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“I want to.” She lowers her gaze. “But—”
I step forward until I’m right in her personal space. She doesn’t push me away, just watches me warily.
“I want you, Lana. Not just in my bed, but beyond that. I want all the little things. I want a relationship with you. I’m putting all my cards on the table right now. If you say ‘no’, I’ll back off completely. But I can’t keep playing these mind games with you.”
Lana’s face falters. I see her yearning, so I push. “I’ve never met someone as fascinating. You’re like fire and wind, and I keep trying to catch you. When I stop, you come back to lure me in, then you slip out of my fingers again. Just give me a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer today. Right now.”
Hesitation and wariness are written all over her. I take off her glasses, which she has put on at some point, and put them aside, wanting to strip her of all her barriers.
“Dinner,” she finally says, and her defeat is my triumph. “I can do dinner.”
When a small smile lifts my lips, she gives me one of her own, though it’s more uncertain.
* * *
By the time I go down, the man is being taken out of the building by a policeman.
“Assault charges,” Lucas says grimly. “Not that he’ll be in there for long. His family is well off. He’ll have bail posted within the hour.”
“Find out what you can about him,” I order Lucas, my fists clenching. “He had no reason to be here. If need be, Lana can get a restraining order against him.”
Lucas stills, then turns to face me, his eyes narrowed. “How did you know he was forcing himself on Lana when we walked in? It took me a minute to figure it out.”
I meet his gaze without flinching. “I didn’t.”
With that, I walk away, leaving Lucas to gape after me.
My next task is to talk to Caleb. So, I tell Val to hold my calls for the next hour and inform her I’m not to be disturbed.
Caleb is in Manhattan, and he promptly answers the video call.
I see the background of an office, wondering where he is. He’s been oddly flitting around over this past month and a half, as if searching for something.
“Oliver,” he greets me. “Is something wrong?”
I take a deep breath, knowing this little call could go one of two ways.
“I’ve asked Lana out.”
Caleb gives me a blank look, not saying anything for a few seconds before drawling, “And what, you want relationship advice?”
I raise an eyebrow. “I want to know if that’s going to cause any problems for her.”
“Lana’s a big girl. If you piss her off, she’ll kick your ass herself. Of course, Lucas and I are always willing to hold you down while she does.”
The warning was delivered, laced with the threat of ‘hurt Lana and we’ll hurt you’.
“Career wise, I meant.”
Caleb frowns. “There’s no policy against employee relationships. Technically, you’re not even an employee. You work for the parent company on a temporary contract. If she wants to date you, it’s no one’s business but yours.”
He pauses. “I noticed you didn’t ask whether you would be impacted by this.”
He falls silent when he reads the answer in my eyes.
I don’t care about myself.
12
