That conversation had been familiar. Me, needing more time for work. Tiffany, being disappointed but not surprised.

But I was doing this for them, I reminded myself. Growing the business was for my kid. I worked to make sure she had everything I needed. Tiffany benefited from that.

Bolstered by the familiar thoughts, I blocked out the doubts that tried to creep in. Doubts that told me I already had more than enough money to provide a good life for my child. I’d already secured my legacy. Saving and growing the construction company was simply a matter of my pride.

Brushing those thoughts away, I turned to my computer and got back to work.

A couple hours later,I picked Alba up at her apartment building. She walked out the front door wearing a dark orange silk dress with her jacket thrown over the top, open to reveal the liquid fall of the fabric of her dress. Gold jewelry glittered at her neck and in her ears. I straightened from where I’d been leaning on the side of the car, dazzled by her beauty.

“You look amazing,” I said after I kissed her.

She smiled. “It’s nice to be able to wear some of my old clothes.” Her fingers touched the dark orange fabric, then moved to adjust my jacket’s collar. “Where are we going? No driver today?”

“It’s a surprise,” I said, grinning, then opened my car door for her. “I figured I could drive, for a change.” She moved gracefully, tucking herself into the seat and checking that her dress had cleared the doorway before looking up at me and smiling. I closed the door and circled to the driver’s side. When I’d pulled into traffic, I placed my hand on her thigh. The fabric of her dress was soft and buttery beneath my touch, and her leg was warm.

She let out a sigh, leaning against the headrest.

“You okay?”

In my peripheral vision, I saw her turn to glance at me. “I’m good,” she replied. “It was weird going back home after being at your place for so long.”

I hummed. “I couldn’t wait for the day to end so I could take you out,” I admitted.

Her smile was soft but bright, and she shifted to rest her hand on top of mine. It was easy to touch her, to feel the intimacy building between us.

I parked a couple of blocks away from our destination in a parking garage, then helped Alba out of the car and threaded my fingers through hers. Our steps echoed against the concrete walls, and we made our way down to street level together. The wind was cold, and I enjoyed the way Alba tucked herself against me as we walked.

Finally, we reached our destination. A window gave a view into a crowded restaurant, with families and couples sitting at small tables sharing gigantic pizzas. Gold lettering arched over the window, proclaiming the name of the owner. We’d arrived at Ralphie’s.

Alba watched me pull open the door for her and arched her brow. “I might be overdressed,” she noted.

“You look perfect.” My hand found the small of her back as I followed her inside, and we stopped at the hostess stand where I gave my name.

A moment later, an old man with tufts of white hair sticking out under his worn, black baseball cap came out of the swinging kitchen door. “Vaughn!” Ralphie called out, smiling wide. He dropped a pie on one of the tables, slapped a patron on the shoulder, then turned toward us. “When you called, I thought someone was pranking me. Back to the old stomping grounds, hey?”

I grinned. “Had to come by and see if you’d finally fixed this place up.”

“Never,” Ralphie promised, then turned to Alba. “Vaughn told me I had to pull out the red carpet for you.”