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The afternoon slid past her and she was thankful that most of the office was out when she saw Stefano’s huge form moving through the room towards her. She grabbed her bag not wanting to be in his presence longer than necessary and stood when he reached her office doors.
“Ready?” he asked with a glance at her bag and jacket. “It’s chilly out still, let me help with that.”
He shook his head at her when the jacket ended up being longer than her skirt.
“What?” she stated seeing the movement.
“For as long as we are engaged, remember to wear skirts that at least cover your thighs. I would not allow any man to see that much of your body should you truly be mine,” he said, and her brow rose in anger at his words.
“And no man will ever own me,” she countered sliding her bag onto her shoulder, “least of all you. But while we’re on the subject of potential issues…”
“We’ll discuss it over dinner,” he said sliding his hand onto her back. “Athena made reservations for us at Vincenzo’s for seven. I would suggest we go to your place and you can change into something more appropriate for a meal than a miniskirt that is not suitable for work. Should I find you wearing it or anything this short, whether we are pretending or not, you will be required to go home and change. Your skirt is putting out a highly inappropriate message to everyone you meet.”
“What? That I’m young and take care of my body rather than sit on my butt all day like some of the other executives who have taken refuge in the middle-age spread?”
“I cannot insist that everyone maintain a healthy weight, but I can insist that a dress code be followed and as my fiancée you will be the first and foremost required to follow it, is that understood?” he questioned, and she gave him a glare as they slid into the backseat of his car.
“Quite,” she agreed knowing he already knew where she lived and there was no point in telling the man where to take them.
It felt strange to have Stefano in her private area and she moved into the bedroom, going through the closet to find a dress that would cover a bit more leg without being floor length. She finally settled on a knee-length pale ivory fit-and-flare dress with gold thread weaved into the pattern and added her nude pumps as she redid her hair into a low side bun and took out her gold hoop earrings, a present from his mother for her eighteenth birthday.
“Is this better?” she questioned returning to the living room to find him thumbing through a photo album from her shelf.
Stefano shut the book impressed with her travels and turned towards her, fighting to control his desire to pull her into his arms and kiss her thoroughly, especially when he spotted the gold hoops, he’d sent his mother to give to her for her eighteenth birthday. They were unique like her, two thin strands of pure gold intertwined that drew attention up to her face and made her skin sparkle.
“You look stunning Hailey,” he admitted holding up her jacket knowing she would be chilled in the sleeveless dress outside. “It will likely take us an hour to get across town to the restaurant and I want to stop at my place to get the ring.”
“What ring?” she asked lifting a brow at him.
“My grandmother’s ring, Mother’s mother,” he answered, and her brows lifted higher together. “Grandfather gave it to me for my choice of bride. I do not intend to ever need it, but it should do nicely for this ruse. The moment she sees it she’ll give her blessing and Demetrius won’t dare to go against her.”
“You do know I’m horrible at keeping track of jewelry, don’t you?” she asked, the hoop earrings notwithstanding because something about them had always made her cautious about knowing where they were.
“Then it would be best if you don’t take it off,” he stated knowing he would do whatever necessary to ensure that she didn’t. When they reached his apartment, he moved over to the safe and took out the ring, lifting her hand to see how it fit. “It’s as though it were made just for you, don’t you think?”
“No,” she said because the stunning beauty of it enticed her to want it to be real. The gold warmed her skin and made it sparkle, pink diamonds surrounded the center diamond the size of a small satellite. The setting was antique, filigree and milgrain making the entire ring even more beautiful than she could say. “I’ll lose it…”
“No, you won’t, it’s snug, perfect size as is, and there will be no need to take it off,” he countered overriding her and she barely breathed as they headed across town to dinner, waiting until they were nearly finished to return to her earlier concerns. “Now, what issues did you imagine we’d have?”
“Right,” she said pausing to enjoy the wine. “Are you sleeping with your assistant?”
“Where would you get a ridiculous idea like that?” he questioned in disbelief.
“From Athena, don’t worry I played it off as though I didn’t care about your past liaisons but…she’s dying to become Mrs. Stefano Jordan.”
“She is not,” he argued shaking his head at the idea and Hailey smiled taking out her phone to show him the short video she’d recorded as proof that the woman would sabotage their ploy if given the chance.
Stefano couldn’t believe the words coming out of Athena’s mouth, but Hailey’s reply stunned him further and he grinned lifting a brow at her when it finished. “You abhor Italian, do you? Is that why you just devoured the linguini as though it were orgasmic?”
“Just showing how people truly are, yes, I was a bit…”
“Catty?” he offered although he’d enjoyed it, wanted her to be it regarding him all the time.
“Perhaps but she wants your ring and if she and Demetrius would get together and plot against us…”
“Don’t worry about Athena, I’ll send her back to Greece to work from there and find a new assistant to take her place.”
“I would suggest a grandmother type or a man,” Hailey mused giving him a grin.
