Page 38 of Not As Advertised

A shy smile graced her lovely face. Her eyes held a mix of uncertainty and excitement, like our first day at Anime Expo. Goddamn, I liked being the sole reason for any of her happiness.

Abbie’s voice was quiet and wavered slightly. “Hi.”

“Good morning.” Her presence made my face light up with a warm smile. “Were you able to sleep in a bit?”

We didn’t have a meeting until 10:00 a.m. that morning. It would be our last one of the trip. We would have the remainder of the day for Anime Expo and fly back to San Jose the following morning. Once I’d bought the convention tickets, I urged Abbie to see if she could change our return flights to allow her more time. Her bright smile at the time had been my reward.

I felt nothing compared to sitting across from her, remembering all the little moments that now hummed between us. I couldn’t deny the connection; it was stronger than ever.

“Yeah, um, I did. Did you go to the gym?” Her gaze flicked down to her lap, then back up to me. Had I done the wrong thing by leaving so early? Without knowing what she was thinking, I couldn’t be sure if it would make it easier for either of us in the aftermath of our choices.

“I did. I can’t seem to sleep past 5:00 a.m. now, and I didn’t want to wake you by being restless.” I hoped that explanation would show her that she wasn’t the reason I left. I’d needed to get my head on straight, and I’d failed at that. The urge to stay close to her was just as strong as when I’d woken up.

“Ah, I see. No problem. I get it,” she agreed too quickly for my comfort.

I wanted a clear picture of what we were dealing with. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to know what she was thinking.

“Abbie. Are you okay after last night? You don’t regret anything this morning?” I had to know where we stood, even if it made her feel awkward.

“No, Aiden. I don’t regret anything.” Her voice came out stronger than when she sat down. “Do you?” The question was accompanied by two spots of pink that appeared on her cheeks.

“Definitely not.” My voice was calm and sure. I wanted to reach across the table and take her hands in mine to offer her some reassurance. But the line on how much comfort I could, or should, offer her was totally unclear to me at this point.

Regardless of what we decided in the next few minutes, I vowed to behave as professionally as before, which meant keeping my hands to myself during the business day. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to test the waters to see if she would want a repeat of our nighttime activities.

“You know.” I cleared my throat. “We did say one night, but technically, it’s still the same day. It’s our last hours in LA. How would you feel about another evening together?” I left the question vague so she wouldn’t feel like I was pressuring her for more than we’d already done. Hell, I’d be satisfied just to sleep with her again if that’s all she wanted.

The color in her cheeks intensified. “I… uh… yes. I would like that,” she finally managed.

“Good. We can order room service when we get back and just relax. It’s been a big week. Are you feeling okay about things going back to the office on Monday?”

Hoping that she would understand my meaning, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page before we were back in Amado and working side by side again. There was no way for us to be in a relationship with each other. It would be career suicide for us both if word got around the office.

That I was her boss was enough of a problem on its own, but factor in our difference in ages—I was steadfastly ignoring that Abbie was a yearyoungerthan Claire—and I might as well tender my resignation on the spot.

Even knowing the potential consequences, I just couldn’t deny myself one last taste of her. I’d done everything right for years. Hopefully, we could savor our moments together for what they were and then move on like mature adults. I knew I could trust Abbie’s discretion.

I had faith it would turn out okay. It wasn’t as if I was in love with her. We were two consenting adults making our own informed choices.

Making the responsible decision after last night was more difficult than ever before. A pang of disappointment in my chest surprised me with the realization that I wished Icouldpursue her once we were home again.

“I’ll be fine, Aiden. No need to worry about me. I understand what this is and what it isn’t.” Her answer was more direct than I expected.

She gave me a secret smile. A smile drawn from our intimate knowledge of each other and what was yet to come.

Later tonight, hopefully, both of us would.

I was glad I’d taken detailed notes during our last client meeting of the trip. I’d been so busy thinking about the night ahead of us that I’d retained nothing business related.

I’d even considered telling Aiden we could skip (blasphemy!) the final afternoon of Anime Expo, but I’d come to my senses after remembering there were a few exhibitors I had wanted to revisit, as well as making sure I attended the remaining paid events. I didn’t want to waste my gift from Aiden, even if I was anticipating a different kind of fun instead.

As it was, we’d gotten back to the hotel earlier than expected, and he’d left me at my door with a heated look that promised all sorts of post-dinner debauchery.

We’d separated long enough for me to have a shower and put on some fresh clothes. As enticing as last night’s dress had been, I didn’t want to spend the evening in my restrictive work shirt and skirt.

If myHello KittyT-shirt and pajama bottoms turned Aiden off, it would be better to know now. Not that it would matter after tonight, of course. But I didn’t think he was shallowenough to be put off by cartoon characters. Heck, he was almost proficient in identifying a couple of starter Pokémon after four days at the convention.

That thought gave me pause. What if he was anime’d out? Well, it was too late to change now, not when I’d heard that firm knock against the inner door between our rooms.

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