Page 61 of Ella Gets the D
This dress and Sebastian’s convenient absence are no coincidence.
“You’re a hard man to reach.” Robyn takes a long drink from her chardonnay, careful to sweep her thumb across her bottom lip.
“Same hustle, different day.”
“Mmm. All work and no play makes for a dull Julian.” Her eyes study me with a determined expression that makes it clear she’s not talking about work schedules.
She’s not wrong. I squeezed in a rugby practice last night after a ten-hour day. The temporary release loosened some pent-up stress and gave my left hand a break. I’ll be lucky if I don’t develop carpal tunnel or keep the skin on my dick.
I clear my throat. “Did you want to go over the Tan account?” I eye her. “The reason for this dinner?”
Her boldness was once a turn-on. Now, it’s grating on my patience.
Robyn breaks eye contact and lifts a bitter smile. “I’d like to revisit the offer. I have compliance concerns.”
A brow sinks. “There has been no previous apprehension voiced over the contractual terms,” I say. “What are your expectations to amend?”
Her finger circles the rim of her wineglass. “The terms are implied from conduct, and I’ll accept oral.”
“Robyn.” The strain in my voice cuts through the lust in the air from her side of the table. I sigh and sit back to make room for the server with our plates and nod in thanks.
A month ago, I would’ve done more than read between the lines. Robyn is a smart woman—the sharpest contract lawyer at her firm. She’s gorgeous, a woman who takes what she wants and leaves people eating out of the palm of her hands.
We met eight months ago when she strutted into my office for a negotiation. Professional courtesies and late-night gatherings turned into laughs over nightcaps. Neither of us wanted anything serious and finally gave into the sexual attraction that intensified with each glance.
She’s the only woman in London I’ve allowed to stay the night in my suite. We text on and off whenever we’re in town, but that’s been the extent of our communication.
No check-ins, lengthy conversations, or romantic gestures outside of dinner before sex. Our connection was purely physical to satisfy our urges without emotional attachment.
My thoughts drift back to Ella. Whereas Robyn is a path that’s straight with no chaser, Ella is a road of speed bumps and detours under construction. The signals have been hard to read since we reconnected last week. It keeps me guessing. I’m hard-pressed to see her face each night, and I want to unravel more layers of the woman who enthralls me.
We’ve texted and video called almost every day since Saturday. Sunday’s virtual movie morphed into binging random YouTube clips. I had my first Japanese session with Jackson on Monday, which became an hour-long conversation about the language and anime while El made dinner. Haile hopped on to give me a twenty-minute download on the life of a preschooler.
I video call Duke twice a week, and I look forward to adding space for Ella and her kids who’ve blended into my life so seamlessly it should terrify me. Except it doesn’t.
The craving to connect in every sense destroys any impulse to gratify my drive with another woman. I want her—all of her—however she’ll let me have her. For now, I’m Duke’s fun uncle, but maybe there could be something more.
However long it takes.
I pull my cell from the silk lining of my suit jacket and thumb to our text thread. The last message came hours ago, when El told me a two-year-old asked for theshits. She ran the little girl bouncing on her feet to the bathroom, thinking she had to poop, only to find out she wanted Cheez-Its. I never laughed so hard in a meeting in my life.
The memory tugs at my cheeks.
“Everything alright?” Worry clings to Robyn’s question and holds on for dear life.
“Peachy,” I say, my eyes still on the screen. It’s five o’clock in DC. Ella should be back home with the kids.
Ella
Remind me never to agree to a double date again.
I swallow hard and force my hand to loosen its grip on my phone.
This is the first I’ve heard of a double date, on a school night, with a man who isn’t her ex. El isn’t interested in dating. Shemade that clear with the shield she fortified to protect her and her kids from more heartbreak.
If she’s on a double date, she’s out with at least one person she’s comfortable with. The question isn’t who, but why now? She never said she was dating on any of our video calls.
With me.
