My heart is pounding as I follow Lex out of his office, taking in the stunning light decor and all the tech he built into the company. The whole building is a smart building, and it’s astonishing. There isn’t a single thing that isn’t automated.
“We have facial recognition everywhere,” he explains. “You have full clearance, so there isn’t anywhere you can’t go, but normally junior employees can’t get to any other floor but their own, and the mailroom.”
I trail my fingers over surfaces we pass excitedly, unable to help myself. “The doors, lights, temperature and of course the air purifiers are all automated. Sierra and I designed this building so it works with you, almost always giving you what you need before you need it.” As if on cue, a robot similar to Lola drives up to us, holding Lex’s tablet with his schedule on it. “The robots can bring you lunch, coffee, or run any other errands within the building.”
“You know,” I murmur. Lex pauses and looks over his shoulder. He always has endless patience for me, and I wonder if he knows I never take it for granted. “I’m proud of you.” His eyes widen, and I step closer to him, noting the people milling about, most of them grabbing coffee and catching up as they start their days. “I’m proud of what you’ve built, and I’m beyond proud to be your wife.”
He reaches for me, only to catch himself and retract his hand. “I’m counting down the days, Raya,” he tells me, his voice soft. “Until I can tell the world you’re mine, until I get to see your ring around your finger every day.”
“I know,” I whisper. “Soon.” My graduation ceremony is only a few weeks away, and we’ll announce it shortly after.
He smiles tightly and cups the back of his neck as he continues to walk, explaining how the building works as he leads me to my team. I spot Adam standing in the distance, right next to Emma. Much to my surprise, Halima walks up right at that moment. She waves at me, her usual serene smile on her face.
“You really seemed to like her, and she’s insanely smart, so I offered her an internship too. Once news of our marriage breaks, no one will be able to say you deprived someone of a spot.”
I glance up at my husband, my heart soaring. He’s truly always a few steps ahead, thinking of everything. Adam, Halima, and Emma are standing opposite a beautiful blonde in a cream suit, and she turns toward us fully at the sound of my clicking heels. Her stern expression melts away when she sees Lex, and the way her face lights up makes me feel uneasy.
“Oh, good morning, Mr. Windsor,” she says, beaming. “I didn’t think I’d see you this morning.” She turns back toward the rest, barely sparing me a glance. “Mr. Windsor often makes time to personally mentor our new staff, so you’ll see him around more than you might expect. I was lucky enough to be trained by him too, and it truly is an incredible experience.”
I quietly move to stand next to Adam. His gaze moves between Lex and me briefly before he smiles sweetly at me. Walking in by his side wasn’t a good idea at all, but I just couldn’t tear myself away from him this morning.
“Have you introduced yourself to our new interns?” Lex asks, leaning back against one of the desks, his hands in his pocket. He looks incredible standing there in that navy suit, and it hits me then. That man, that seemingly unattainable man, is mine. Maybe he doesn’t love me the way I want him to. Maybe he never will, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s my husband.
The blonde nods enthusiastically, before turning to me. “Here’s your first lesson, latecomer. At Windsor Motors, we expect excellence. If you fall behind, you’ll have to find a way to catch up. We don’t hold hands here. We nurture independent thinking and create leaders, not followers.”
Lex’s gaze hardens. “What time is it right now?” he asks, his tone sharp.
Her eyes widen, and she glances at her watch. “It’s eight thirty, Mr. Windsor.”
He nods and pulls his hands out of his pocket, his right hand moving over his left to play with his wedding ring — a move I’ve learned means he’s trying to keep his patience. “And what are my office hours?”
She blinks and hesitates. “Nine to five, sir.”
Lex nods slowly, and I try my hardest to throw him a discreet warning look, but he pointedly ignores me. “Right. For a moment there I was under the impression that I’d changed them, but I haven’t, have I?”
She shakes her head, and he smiles, his eyes cold. “One more question,” he says, crossing his arms. I wonder whether he realizes the move only makes him look more intimidating. “What’s your name?”
