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“Definitely yes,” she answered with a yawn. “I have to finish this tonight, but we can take a break.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s a prick, don’t worry about him. He’s not coming in tomorrow, he’s going golfing with the client from this morning. I’m supposed to join him, actually.”
Lily bit her lower lip, looking incredibly sexy. “I should finish tonight,” she said. “I really don’t want to give him any reason to fire me.”
“Listen,” I said drily. “Just by sticking around, you’ve already proven yourself.”
I ordered a delivery feast for us from the local tapas restaurant – much classier than pizza, and I had a feeling she’d appreciate it. When the food arrived, I had the front desk assistants spread it out in the conference room with a bottle of champagne from our personal stash.
“This looks
too nice,” she said skeptically when we arrived. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Trust me, we do things like this all the time.”
“And champagne?” Lily asked as she walked around the table, admiring the spread. “What are we celebrating?” She turned to me with a hint of a smirk on her face.
I thought about it. “The client meeting this morning went very well.” I opened the bottle and poured two flutes. Handing one to Lily, I asked: “Why, what do you think we should celebrate?”
She clinked her glass against mine and took a long drink. “I still have a job,” she cracked. “Let’s drink to that.”
I raised my eyebrows but toasted her and drank anyway. “I know you think this is extravagant, but we really should have gone out. The food would be better.”
Lily shook her head. “Definitely not,” she said as she grabbed a plate and helped herself to some of the steaming garlic shrimp and paella. “I’m starving.”
“What brought you to San Francisco?”
She shrugged, swallowing a bite of rice. “I wasn’t going anywhere before. If I got a good job, it would have been through nepotism. The town I lived in was so small that if you didn’t fit in, you were an outcast. I wanted to feel like I was in charge of my own life.”
“That’s impressive,” I told her honestly. “Do you think it’s working out?”
Lily looked into my eyes. I felt my heart start to thud again my chest. “No,” she said, looking down. “Not particularly. But I haven’t been here for long. I’m sure things will work out.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I was dating someone, Scott,” she teased. “But it didn’t really work out when I moved.”
“I deserved that.”
“Sorry,” she said, blushing again in this adorable way that made me want to crush her against me. “He just grills me all the time about it.”
“Make it up to me,” I heard myself say before I could even think about the words. “Go out with me on Saturday.”
She stared at me. “Really? I’m your partner’s assistant. Isn’t that some kind of conflict of interest?”
“Do you really think Scott would let a rule like that stay in place?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable. “Of course not!” I said, not giving her time to reply. “So I can pick you up on Saturday?”
“All right,” Lily agreed, leaning back in her chair. She reached forward and grabbed a tray of olives, popping a few into her mouth. “I feel like this honestly can’t be any more unprofessional than everything else that happens around here.”
Chapter Four
Lily
“I had a weird dream,” I said casually to Damien as we lounged on the deck of his sailboat. His “surprise date” had been boating, and I couldn’t have been happier about it. I hadn’t been on a boat since I was a teenager, and it was like Damien had read my mind about what would make me happy. Then again, if I was being honest with myself, most single women would probably like it if a Armani underwear model took them sailing.
“Yeah?” He asked, turning towards me and looking at me over the tops of his sunglasses. His steely green eyes caught me off guard as usual – I couldn’t stare into them without wanting to kiss him. Our day had been incredibly pleasant and charged, but I could tell that he was holding back a little bit with me. There were a few times when he’d brushed my arm with his hand and I didn’t think it was accidental. It’s weird: I knew that with anyone else, I’d be kind of peeved if they kept touching me, but with Damien, I felt a little shock of electricity every time.
“Yeah,” I mused, tilting my head back and closing my eyes. The sun felt divine on my skin, and the damp salty smell of the ocean was enough to lull me to sleep. “I dreamed I was you, if that’s not too creepy to admit.”
