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My doorbell rings and my stomach returns to a fluttering mess.
“I have to go. Have your ass at the office by nine tomorrow morning. Be ready to work. And I want you to bring me a shitload of coffee and muffins.” I walk to the door and start unlocking the series of bolts.
“No can do, boss woman. You can’t eat muffins for the outfits I have coming. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do tonight with the clandestine CEO. Love ya!” She hangs up before I can scream at her.
I throw the door open and gasp. Max is holding an enormous bouquet of so many flowers they take up my doorway. The smell of lilies fills the small foyer and I inhale deeply.
“Wow, these are beautiful.”
“Only fitting,” he states and doesn’t elaborate.
I lead us to my kitchen, get a vase, and arrange the flowers. Max leans against my counter and watches me uncork the wine and pour us two glasses. My eyes widen in surprise when I catch the vineyard name.
“Oh my God! This is one of my favorite winery’s ever. Did you know?”
“Yes.” He raises the side of his lip and looks at me humorously.
“What? How?”
“Let’s just say, it’s good to have a quirky assistant.”
“Laci?”
“Yeah, I had Dana call her.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“She didn’t mention that. I may have to rethink firing her tomorrow morning then.”
His face drops and he looks shocked.
“Don’t worry, charmer. I’d never really fire her. Just the thought crosses my mind when she does crazy ass stuff like she did today.” I hand him his glass and start walking to the living room.
I sit on the end of the sofa closest to the fireplace and Max surprises me by sitting right next to me. His knee brushes against mine and goose bumps rise on my skin.
“What did Laci do today?”
I think about how silly it sounds, but decide to tell him anyway. “Laci has a heart of gold and I’d walk through fire for her, but our work ethic is very different. So while you and I slave over convincing your teams we are doing the right thing. She’ll make sure I’m appropriately dressed.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Thank God for Dana. She helps with all my personal shit. She took care of my dad too. She’s like family.”
“She’s really sweet. Laci and I both like her.”
“There’s a lot of her to like. She’s been amazing. I mentioned she worked for my dad, but it was like she worked with him. She knew what he was thinking or needing before he even asked. She does the same for me. My mom and she are practically best friends and when he died she helped Mom through some dark days.” His warm feelings for Dana are evident with every word he speaks.
“Laci’s able to read me like that. I’ve tried to get her to take a bigger role in Sullivan PR, but she wants to take care of me.”
We sit and talk for the next hour about our assistants and how much we depend on them. He asks me again about carrying a large workload with such a small office and I tell him I’m looking into getting a temp to help out a few days a week. Then Laci and I can decide if we need another person full time.
He relaxes back and drapes his arm on the back of the couch. His fingertips rub lightly over my shoulder. Even through the fabric of my sweater, my skin prickles. This has never happened to me before. I’ve never felt this level of intensity in such a short period of time. My past relationships have progressed slowly. This is technically only the fourth time being around him, but even our business conversations have taken a lighter tone. When he walked into my office today, there was a glimmer in his eyes that was new.
His touch moves from my shoulder and trails along my jawline to my chin. Our eyes lock. The intensity of his blue stare burns into me. We both sit silently, staring. Something is running through his mind, I can tell by the way his mouth forms a thin line.
“Max?” I whisper, scared to break any connection we have.
“Yes?”
