Page 60 of Surrender

“Great. The caterers just got here, and they’re setting up in the loading dock. They’re very excited about the menu. Even though we asked for a dozen different appetizers, they came up with over twenty.”

I took a seat on the corner of his desk, and he took my hand and kissed my knuckles before muttering, “Man, I’m starving.”

“Take a break, and come upstairs for a snack.”

He ran his free hand up my thigh and grinned. “Is that a euphemism for getting naked with you?”

“We can do that, too. But you barely touched your lunch, and the party’s still two hours away. I want to make sure you eat something and take some time to relax.”

“I will. I just need to make one phone call, and then I’ll meet you upstairs in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay. Fifteen minutes. I’m holding you to that.” I kissed him before leaving the office.

It really was convenient that home was right upstairs. When I got to our apartment, I prepped all the ingredients for smoothies and then went to check on Phil.

It turned out he was in the highest flower-shaped nest on his cartoonish upholstered cactus, which was positioned in front of one of the living room windows. It was the first time he’d ever used the thing. I snapped a photo with my phone and checked it, then took another. That one was better, so I started to post it to Phil’s Instagram.

Since Ever had been so busy, I was trying to help with our famous cat’s social media. Sure, it was silly, but it made a lot of people happy, so why not? I typed three different captions before settling on “a purr-fectly prickly perch.” Okay, that was ridiculous, but the photo was cute.

I took a seat on our couch and grinned when I caught a glimpse of the items beside me on the end table. Ever had printed and framed a photo of us with fall-colored wreaths on our heads, and it sat beside a cluster of three little succulents in clay pots.

The plants were my doing. For the first time ever, I was living someplace that felt like home. I didn’t want the kind of life where all my belongings could be quickly packed into a single bag. I wasn’t going anywhere. Neither was Ever. I could put down roots here—very literally, in the case of my growing plant collection.

Ever wanted to buy us a house. Maybe at some point in the future, I’d want that, too. But I was genuinely happy in this sunny apartment with Ever, and Phil, and my plants, and all of Phil’s silly shit.

Just then, Ever burst through the front door, ahead of schedule. He was brimming with excitement, and I said, “It looks like your call went well.”

“It did. I have some big news. I’m going to announce it at the party, but I want you to hear it first.” He sat beside me, and when I pivoted to face him he told me, “The fitness center memberships sold out online in every category, from standard to gold. Not only that, but we currently have a waiting list with over three hundred names on it.”

“Oh my god!”

“It’s the best scenario we could have hoped for. Not only do we have a safety net, thanks to a huge influx of cash up front, but the monthly membership dues are going to ensure we can meet all of our expenses for at least the next two years.”

I threw my arms around him and exclaimed, “That’s amazing! And it’s all because of you, Ever. You put so much positive energy out into the world on social media, so of course people want to be a part of it.”

“I really hope it exceeds their expectations.”

“It will. The facility is incredible, and you hired a wonderful staff. They’re going to bring your same level of energy and positivity to everyone who walks in that door.”

We both sat back, and he said, “Speaking of hiring people, that’s the other half of my news. I just got off the phone with Pete Howard. I offered him a job as my general manager, and he accepted.”

“Oh, wow! Does that mean he’s going to close his boxing gym?”

“No. We’re going to treat it like a sister company and run both at the same time. I’m going to buy some additional equipment for it, but we want it to retain its authentic character, so most of it will stay like it is. Pete’s great at managing employees and handling day-to-day operations, and he’s reallyexcited about this opportunity. We’d talked about working together, but I didn’t know if I could afford a GM until I saw that the memberships had sold out.”

I studied him closely as I asked, “Are you really okay with letting someone else handle the day-to-day stuff?”

“It’ll definitely take some getting used to,” he admitted, “because I’m a bit of a control freak. But it’s a positive change in so many ways. If I’m not tied up with stuff like scheduling, ordering supplies, and so on, I can focus my time on our members. That’s the fun part of my job—talking to people, giving them advice, motivating them.”

Ever moved closer and took my hand as he continued, “But I’m even more excited because I’ll have a shot at a work week that’s closer to forty hours than eighty. It means more time for us, Tracy. You’re the most important person in the world to me, and I never want you to feel like you aren’t getting the time and attention you deserve.”

“I appreciate that so much. I’m also thrilled that some of the weight will be off your shoulders. I was worried about you wearing yourself out.”

He moved closer still and kissed me. When it started to heat up, I murmured, “Let’s see if I can help you relax a bit before the party.” Both of us were grinning as I slid between his legs and reached for his zipper.

About ninety minutes later, after a blow job, a shared shower, and some smoothies, I asked, “How do I look?”

I was dressed in a pink shirt and a deep burgundy suit that we’d had tailored to fit me perfectly. We’d both decided I needed to expand my wardrobe, and because he was inexplicably turnedon by me wearing his clothes, we’d gone with resizing some of Ever’s suits, instead of buying new ones.

---