Even though we met at a work party, she rarely went to them.When I asked her about it, she just said she wasn’t the partying type.Valerie had always been so self-contained, even when we were together.
But now, I wondered why.Having Emma and Cassie take her under their wings would be good for her.I wanted her to have friends here, not just me, even though I enjoyed her reliance on me.She was very independent, and I suspected it had to do with the way she grew up.
Valerie didn’t talk about her family much, and she’d never called them when we were together.When they did call her, it seemed to upset her.Her relationship with her family didn’t seem to be a good one.But what did I know?My parents had ceased to be parents a long time ago.
I shook away my thoughts and pulled up permissions on my computer.When I tried to give Valerie access, it denied me.What the hell?Grabbing the phone, I called Asher.
“Hey, Asher, why can’t I give Valerie permission to access our financials?”
“Sorry about that.With some of the new protocols we put in place after the breach situation, I put stricter controls in place.”
That damn breach had caused one big headache, and I couldn’t blame Asher for locking down access.We did have a lot of sensitive information.“I get it.”
“I’ll add it to Valerie’s permissions.If she can’t get in today, it will be good by tomorrow morning.Sometimes it takes a bit for the servers to update.”
“What’s going on?You sound tired.”
“I’m not sleeping well, that’s all.”Asher sighed.“I’ll be fine.”
It was more than that.“Asher, the breach wasn’t your fault.”
“So Emma keeps telling me.”
“She’s right.”How could I make Asher feel better?Friends supported friends, and this was one of those times.“Do you want to play basketball after work?I’ll even let you beat me.”
Asher’s laughter made me smile.“Not tonight, but just wait.I’ll beat your ass later.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Hanging up, I glanced over at Valerie, who was staring at her screen as if it had all the answers.After Saturday, I felt like we’d cleared the air; she was open to a relationship, and that excited me.Slow down.I couldn’t rush this.I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I made last time.
When I walked away from Valerie, I didn’t handle things well.Now, I knew who I was, and I wanted Valerie in my life—in every way.
* * *
Friday morning, we met in the office before I drove us to Rustic Delights.Valerie had spent the week trying to match up our payments to Rustic’s balance sheets.Last night, she’d thrown her hands up and said it was going to take weeks.It wasn’t like her to admit defeat.
“You can do it.”I had every confidence in her abilities, but inside, I grinned.The longer she was at FI, the longer I could keep her in my life and convince her that I was worth the risk.
I pulled into the parking lot at Rustic and found one of the visitor spots.
“That was quick.”Her observation was the first time either of us spoke since leaving FI.I knew she was mentally working on Rustic’s books, and the quiet helped me concentrate on driving through Seattle’s traffic.
“They’re not far from our office, and traffic was light.”
“I never would have guessed what this housed.”She gestured to the nondescript concrete building.
“It’s not like they advertise what they do.”I glanced over at her “It’s probably going to be dusty and noisy inside.It’s going to depend on what machinery they have running.”
“You’ve been here before?”She reached for the door handle.
“No.But it’s a factory, and Marcus warned me.Wait and I’ll help you out.”I exited and then opened her door.
“This isn’t necessary,” she said as she put her hand in my outstretched one.
“For me, it is.”Once she was safely on the ground, I released her hand.“Marcus visited here a couple of weeks ago and told me about the conditions.”As I reached to take her arm, I remembered the likelihood of security surveillance and motioned for her to precede me.I walked beside her, close enough that our shoulders brushed.Even that slight touch excited me for the future, being able to touch her bare skin and hear her moan her pleasure.I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.Yeah, the last thing I needed was to walk into this place with a hard-on.
“He didn’t notice anything out of place with the manufacturing?”
