Page 39 of Brazen
Then I heard the door open. I pivoted, and Charlie popped his head in the office.
I jumped up and hugged him. “Charlie, you’re home early.”
“I missed you.” He kissed my cheek.
The rules of our relationship were gone now. I had no answers to anything except how he made me feel. I showed him the papers. “I was printing my research.”
He read the spreadsheet. “This is good.” He handed me papers.
I asked, “What’s this?”
He met my gaze. “My research on the recent profitability of newer airline launches of the past ten years.”
My heart thundered, and excitement strummed in my veins. “And?”
He nodded. “We’ll need to hire people to handle the legal stuff, and the financial area will be more than I know what to do with—there's a lot.”
I wasn’t sure what was happening. I raised my eyebrow. “So?”
He took my hands. “If you’re willing to take me on as a partner, I’d like you at my side.”
My heart stirred, and my body trembled. I was his for this ride. “Even if I have no experience?”
He kissed my hand. “I don’t, either, but we can hire experienced people to handle things as long as we know what generally needs to be done.”
I needed to be sure. I squeezed his palm. “So we’re doing it.”
He tugged me closer. “You want me?”
“Always.” I realized I was falling hard.
Then his phone beeped. He let me go. “So let’s go meet your friends.”
I rubbed my head. I hadn’t expected him to want happy hour, and I hadn’t asked. “What?”
He showed me his phone. “Britney included me in the group chat, and without mentioning it, I invited Kir.”
Life with Charlie was always interesting. This surprise was easy to forgive as I imagined how all my friends might react to a single man in their midst. I closed the laptop. “You did?”
Charlie walked me out of the office. “He had nothing going on, and I told him I was meeting you and your friends.”
I headed to the guest bedroom for clothes, but nothing was there. “Tonight will be interesting.”
Charlie waved me to the master bedroom. I followed him and found all the girlfriend attire was hung in the master suite. Fuller had worked all day, and I hadn’t noticed. I ignored that thought and changed into something more springy—a purple and black cocktail dress with a lower neckline. Charlie’s eyes would be on me.
He changed his shirt. “And when we get home, it’ll be just you and me.”
He offered me some jewelry. I turned to let him fasten the gold pendant around my neck. “Sounds perfect.”
He kissed my nape then let me go.
As we headed out, I asked, “Oh, how did the job interview go?”
Fuller was cleaning out the office treats. Charlie and I waved him off. The research and agreement had sealed the deal for me to take a chance at life. I waited until we were near the foyer to grab my shoes from the shoe closet there. “They offered, but I’d rather take my chances with you.”
He whispered, “Me too.”
I had no idea how we would handle the future, but for now, we had a project, and this mattered more. I was here for him, paycheck or not.
