Page 47 of Loving the CEO

Leo walked up to me, and I figured that he wanted to grab something from the counter, but he simply put his hands on my shoulders and started pressing several of my knotted muscles with his thumbs.

"Ouch," I said, then, "Oh, wait. Oh, that's actually so good."

"I learned the technique from a masseuse at Nick's gym."

I softened my shoulders, enjoying the way his hands felt on me.

"So, what do you say?" he pressed.

My God, he’s serious?

"I don't even understand how that'll go."

"We could go out one evening and pretend it's a date."

"Okay, that sounds easy enough."

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me. I trusted Leo. I knew him, obviously. That was a bit of a detriment because it wouldn’t mirror a real date, but I so wasn't ready for that. This was just dinner between two friends, right? What could go wrong?

"You’ll try your flirting game on me, and I’ll give you pointers."

"That sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"It won't be," he said confidently.

He glanced at my lips for a split second before focusing on my eyes.

I hesitated, then figured,Oh, why the hell not?

"Let's do this."

He nodded. "All right."

"So, how exactly is this going to go? I need to know the when, the how, and the where."

He laughed softly but didn't answer right away. Then he brushed his fingers across my skin instead of pressing, moving one up the back of my neck. "Are you free tomorrow evening?"

A shiver went down my spine. I hoped he didn't notice. "I'm free every evening."

"Then it's going to happen tomorrow, and that's all you need to know."

"I'd love some more details.”

He brought his mouth to my ear. “Tory, I'm going to take you out on a date, and I intend to do it properly. I promise you’ll fucking enjoy it.”

He straightened up, and I immediately looked over his shoulder. Apparently, I couldn't look this man in the eye while his hands were on me. It was just too much, and I felt like I might combust any second now. How on earth would I go through with him being my dating coach or whatever we’d just agreed to?

***

The rest of the evening passed by quickly. Leo got on the treadmill, then closed himself off in his bedroom for a business call. I went straight to my room. He was bound to finish his call at some point, and maybe he wanted the house to himself. I didn't want to be in his way.

And... I wasn't exactly sure how to be around him tonight. Something had shifted between us for sure.

I took a long-ass time with my nightly routine. To give myself something to do, I applied two types of masks on my hair. I loved the aftereffects, as it shone and seemed extra full and wavy. The blonde color popped. Perfect!

After drying it, I went back to my bedroom and checked my phone. To my surprise, Leo had texted me. Then again, it was only ten thirty. He usually went to bed later.

Leo: Want to come down for a drink? We can discuss some more details about our date.

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