Page 80 of The Confidentiality Clause
I smile down at her. “Sure, how does ice cream sound?”
Her eyes light up. “Amazing.”
I tuck her into my side and steer her back out the door. The exhaustion of the last week is starting to catch up to me, but I can hang on a little longer to spend more time with her. We walk down the hallway of the hotel, Ariel leaning against me with her arm beneath my suit jacket.
“You called me your girlfriend back there,” she says quietly.
My heart skips. “I did. Is that okay?”
I glance at her and catch her smiling down at her feet.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
A grin breaks out across my face. I never would have imagined this scenario, but wow, am I glad it played out. I press a kiss to the crown of her head as we near the exit. There’s still a lot forme to work through, but I know it’ll be worth it if I have her by my side.
Chapter thirty-six
Ariel Cambridge
My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide.
“Is it wrong that today is a day I will forever mark as one of the greatest ever?” I ask Bethanne.
We’re standing outside Houston’s office. Hisemptyoffice. Because he resigned. We both think he was fired, but the company memo said resigned.
“I’m going to make a page in my scrapbook for it.” Bethanne lifts her phone, takes a photo of the empty office, then flips the camera to front-facing mode. We’re both beaming. She snaps a few photos while giggling.
“Did you make a page for when Dominic turned him into a sad puddle on the ground?”
Bethanne juts her bottom lip out. “No. I didn’t have any photos, not even of the event in general. I was distracted by how yummy Dominic looked in a suit.”
I laugh. “I can understand your obsession after how he protected you.”
She places a hand on her chest and lets out a dreamy sigh. Her face takes on a far-off look, and I know she’s reliving the moment. I’ve relived that night several times too, but for different reasons.
“Should I leave you alone?” I joke.
She snaps back into focus. “Sorry. It’s just hard not to replay him sayingmy wifeover and over.”
I interlock my arm with hers and steer her back toward our desks. Today is a celebration, but we do have to get work done. Or at least look like we’re being productive.
“Very valid of you. I would do the same. If Brock called me his wife while wearing a suit, I think I would faint.”
“Is that so?” a familiar silken voice asks. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
Brock is in my cubicle. He’s sprawled out in my chair, a bouquet of pristine white roses hanging from one of his hands.
Bethanne giggles like a schoolgirl next to me. “I’ll leave you alone.” She slips away to her cubicle where she’s a hundred percent going to listen to every word we say.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him, my face burning from what he heard.
Surely it’s too soon to be fantasizing about being his wife. The man has barely wrapped his head around a commitment other than his business, and I’m over here acting like a marriage proposal is on the horizon. I’m going to scare him. Like I’ve done with every man I’ve ever liked for longer than one date.
Brock stands. I take in his signature black suit with his white shirt unbuttoned at the top. His hair is tamer today, pushed back with some kind of product. The clean look combined with the roses makes my heart skip. He looks debonair, like the lead in one of the movies Sutton and I used to watch together.
“I came to ask you to get lunch with me, and learn some valuable information, apparently.”
I roll my eyes. “I was joking. Clearly exaggerating.”
