Part of me wants to respond in the same serious tone she did, but then how could I properly disprove her ideas of me being “too serious”?
Sitting up, I lean my arms on the table. “So, does that mean I was also right in calling you out on me being your type?”
Mia rolls her eyes. “Adam.”
“You just kicked my ass back there. Give a guy a lil’ break.”
Mia tries to stifle her laugh. “I thought you weren’t fragile?”
“No, clearly I’m not. You don’t give those guys actual chances, do you?”
This smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. “No, I don’t, but our date isn’t over yet, Reyer.”
There’s that twitch again…
Picking up my pizza, I tease, “I think I got it in the bag. Have you tried the pizza?”
Mia’s laugh breaks free this time. Fuck, it’s such an addicting sound.
“Only the best for you, sweetness.”
“Ugh, points lost. You can do better than what that idiot uses to undermine me.”
“I know I can, and I will, but what fun would it be if I let go of how riled up you get at sweetnessso soon?”
Mia shakes her head. “You know, I’ve almost told that man off countless times.”
“I’m a little surprised you haven’t, but after learning about some of the things my sister had to deal with—I know it’s not that simple.”
Mia’s lips fold together for a minute. “No, it never is, but I use that to my advantage when I can.” She sits up straighter. “My father always had me in the office growing up. I loved watching him work—while my mom would say I was just a daddy’s girl, there was more to it. My dad never discredited my intelligence. He obviously would have to change the way he explained things to match my age, but he knew I was capable of doing everything he did.”
Hmm, this weird pang comes to my chest. I wonder what it would have been like for me and Callie to have parents that actually thought we were more than accessories.
“That must have been nice, having all that time with your dad.”
“It was. Really where those opposite of daddy issues I was telling you came from,” she says with a chuckle. “Watching him pour his passion into his business was what got me the most, though. I wanted to be just like him. He was loved by his employees—respected—and always in control of everything around him. That’s part of why I want my business to appear perfect to him because that’s how his work looked to me. He never showed people his stress or hardships.
“I started working as one of his interns the moment I turned sixteen. I was determined to learn everything he did. We’d have weekly meetings at home going over every stock, sale—whatever report he had. As much as I wanted to be like my father, I quickly realized it wouldn’t be possible to get the same respect from everyone like he does.”
I huff in amusement. “From what I’ve seen, Mia, you’re all that and more. I’m not one to shy away from a bet, and I’d bet on you every time.”
“Thank you.” A small blush comes to her cheeks. “I’ve worked hard to give that appearance. The point is, as much as I would love to have Martin run out of my office crying, I can get more out of him by playing the girl he wants me to be. I have many vendors that expect me to be a bitch, and they get that. I have salesmen who see me as a ditzy airhead that they can oversell and undermine. How they want to view me won’t change no matter what I show them, so as long as I can control the outcome, I’ll take thesweetness,the whisperedbitchname-calling they throw my way. I play the part and use it to my advantage. I guess what I’m trying to say is, my ego isn’t fragile either. My family and my employees know who I am and what I stand for, so that’s all that matters.”
That right there has me hooked. I’ve always thought she was beautiful, but there was something from our first meeting that had me wanting more. I thought it was her confidence and the way she carried herself, but it’s her resilience that has me wanting to beg for whatever time with her I can get.
“So, tell me, why baseball?” she asks, picking up her pizza for another bite.
Clearing my throat, I adjust in my seat. “Uh, well, I can’t say I had any family ties to it, but I will say my high school gym coach was the biggest supporter on that front.”
“Really?” Mia quirks an eyebrow.
Nodding, I think through my next words carefully. Talking about what I endured with my father isn’t something I particularly enjoy. Or even talked about, really. I could probably count on one hand the people who truly know what pieces of shit my parents actually are.
“My family had big expectations. While being in the debate club, I was also in chess club, the yearbook committee, and Model United Nations.”
Mia’s eyes go wide. “That’s a lot of stuff. Did you ever sleep?”
I let out a bitter huff. “No, not really. I rarely could make practice with the team, so most of the time I’d meet my coach for practice at four in the morning for conditioning and practice. When I could make it work, the team would do some night practices so I could be there.”
