“This is all fantastic work, let me take you out for lunch,” I said as soon as Maggie finished going over the changes they had made to the website.
Not much had been done, but it was now current with information and pictures. John never was available for a photo session, so we used headshots taken the year before for the annual report. The little changes made a huge difference.
“Sorry, I have an interview. Maybe next time?” she answered.
“Matt?” I wanted him to say no. I willed it with every cell in my being.
“Sorry, I’m meeting my girlfriend.” He gathered his things and darted from the conference room.
“It looks like just you and me, then,” I smirked. I was entirely too pleased to have an opportunity to take Gem out for lunch.
“Go, let the boss treat you to lunch,” Maggie said before she followed Matt out the door.
Gem watched Maggie leave and then turned to me. “I thought we agreed, no dates.”
I chuckled. “This is lunch, not a date. You saw that I invited everyone in the room.” I spread my hands to emphasize my innocence.
“You did that somehow. You rigged it,” she scolded me. It was adorable how her face scrunched up and her mass of strawberry blonde curls bounced as she wagged a finger at me.
“I promise, no nefarious subterfuge, just really good luck.” I winked.
She sighed, which was always a feast for my eyes. “Fine.”
“Such a hardship, Gem. Is being in my company really that painful?”
She looked at me and her gaze pierced me in place for a few moments. I was officially pushing it. I wanted to push it farther. I stepped in close. I could feel her breath on my skin. An inch closer and we would be touching.
“Truce,” I said. “We can stick to business and the weather.”
“Let me put these back in my office and grab my purse. I’ll meet you by the elevators,” she said as she jumped away from me.
“Sounds like a… plan,” I paused a bit too long before I said plan. I wanted to say date, but that was not allowed.
We didn’t speak in the elevator. Tension radiated off Gem in palpable waves. I shoved my hands deep in my pockets. I wanted to slam the stop elevator button and crush her against me. I needed to know if her lips taste like the strawberries they were painted up like.
“Where are we going?” she finally asked.
“There’s a little place around the block,” I said.
“Hole in the wall, but the food is really good?” she asked.
“Not this time. It’s a little bit nicer than a hole in the wall, and the food is exceptional. We may have a bit of a wait,” I answered.
“Any place worth eating at has a bit of a wait,” she said.
“I hope you like Greek food,” I said as I stopped and indicated we had arrived.
“Oh, I love Greek food. I especially love Americanized Greek food. Have you ever been to Greece? I always find the food there is overly goaty, but the beaches are to-die for.” She practically swooned talking about Greece.
“Have you been there often?” If she loved the beaches in Greece, I’d take her there. I’d take her to any beach she wanted.
“I went to school… I did a year abroad, and we went a few times. You can go anywhere in Europe by train.” She spoke enthusiastically about a few of the places she and her roommates adventured to using Eurail passes.
I nodded and listened. I didn’t like to talk about my European experience with private jets, yachts, and race cars in Monte Carlo. That was always better shown than talked about.
“Do you like to travel?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I like going to different places, but once there, I want to stay and be comfortable. I’m not terribly a fan of going somewhere for a week and seeing a lot of touristy places of interest”— she finger quoted places of interest— “swarming with tourists as much as possible. I’d like to hang around for a week or two and see the sites at my leisure. Otherwise, the trip is more work than the daily grind the vacation was supposed to help you relax from.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I prefer rental properties over hotels,” I said.
“Exactly. Hotels never serve breakfast on my schedule. I can make a bowl of cereal without having to order room service. And lunch and dinner would be out anyway.”
“It sounds like you’ve actually been able to travel quite a bit to form such definite opinions,” I pointed out.
She shrugged. “It only takes a few times of doing it one way or another to figure out your preferences.”
We continued to talk about travel. We ordered food. I ordered wine. We talked more. Never once did I inappropriately proposition her during our lunch. No matter how many times she inadvertently left the innuendo door wide open, I did not walk through it.
We ordered dessert, and the way Gem’s face lit up when they brought her a thick slice of baklava dripping with honey made my groin tighten. I was tempted to order her a second one just so I could sit back and enjoy the show of her lips wrapping around that fork. Her eyes closed and the sinful humming sound she made as she thoroughly enjoyed the experience made me want to cover her in honey so I could do that to her.
I cleared my throat and excused myself to the restroom. I couldn’t have her, not today, not until she said yes. My cock needed to calm down. After doing what I needed, I washed my hands and splashed cold water on my face. I really needed the cold water applied elsewhere, but this was a restroom in a restaurant, no facilities for a cold shower.
When I returned to the table Gem looked ready to leave.
“We’ve been gone for hours,” Gem pointed out. “Bria and Maggie are not going to be happy, and I have so much work to get done. Why didn’t you say anything?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t realize I kept you away from the office for so long. You can completely blame me.” I gestured for the check and paid.
Gem walked as if she were in a hurry. I wanted to slowly stroll in her company, or slightly behind so I could enjoy the view.
“What am I supposed to say? I was utterly charmed by our boss’s charisma and wit? That every time he smiled at me I forgot how to breathe and what my name was? No, I can’t say that. I’d have to say something like we were brainstorming, or that you brought up the idea that maybe I should make the lateral move to Social Media Manager, and we bring in another general marketing specialist, or a graphic designer to take my open position.”
“Say that, exactly that. Is that all my smile does to you? We could find out what more I could do for you,” I said. I was treading on the thin ice of harassment if she decided she wasn’t interested in me. But that wouldn’t happen. Not when her gaze cut to my hands and my mouth, and then she licked her lips.
“But we didn’t talk about any of that,” she replied. The blush on her cheeks and her rapid breathing told me she was fighting to maintain propriety.
I wanted to push that limit, I wanted her so hot and bothered she couldn’t think straight. I wanted her to think about my mouth and my hands on her.
I wrapped my fingers around her arm, gently, with skin like hers, I imagined she was susceptible to bruising. She wasn’t mine yet, she wouldn’t wear my marks proudly until it was her decision. I stopped her.
She turned to look up at me, her gaze taking in my fingers on her arm. She looked so delectable with bright red lips and dark sunglasses. Her perfectly arched eyebrows raised above the dark frames.
“I think moving you into the role of Social Media Manager is a valid concept. The department is having a hard time finding a good fit. They might have an easier time getting a designer or another marketing person in.” I held her gaze for a moment. “There, we brainstormed.”
She laughed, and not for the first time that afternoon, my balls tightened, and my cock pulsed. I wanted her.
“What am I going to do with you?” she asked.
“You’ll never know the possibilities until you’re ready to go out with me,” I reminded her of our bargain. I may have overstepped my part of the bargain to refrain from flirting heavily, but it was getting harder each day to be around her, knowing she was interested but not knowing exactly why she kept saying no.
She stepped into me— we were close, we could have been closer— and rested her hand on my chest. I still had a grip on her. It was a fight to keep my hand loose. I should have dropped it, but I wanted to hold her.
“I’ve had a wonderful time with you, and I would very much like to find out how much more wonderful it could be. I’d be very flattered if you would consider asking me out again,” her voice was a throaty purr. It was sexy as hell.
I laughed at myself. I wanted this woman. I wasn’t going to be willing to play her games for much longer. “I’m going to ask you out for dinner, when will you be available?”
I pulled her closer, pressing her breasts against my chest. My other hand reached up to hold her against me. My breath stopped in my chest. That small taste of her against me would never be enough. My cock pressed against my trousers, wanting to come out.
“I’m available tonight.”
She twirled out of my grasp. Damn her ass as she moved. She had to be putting an extra wiggle in there as she walked away.