Her shoulders slump, and I bite down on my lip, guilt settling in my chest. Lex doesn’t like it when anyone dismisses me in his presence, and no matter how hard I fight him on it, he just won’t stand by idly as anyone treats me in a way he finds even remotely unacceptable.
“It’s Amy Jeffrees, sir. I… um… I joined three years ago, and I assisted with the testing of our latest range of medical solutions.”
Lex’s eyes meet mine, and his stern expression turns sheepish when he notices my disapproval. He looks down and nods. “Right, I remember now. Thank you for reminding me, and apologies for interrupting,” he says, sounding not the least apologetic.
She smiles tightly and turns back to us, her expression far less cocky now than it was before. “I’ll be your primary point of contact as you assist my team and me with our latest project. It’s an exciting one. Every once in a while, Mr. Windsor surprises us with something quite unusual, and those kinds of things always end up being the best and most fun learning experiences, in part because he always takes an active role in new acquisitions — big or small.”
I raise a brow in confusion. Lex normally tells me all about his days, but he hasn’t mentioned any new acquisitions. Amy’s wide smile is back as one of the robots rolls up to her, its tummy turning into a screen. I throw my husband an incredulous stare. Does he realize he created real life Teletubbies? He grins to himself, and I sigh. Yeah, he probably knew exactly what he was doing when he designed the robots the way they are. I suppose we’re all lucky he didn’t make them all wacky colors. I’m so dazed by the new feature the Lola-lookalike revealed that it takes me a moment to realize what’s on the screen.
“We acquired a famous milkshake company!” Amy tells us excitedly. “They make my favorite milkshakes, so I couldn’t be more excited!”
Adam bumps his shoulder against mine, but I can’t quite take my eyes off my husband, and the pink flush on his cheekbones. “Isn’t that your favorite too?”
I nod speechlessly as Amy glances at the robot, which prompts it to move to the next slides. “It’ll be our goal to fully automate these so they’ll be easier to operate. More often than not, these machines break, and we’re going to fix that.”
“There’s nothing worse than desperately wanting a milkshake and being told they don’t have any,” I murmur. Much to my surprise, Amy smiles at me, recognizing a kindred spirit.
“Right,” she says, nodding. “We’re going to fix the issues we have with them, and then we’re going to make sure they can operate independently at night. We’ve been tasked with ensuring they can only be operated manually during daytime hours, so human jobs won’t be at risk, while ensuing they can work in a fully automated fashion outside of regular working hours. On top of that, I was told that the formula is changing — they’ll now all be dairy-free! I, for one, am incredibly excited about that! It is, however, something we’ll have to carefully take into consideration since variations in density could affect the machinery’s performance.”
I stare at my husband, who’s looking back at me with the sweetest expression on his face. There’s only one way to describe the look in his eyes, but I don’t quite dare even think it.
“Why milkshakes?” Emma asks. “Automating something that’s so well known for never working will definitely be fun, because it’ll be such a high-profile project, but it just doesn’t really fit in with the types of products Windsor Motors normally puts out.”
Lex looks up at her and smiles. “They’re my wife’s favorite,” he says simply. “I want her to have access to them whenever she wants, and she doesn’t really like dairy, so we’re changing the formula nationwide.” He runs a hand through his hair. “We’re also rebranding. I’m renaming the chain Little Fairy, and I’m calling the chocolate and salted caramel option Mrs. Windsor.”
He just stares at me, completely uncaring that his admission of the rumors about him being married sent the whole team into a shocked kind of frenzy. His wedding ring has fueled the rumor mill for months now, but he’s never officially admitted his marital status to anyone but Adam.
“The milkshakes are a love letter to your wife,” Halima says, seemingly the only person that’s completely unfazed.
He nods, and my heart skips a beat. I try my hardest to bite back a smile and fail. I don’t think my heart has ever raced harder, wilder. For some reason, I’m reminded of my father’s words. Love isn’t always loud and obvious, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
