Page 47 of Last First Date

“I was just heating up some lasagna,” she said. “Hungry?”

“Sure,” I said, shrugging. I went to the bar and poured myself a drink. “I’m headed to New York Monday, maybe Tuesday.”

“New York?” she asked with surprise.

“I have been asked to take on an event in New York,” I said. Yes, I was feeling very proud. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. This was my shining moment. I was on top of the world.

Mom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, her wine glass frozen halfway to her lips. “New York?” she asked again, her voice carrying an unmistakable note of pride.

“Yes,” I answered, a smug smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.

“Does your grandfather know about this?”

“I don’t know how he would. I just found out. It’s an emergency situation. It’s for a national lingerie company. Something happened with the original event planner. They called me, Mom. Me. I’m the one they are turning toward to save them.”

My mother’s eyes widened. “Wow. Your grandfather would be very proud. Do you think you’re going to be able to pull it off?”

“Mom, come on,” I said. “Yes, I will pull it off. I’m going to blow their socks off. They’re going to wonder why they didn’t come to me in the first place.”

She smiled. “You’ve always been very confident.”

“I’m confident because I know what I’m doing,” I said. “I know everyone thinks I got this job because of my name, but I’m good. I can do this.”

“Who else do you have on it?”

“What?”

“If it’s a national campaign on short notice, you can’t be serious about doing this by yourself. Are you getting someone from the New York office to handle it?”

“I’m going to have my assistant with me,” I said. “And I’ll probably have a couple of others help, but it’s my gig.”

“Waverly is going to New York?” she asked with surprise.

I forgot my mom knew Waverly from the length of time Waverly had been working for my grandfather. Hell, she was probably a frequent visitor to the house with the way my grandfather took her under his wing.

“Yes, she is,” I said. “She’s my assistant.”

“Oh, well, Waverly is very capable. She’ll be a good asset.”

“I could do it without her,” I snapped.

I could see the surprise flash across my mom’s face, but she quickly composed herself. “Well, I’m sure you could, Knox. But isn’t it better to have someone you can trust with you?”

I downed the rest of my drink and poured another immediately. The thought of going to New York thrilled me but having Waverly was a double-edged sword. She was an excellent assistant, probably the best I’d had, but her presence also brought back memories that I’d rather forget.

“Knox?” My mom’s voice broke into my thoughts.

I shook my head slightly, “What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

Taking Waverly to New York might not be the smartest thing I chose to do. There was still an underlying attraction to her I couldn’t quite ignore. Hopefully, being back in Manhattan with fertile hunting grounds, I could find someone to distract me from this thing I had with Waverly.

That night, I lay in bed thinking about the trip to New York and how I could make it good for Waverly. The moment the thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time with Waverly outside of the office. I wasn’t sure if I had the self-control needed to avoid kissing her again.

Monday, I went into the office feeling a little like I was in a good mood. Waverly was sitting at her desk already busy on the computer.