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Ani’s eyes widen, her pupils dilating as she comes. Her inner muscles clench at me and I slam in again and again, groaning as I come. Our harsh breathing is the only sound to fill the space, and she opens her mouth, but I don’t want to hear what she has to say. I crush my lips to hers again, kissing her deeply.
“Let’s go to bed,” I murmur against her lips at last, and she breathes back her agreement.
The sunlight hits my face and I blink awake, tightening my arms around Ani. I lay quietly, staring at her face as she sleeps, trying to memorize every angle. I have exactly two photos of her. The selfie from the Empire State Building, and lunch afterward. I need to commit her face to memory for when she leaves. A buzzing sound fills the room and I bite back a curse as Ani stirs.
Easing my arm from underneath her, I snatch up my phone and hurry out of the room before it wakes her up. Tugging on the pair of sweats I snagged on the way out, I answer my phone as I stride into the main living area.
“David!” Uncle Bill’s voice rings down the line, rich and warm. “I got an email from Ms. Kasan last night.”
Fuck. I knew this was coming, but it still feels like a knife to the fucking heart. “Yeah, she showed me the designs. I thought they looked great, so I told her to email them to you.”
“They’re exactly what we want,” Uncle Bill agrees enthusiastically. “I want to put them to the board today. I’ve already sent the emails requesting a meeting. Eleven New York time.”
“Perfect,” I hear myself say, my heart sinking in my chest like a lead weight in the ocean. “I think they’ll go over really well.”
Uncle Bill chats for a bit longer about the aspects of Ani’s designs that he likes the most, and I mechanically answer his questions about them.
Anica
I’m alone in David’s bed when I wake up. That hasn’t happened for a while, and it makes me feel a little disoriented. Should Iwait for him, or get up? Before I can decide, he appears in the doorway, wearing a pair of sweats, his phone in his hand. David drops the phone onto the nightstand and crawls onto the bed, wrapping his arms around me as he kisses me gently.
“That was Uncle Bill,” he announces, and now I’m super nervous. I sent my designs to Mr. Westerhaven last night. They must be what the phone call was about.
“Did he hate them?” I ask, hating how small my voice sounds. David’s fingers appear underneath my chin, tilting my head up so he can look me in the eye.
“No, he loved them.”
I relax under his hands. Thank goodness for that. “He’s convened a board meeting for eleven today so that you can present your designs to them.”
I freeze, blinking up at him and wondering if I heard correctly. David smirks at me and kisses me again.
“You’re going to do great. Just go through them like you did with me last night,” he murmurs between kisses.
“I have to draft a presentation,” I mutter wildly. “I have to rehearse it. I have so much todo.”
David tips me backward, pressing me into the mattress with his comforting weight as his lips find mine. His hand tangles in my hair as he deepens the kiss, attempting to distract me from my panic. His other hand creeps down between my thighs and I sigh against his mouth as he enters me. Unlike our extremely hot sofa session last night, David loves me slowly and thoroughlythis morning, coaxing two orgasms out of me until I’m much more relaxed than I was.
With a sigh, he presses a kiss against my neck, withdrawing and helping me off the bed.
“Shower with me this morning.” He tangles our fingers together and leads me into his glorious ensuite bathroom before I even have a chance to respond. Maybe he doesn’t want to leave me alone for too long in case I panic again. That’s probably a smart move.
David massages shower gel into my shoulders, his fingers firmly smoothing away any tension. He gives me a scorching kiss after we’ve toweled off, swatting my ass as I leave to get dressed, and he wanders into his closet in search of a suit. I fuss over my hair, makeup, and clothes – like I did for my last board meeting. Unlike then, I travel to the office in the car with David, and he holds my hand the entire time.
Instead of letting me go to my office, David places his hand on my back and guides me up to his. Christine brings in two coffees and sits at his desk with him, running through his schedule for today, including the impromptu board meeting. I sit on the sofa, sipping my coffee and clicking through my presentation on my iPad. Running through what I will say with each slide over and over again in my mind.
Too soon, it’s time to head down to the board meeting. Christine is flitting around the room, filling up water glasses. She offers me an encouraging smile. It’s the warmest interaction that I’ve had with her to date. My designs are plugged into a screen at one end of the room, while the video screen at the other end is blank, waiting for Mr. Westerhaven to call in. Because– as if I wasn’t feeling nervous enough – I have to make this presentation in front of him too.
The board trickles in, chatting and greeting each other. A few of them offer me smiles and nods. The large video screen blinks to life and Mr. Westerhaven greets everyone, and David starts the meeting.
They all talk about various things, and my heart thuds loudly as David introduces me. I stand, the blood pounding in my ears as I walk up to my presentation screen. David smiles warmly at me and as I pass him, his fingers lightly brushing over my wrist. It’s a barely there touch, but it bolsters my flagging courage and I turn, offering the room a broad smile to run through my presentation. I mainly say it to David, who keeps smiling at me the entire time.
I finally get to go back to my seat. The board, and Mr. Westerhaven, asked a bunch of questions and discuss my designs. I let their conversations swirl around me, focusing on my hands in my lap. I don’t look up when they vote to unanimously adopt my designs. Mr. Westerhaven says my name and my head snaps up as I look at the screen.
“Ms. Kasan, we will see you back in Chicago at the end of the week.”
He beams and I nod numbly. The end of the week. Of course. I manage what I hope is a warm smile, but inside, I’m dying. I don’t want to leave David, but I don’t think that I have any say in the matter.
After the board meeting, I escape to my office, looking around the space that I’ve really felt at home in these last few months. Kari stops by, folding me into a tight hug.
