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After getting to our hotel, checking in, and taking care of a little business, I’d asked Emily to have dinner with me. Honestly, I'd expected her to be hesitant, if not deny me outright, but she'd been unexpectedly agreeable. The sour mood she's been in the last few days seems to have evaporated. She seems downright chipper. It's a nice change of pace.
My eyes soak in Emily's every feature as she sips from a glass of wine. Back in college, I'd always thought she was beautiful, but time has only served to make her even more stunning. I smile and feel a tightening in my groin as I recall the way she moaned and whimpered in her sleep on the flight up. To me, it sounded like she was having a pretty vivid sexual dream. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't turned on by it.
It also makes me wonder if she was dreaming about me – as narcissistic as that might sound.
I didn’t truly appreciate it at the time, but Emily gave up her virginity to me all those years ago. I had cared about her, sure, but she wasn’t the first girl whose virginity I took back in college. It wasn’t until she left me that I truly understood the depth of feeling that I had for her back then. That I maybe still do.
Sitting across the table from her, though, watching the candlelight flicker off her skin, making it glow warmly and her hair shimmer like spun gold, I realize that I want her every bit as much today as I did back then.
“Can I ask you something?” she cocks her head and asks.
“Sure. Shoot.”
“I've just – it's something that's been in the back of my mind since I started working for you.”
I laugh softly. “Then get it out. Let's hear it.”
Emily shifts in her seat as if she's uncomfortable, but she has that gritty look of determination on her face that tells me her curiosity is going to win out. She's always been that way and that intense curiosity about all things is something I've always liked about her.
“Well I assume that since I'd be working as your PA, you had some input into the hiring process,” she begins. “I'd further assume that since you'd be working so closely with whoever was hired, you had final say?”
I take a sip of my drink, unable to keep the grin off my face. I know where she's going with this, and I have to decide whether to tell her the truth or not. I always prefer telling the truth and do my damnedest to never lie. But right now, I need to weigh the potential consequences of stirring up a lot of drama by telling her the complete and unvarnished truth. Or decide that it's not a big deal and she can handle it.
As I stare into those eyes of hers, see the depth of wisdom within them – far more wisdom than a woman of her years should have – I know she can handle the truth.
“Yeah, I had final say,” I tell her. “Though, Lara whittled the field of applicants down to just two – you and another.”
“And when did you recognize me?”
A wry grin tugs the corner of my mouth upward. “The second I saw your photo,” I reply honestly. “You're kind of unforgettable.”
A small frown creases her mouth and she looks down at the table. Still avoiding my gaze, Emily takes another sip of her wine. As I look at her, I already know what she's thinking.
She looks back up at me and there is a smoldering anger in her eyes. “Is that why you hired me? Because you knew me? Because you thought we –”
“I didn't think anything, Emily,” I tell her. “Knowing who you were was a factor, yes. I'm not going to lie about that. But that wasn't the only factor.”
“No?”
“No. Because I know you. I know your work ethic. I know you're an intelligent and motivated person. I know how meticulous you are – about most everything. Which means, I knew you'd be exactly the right type of person to do this job and do it well.”
That seems to mollify her for the moment. Although, I can already see the next logical question already forming in her mind, so I decided to head it off at the pass. The sooner we can get this conversation behind us, the sooner we can get on to more pleasant topics of discussion.
“And no, hiring you was not a quid pro quo thing,” I inform her. “I did not expect anything from you just because I hired you on.”
I’ll admit, I secretly hoped for the chance at something more, but didn't expect it. Not that I'm going to tell her that.
She looks at me evenly for several long moments, as if trying to determine the truth in my words. She's always been a proud woman, but that sense of pride in her seems to have grown since the last time I saw her. Maybe it's the change in her circumstances, but Emily seems far more sensitive to the idea of getting a pass or the notion of taking charity than she ever has – and she used to be sensitive as hell to it before.
She's always wanted to be seen as independent. Someone who can stand on her own two feet. That sort of stubborn pride could be her downfall if she's not careful. Not that I have a lot of room to talk or anything. I actually do get where she's coming from. I guess I'm just viewing it differently right now because the shoe is on the other foot.
“Are you sure about that?” she finally asks.
“I'm positive about that,” I reply.
“And what about the bump in pay?”
“It's like I told you at the time, I pay for quality,” I explain. “I knew what I was getting in you and wanted to make sure you stuck around. I don't feel the need to apologize for that. It's my company and I'll run it as I see fit – which includes determining salary rates for employees.”
