AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s almost noon,” she replied. “The day already started.”
“I’m remedying that. Usually, Mrs. Mabel would have breakfast for me.”
“I’m supposed to be your cook and assistant?” she questioned. “And apparently your lunch date. Isn’t it a little sad you have to pay someone to have lunch with you? Because you better believe I’m getting paid for this.”
I couldn’t be mad at her for being snarky. “Of course,” I said. “And I’ll obviously pay the tab.”
“Yeah, you will,” she said. “This is a business expense anyway, right?”
“I think you forget it’s my business,” I said with a smile. “But I think I can cover the cost of lunch out of pocket.”
She took a bite of her sandwich without paying much attention to me. I thought I could put walls up around me. This woman was protected better than Fort Knox. She was not giving me an inch. I couldn’t blame her. I had acted abysmally. It was one thing to do what I did with the understanding I would never see her again. Now, I had to see her. She was making me face what I had done. It was very uncomfortable, but I figured facing it head on was the best choice.
“You must not have given your job much notice if you’re here right now,” I said.
“I think I gave Harold more than enough of my life,” she replied. “He’ll be fine.”
My intention when I left the office was to simply take her to lunch. I wanted to get her away from the office so we could have a conversation and possibly clear the air. But now with lunch winding down, I realized I wasn’t ready to go back.
Although we weren’t actually talking much, I liked being with her. I was learning a lot just by sharing a meal with her. She preferred water to soda apparently. She liked turkey with mayo and no cheese.
Every little nugget of information I gleaned felt like I was striking gold. That was just another testament to what Peter had told me. I was in love with a woman I didn’t know.
She put her napkin on her plate, indicating she was done.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yes, I’d like to actually sit at my desk and get organized.”
I smiled. “In due time.”
I waited for the valet to return the car. Once again, I opened the door for her.
“Where are we going?” she asked when I drove in the opposite direction of the office.
I pretended not to hear her. I drove to the exclusive marina where my yacht was docked. I quickly entered the gate code and pulled through. I parked in my reserved spot and got out. She didn’t. She stayed in the car. I pulled open the door.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
“I needed to check my boat,” I said. “Come on.”
“Come on?” she repeated. “What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with your business.”
“Maybe I just want to touch her,” he said.
“Touch who?”
“My boat,” I said, laughing. “Come on. It will only take a few minutes.”
She growled, muttering under her breath as she climbed out of the car. “If I knew this was going to be a field-trip day, I would have worn appropriate footwear.”
I ignored her complaining and led her down to the slip where my boat was, which was actually my sixty-four-foot yacht. She was my pride and joy. I stepped aboard and reached out to help her on.
“Welcome to the Le Ore,” I said.
“What is that?” she asked.
She was trying to pretend she wasn’t impressed. I knew she was. I could see it on her face. It was an impressive yacht. I spared no expense. I led her up the stairs and found my way to the helm.
