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“Everything okay, Mr. Guthrie?”
I glanced up at Annie’s voice and offered her a somewhat tepid smile. “Fine, thank you, Annie. Can I help you?”
She blinked at me and tucked a strand of curly blond hair behind her ear. She clutched the files in her arm closer to her chest and gave me a wobbly smile. She’d relaxed more around me over the last few months, but Maurice had pointed out over drinks I’d been less cold since Wade came into my life. “You asked me to remind you about your lunch with Wade, sir.”
I checked the time on the bottom of my laptop screen and cursed myself for getting so caught up in work. I stood and slapped the laptop lid closed. Offering Annie a quick smile as she left, I stalked across my office and out the door.
“Take messages and call me if there’s a problem, Annie,” I said, as soon as we came to her desk. “But only get in contact if it’s urgent.”
She laughed and waved her hand at me. “I know, sir. Go. Wade will be very upset if you’re late.”
I rolled my eyes because we both knew that wasn’t true. Wade was patient, and his obedience had only grown with the months we’d been together. He was the perfect sub in every way, and I couldn’t have picked a better partner. He’d fit into my life easily, so much so that he and Massimo got along, too. That, in and of itself, meant everything to me because in the end Massimo was the onlyfamilyI had left. We’d always been close in a strictly unemotional way, but Wade’s presence in my life had broken down barriers between me and Massimo that I hadn’t known existed. Massimo was still Massimo, and I was still me, but we’d started to spend more time around each other in ways that didn’t involve our Dom lives. Just last week, he’d joined me for dinner at home with Wade.
I headed down the hallway, striding in the direction of the boss’s office. Now that Wade and I were together, Wick had followed through with his promise of putting Wade on his team to help Maurice, away from my supervision, so that there weren’t any issues.
While most—okay,all—of our coworkers had been shocked when our relationship had come to light, to my absolute surprise, they’d taken it in stride. I believed the attitude came from their trust in Wick and his decisions, and he’d made it clear that we had his approval. Plus, most of the troublemakers had already left the company when Wick had gotten together with Maurice. A few still didn’t trust Wade, and I didn’t blame them, but they weren’t outright rude to him, either. It would take years for the trust in Wade to build up again.
When I arrived at Wick’s office, Wade was bent over Maurice’s desk and they were talking in low voices, then began to snicker like two schoolboys sharing a secret. I stopped to take in the nice curve of Wade’s ass, accented by the new charcoal suit I’d bought for him. The material pulled tightly across his delicious asscheeks, following the swell down to his thighs and legs, and the sight made my mouth water.
Maurice rolled his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses and shoved Wade’s shoulder gently. “Oh God, no.” He laughed some more until his gaze landed on me over Wade’s shoulder. “Oh, hello, Albion. You’re late.”
Wade straightened immediately and spun on his heel, his wide grin falling into a loving smile when he found me with those gorgeous hazel eyes of his. “Hey, Sir.”
My chest squeezed and warmth flooded my insides as I walked toward him and leaned in for a kiss. Wade met me halfway, and I reveled in the touch of his mouth against mine in a short but meaningful smooch. “Hey, Pretty. I got caught up in a job.”
“I know, Sir.” He pressed his palm to my chest and smoothed down an imaginary wrinkle on my suit, the corners of his mouth crinkling as he stared at me. “But you’re here and that’s all that matters.”
I smirked down at him. “What are you sucking up for?”
“Nothing.” He tilted his head and his mouth curved wider. “Maybe I’m only telling the truth.”
“Mm-hmm.” I dropped another kiss on his lips. “We’ll see. Let’s go to lunch or our break will be over before we eat.”
Wade threw a wave over his shoulder at Maurice, who gestured at us to leave, and together we walked out of the building. I’d booked us a lunch reservation at a nice restaurant down the road, and due to my stupidity, we were fifteen minutes late by the time we arrived.
“If they can’t fit us in, I don’t mind, Sir. We could go somewhere less fancy,” Wade murmured to me when we’d reached the maître d’ with his hand snuggly pressed against mine and our fingers interlocked.
“We’re not going anywhere else, Pretty,” I said in my sharp Dom tone. I wasn’t going to leave here without getting my reservation because I had plans, and I wouldn’t have them ruined because I was alittlelate. This restaurant charged enough that they could wait for us.
Inside was accented by soft grays everywhere, from the walls to the chairs, and round lights hung from the ceiling, flooding the room with a subtle glow. The windows were floor-to-ceiling, giving the space a lot of natural light. Gentle piano music reached my ears, quiet enough to not take over the conversations, but loud enough to send a calming feeling through the place.
The maître d’—a young woman with short blond hair and a wide, tight smile on ruby lips—greeted us. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, under Guthrie. Albion Guthrie.”
She hummed for a second as she stared down at her tablet before she nodded and gestured to the side. “Please, follow me. You booked a secluded table, is that correct?”
“Correct,” I agreed, holding Wade’s hand with a firmer grip as we were led through the bustling restaurant.
Feliz’s Fine Dining was one of the more expensive places to eat at in St. Loren, which meant most of the customers were dressed in suits and nice clothes, and they were the type of people who could afford to pay a steep price for a good meal. I usually didn’t take Wade to places like this because he didn’t find it comfortable, but today was special, and I wanted it to be as nice as possible.
“Sir, why are we here?” Wade whispered as we reached an alcove in the restaurant. The table was in a corner with walls on two sides and a window facing us, and there was more personal space to allow for private conversations. A base price was added on top of the food for the peace and quiet, and while it cost a pretty penny, it was worth it, too.
“I wanted to treat you to something nice for being so good for me. You’re such an obedient sub,” I murmured back, noticing the shiver that ran through his body at the praise. I smirked in response.
The maître d’ cleared her throat, and I didn’t miss the blush that spread across her cheeks. She gestured at the table covered in a deep red cloth with a candle in the middle. The cutlery was already set out, and so was a pair of white plates and wineglasses.
“Your waiter will be with you immediately with fresh bread and brown butter to begin. He’ll also bring your choice of wine or champagne.”
