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He’s in the kitchen, talking to Janet while Adam does his homework. When I rush in, the little man smiles at me. “Abel! Hey! I thought you had school today. Where you been?”
What I have to say can wait until I’m done talking to Adam. I’ve never been around a kid his age and I was initially afraid I wouldn’t know how to talk to him. And also afraid that Janet would take one look at my makeup and heels and tight clothes and not want me to corrupt her son. But both of them are great. Especially the kid. He talks a lot and asks a lot of questions, but I’m not annoyed by them. I like his inquisitive mind.
I walk over to the table and look down at what he’s doing. “Nah, we had the day off today. Math homework. Nice. Math is important in life, ya know?”
“I know. My mom tells me I have to pay attention in all my classes, but I’ll always need math. Is math something you need for your develops? Do I have to take harder math? This math is already hard. Mom’s going to help me, right, Mom? As soon as I’m done, she’ll check it and make sure I did good, right Mom?” He doesn’t stop to take a breath and it makes me laugh. He’s such a good kid.
Wiping her hand on the towel over her shoulder, Janet comes over and sits down beside Adam. “Okay, young man. Leave Abel alone. Show me what you got.” Janet gives me a smile, then scoots over to look at Adam’s homework.
Michael gives me a questioning look and I tell him, “I need you to take me to Sav. Does he have a bunch of meetings today?” Though Michael stays with me at all times, he’s still privy to Savage’s schedule.
“A few.” He looks at his watch. “He’ll be out by the time we get there. We’ll only have about thirty minutes in between, though.”
“That works. Let me get my stuff.” I jog upstairs to get my wallet and put on a pair of boots. It’s cold out and I want to keep my toes warm.
In no time, we’re out of the house and on the road. The drive to his office only takes fifteen minutes, and since he has three parking spaces assigned to him, we don’t have to search for one when we get to the garage.
I haven’t been back since that first time I came here to beg for Cris’s release. I smile and roll my eyes at the memory. I really got on my knees in his office for my brother, who would have never done the same for me. Guess I can’t be too upset about it since I met this wonderful man that no one seems to understand.
But I do. At least I’d like to. And he’s letting me. Really letting me. Especially with him telling me about what happened to him. I’m sure he hasn’t told many people about the accident. He let me in, and I want to make sure that continues. I wanted to tell him what happened to me, but it didn’t feel like the right time. One day soon, I will.
When we get to his office, Michael knocks. I hear Savage’s grumbling voice and feel myself get excited. He tells us to enter, and I watch his face go from a scowl to a softer look that’s directed at me. The smile that crosses my face is probably bigger than any I’ve given anyone in my life.
After Michael shuts the door, I walk around the desk and sit on Savage’s lap in the space he made for me. I hug him, my face in his neck, breathing him in while he rubs my back in firm motions. Three months ago, I never would have thought I’d end up in this position. I didn’t think I would end up in this position even a week ago. But here I am and I don’t want to leave it.
Savage tips my head up and looks at me with a gentle but questioning expression. I raise an eyebrow and he moves slowly towards my face. Oh, duh. He wants to kiss me. He never has to question that. I’ll always want him to kiss me. I meet him halfway, our lips meeting in a soft connection. Neither of us deepens it, enjoying the gentle pecks.
I sigh against him and give him another hug and say quietly, “Good morning, Mr. Benavelli.”
His deep and quiet laugh sends vibrations through me. “Good morning, Abel.” I get off his lap and walk over to sit in a chair in front of his desk. I don’t miss the small smirk on Quin’s face. He laughs lightly when I stick my tongue out at him.
“To what do I owe this surprise?” Savage asks as he looks at his watch. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
“I know.” I pick at a piece of thread from my pants. I really hate asking him for anything. But hopefully, he’ll let me take this job. It won’t be asking if I’m actually working for him. “I saw your listing for the app design you wanted. How come you don’t have your people do it?”
He shrugs and leans back in his chair. “I don’t like the concepts they came up with. I don’t have many tech guys on my team and the ones I have don’t have a lot of experience with what I want.”
“I can do it. I learned to do small apps like that when I was in high school.”
He tilts his head and looks at me. He stares for so long I have to fight not to fidget. Finally, Savage looks over at Michael and Quin. “Give us a minute. I want to talk to Abel alone.”
Shit. Did I do something wrong? We never agreed I couldn’t work. Just that I would be with him for a year. There’s nothing wrong with trying to earn some money, right? But still, I don’t want to askhimfor money. He already gave me rent money for Cris once with nothing in return.
This is different, though. I’ll be working and earning the money I ask for. I know I can do it. He’s asking for a basic app that can be configured to phone or tablet. It’ll be a pop-up that will lead from whatever shopping app customers buy through to his payment portal to collect payment information. Nothing too hard.
When the door shuts behind our bodyguards, Savage puts his arms on his desk and leans forward. “Did your brother ask you for money again?”
Well, fuck me. How did he figure that out so quickly? “What?”
“I’m sure that’s the only reason you’re looking for gigs online. And I’m offering a great deal. Did he ask for money again?”
Dropping my head, I nod. Hearing him sigh, my face heats with embarrassment. I don’t need much money. If I find jobs online, I usually find the ones that pay out the most because I need to pay Cris. While I have a makeup obsession, I don’t buy the expensive kind. I know how to stretch my money.
“How much?” Savage asks.
I shake my head and stand up. “Don’t worry, Sav. I’ll find a way.”
“Sit down, Abel,” he says sharply. When I give him awho the fuck are you talking tolook, he shakes his head with a soft smile. “Please, have a seat.” I do as he asks, and he laughs out loud this time. “You’re such a brat.” I shrug and smile at him. “If you need to send your brother money, I’ll let you do the job. But I’m going to pay double so you can have some money for yourself.” I open my mouth to object, but he cuts me off with a slash of his hand. “I don’t want to hear it, Abel. You’ll agree to my terms or you won’t get the job.”
