AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One minute. I’ll have to see if he can be contacted.”
Lily’s eyebrow raised. “Oh, he can, and you’re going to make it happen.”
The man rushed from the room and the moment he did, Lily reached up, holding her head and closing her eyes. The Master in me was desperate to do anything he could to relax her. She didn’t fare well under stress. Not with these new episodes. If she pushed too hard, it might put her right back into the past.
“She’ll be fine,” Slade said, peering over the top of the cubicle. “Believe it or not, she needs this. Her being at home or anywhere else would only have her perseverating over what has happened. You being in her familiar environment will be the perfect solution. Just let Lily do her thing and you do yours. Do not, under any circumstance, leave this desk unless it’s time for you to. Understood?”
“I know my place here,” I said, spinning back to the computer, but looking up at him. “Say, you want to go ring shopping with me later? I could use your advice.”
His arm came up to rest over the top and he cocked his head. Anger flashed behind his eyes, but so did something else. Something I’d seen before. He wanted to like me. Wanted this to work. It was going to be up to me to show him it would.
“You want me to go ring shopping with you? Does that mean I get to pick the date when you’ll be getting married, too?”
“No, it just means that you get to help me wow her. I already know the date.”
That had him standing taller. There was something about poking at Slade that I found all too fun, which was probably a stupid thing since he’d accepted me this much. “Do you, now? When?” The question was almost growled and I had to rein in my smile.
“You’ll approve. I won’t rush this. Lily is more than worth waiting for. I’ve done it this long, what’s a little longer?”
“Exactly. Keep that mindset. Now, back to work. We’ll talk ring shopping later.” Slade walked off and I let the smile I’d been holding in appear as I faced the screen. I’d win him over completely before it was over with. Taking our time seemed to be the watchword lately. It sure needed to get on our side.
Numbers filled the screen and I looked down at the large stack of papers before me. Comfort settled within and I let my fingers move as I went down the page, entering them in. For something so simple, the amount of pleasure I received at knowing I’d be able to provide for my future wife left me happy. I was working a real job, or at least a legal one, for the first time in my life and it felt amazing.
“Uh-oh. You ready? I give her five seconds.” A man’s voice had me breaking my stare from the monitor and turning to look at the white wall separating us.
“Ten,” a woman said, laughing quietly.
“Fifteen,” another man chimed in.
The wheels on my chair let me slide back to the edge quietly and I was met with a row of heads looking my way. Or…Lily’s.
“What are we betting on?” I asked, curiously.
A red haired woman glanced at me and pointed to the left. Willard was leaning against the wall at the other side of the room, just inside the hallway. Sweat was beginning to show through under his arms on the long-sleeved shirt as he scrolled through his phone almost nervously. My attention went to Lily, who was pacing and looking at whatever paperwork she had in her hand.
“What happens when the time is up?” I was almost afraid to find out. Was there a side of Lily I didn’t know? Surely not. I’d seen her in every mindset she held.
The back of Willard’s hand brushed over his forehead and he straightened his tie, walking toward her door at a fast pace. When I looked back at the men and women from the cubicles, they were gone. I rolled to my desk and watched as Lily stopped in her tracks, looking up at him.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Roberts, I wasn’t able to get ahold of him either. His secretary told me he’s not taking calls right now.”
“He’s not taking calls?”
Willard’s head shook quickly and he swallowed hard, once again reaching for his tie.
“Did you tell them you were calling for Ms. Roberts from Slade Industries?”
Willard’s mouth opened only to close. “Well…no. I…”
One step. Two. Lily’s eyes narrowed and standing tall, she was level with his face. Her expression was one I couldn’t mistake. I knew that dominance. Her brother held the same air about him. She was intimidating as hell and my cock hardened as I ached to put her in her place.
“Willard, who do you work for?”
“You, Ms. Roberts.”
“How long have you worked for me?”
His head dropped and he looked back up, as if he’d been trying to think. “Almost a year.”
