“You think I’m a good kisser?” I asked and leaned forward and kissed her neck. “I would be happy to remind you of just how good.”
“Be gone with you, kind sir.” She playfully patted me away.
“Fine, fine. I know when I’m not wanted,” I pouted.
“Dax,” Ella said and turned in her chair to look at me. “It isn’t that. We agreed if we were going to continue this, we would separate our work relationship from our personal one. You’re failing miserably. I want to keep working for you, but I can’t do that if you keep flirting and kissing me.”
I stepped away from her and nodded. She was right. I wanted her in my bed, I wanted her in my life but I also wanted her to continue to work for me. I needed to find a way to have both. If I treated her like she was only in the office to pleasure me, then that wouldn’t work. I respected her too much. Also, if I did that, it would more than likely piss her off and make her not want to be around me at all, both professionally and personally. I couldn’t have that.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just missed you last night. I got used to you being there and I didn’t like that you weren’t. I wanted to show you and I went about it the wrong way. Can we have dinner tonight? My place? Or I can take you out, whatever you want.”
“Dinner out would be nice but I’m still getting over the trip and some jet lag. A quiet evening at your place sounds better. Should I consider this a long meal, one that might last until the morning?” she asked.
“I would like it to, if you’re willing. I would like you to come home with me tonight and stay the night.”
“Dax, I would like that too. But only if you keep yourself professional for the rest of the day. No inappropriate comments, no looking at me like you want to lick every inch of me.”
“I do want to but I’ll just have to save that for later. Maybe with some chocolate or whipped cream,” I teased.
“Again, lovely to hear and it certainly got my imagination going but not what I should hear while I’m sitting at my desk.”
“Point taken. I’ll just have to tell you about it in detail as we head to my place tonight. And speaking of our evenings. Can I have the pleasure of your company on Saturday?”
“Yes, of course,” she said and smiled at me.
“Wonderful. The day is turning out splendidly. Have a good day, Ms. Taylor,” I said and walked into my office.
The sound of Ella laughing filled my head and had my body responding to her all over again. I couldn’t believe I had gotten so lucky to have her in my life, much less in my bed. We would find a way to make this work and she was right, we needed to keep it professional.
She had come to matter to me in a very short period. I wanted us to last, I wanted to find a way for us to fit into each other’s world. I had shown her a bit of mine when we were in Buenos Aires but there was so much more I could show her. With that thought in mind, I called my sister.
“How was the trip? Did it go as planned?” she asked.
“Better than I could have hoped. The meetings all went well and I think I solidified some lasting relationships that will not only make us a lot of money but will convince the board I should be CEO.”
“Wonderful. I knew you could do it. So did Dad. The board is just being stupidly cautious. What do they know?” Ana asked.
“Considering they wanted you to be the CEO, I would think a lot.”
“I might be successful at running the charity side of the company, I have no interest in running any of the rest. You’re much better suited for the position. It’s just taking them longer than it should to realize that. And they will, as soon as they see how well you did in Buenos Aires. And while I’m happy to hear that I’ll have even more money to spend and to give away, that wasn’t what I was talking about. How are things with you and Ella?”
“Ana, I’m not one to kiss and tell and I’m certainly not going to start now. All I will say is that we had a lovely time. I was calling you to see if you could help me with something,” I said.
“Certainly. Whatever it is, I’ll do it or find a way to do it,” she said.
“This shouldn’t be too hard for you. I was hoping to get tickets to a Broadway play this Saturday. I’ll be honest, I’ve been out of the scene so long I don’t know what if anything is out there worth seeing. Do you have any recommendations, more importantly, can you secure me some tickets.”
“I take it the tickets are for you and Ella?”
“You would be correct.”
“You aren’t one who likes theater.”
“Ella said she does and mentioned she hadn’t had a chance to see any plays since she came into town. I thought I would rectify that situation.”
“By taking her to the hottest play in town? I assume that’s why you’re calling me, so you can go to that one play that is impossible to get tickets to, the one that will impress your new lady friend.”
“And?” I asked.