Page 21 of Inadmissible
“Exactly. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t think of the workaround until last night, and by then, I couldn’t call you at the office and I don’t have your personal number. This isn’t something I’d risk sending to your work email because I wasn’t sure if it was monitored. And I also didn’t want to tell you because I wanted to know if you’d trust me or automatically assume the worse.”
“Did I fail that last part?” she asked with a smile, causing me to laugh.
“No. You actually handled it better than I thought you would.”
With a sigh, she stood and walked over to the large plant by her window. “I don’t see how you think we can have a personal relationship, Tristan.”
“I prefer angel.” She smiled as I took slow steps in her direction. “And I see it very clearly actually. I’m going to gain your trust and access to your heart while we work together, and then, I’m going to make you my wife.”
“Tri—”
“Aht aht.” I wrapped her up in my arms and pulled her close.
“Angel.” After correcting herself, she smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I meant it when I said I didn’t want a relationship.”
“And I meant it when I said you’re still going to have one. Now you don’t have to be my woman, but I’m definitely your man. You just make sure if you entertain any other men?—”
“I have no interest in that. I’ve been through a lot with men in the past and I prefer my peace and heart intact. That’s never the case when I’m in a relationship. Not the whole time at least.”
“That doesn’t mean give up on love. It just means you were with the wrong men.”
Her office phone rang, giving her the perfect excuse to remove herself from my embrace.
“I’m gonna go, but we’ll talk soon,” I declared.
“About the deal, right?” she confirmed, picking up the phone.
“Yeah, but about us too.”
Her eyes rolled playfully as she pushed the blinking button and accepted the call. I made my way out of her office happy with the progress we’d made.
Taj
Mid-January
The last two weeks went by with a rapid pace. Tristan had been a man of his word. I liked working at his office versus mine. When we had meetings there, I felt seen, heard, and respected. It surprised me to hear what his plan was, but I was grateful that he thought enough about my expertise as an attorney to want me at his firm.
Though he flirted with me here and there, we usually kept things all business when I was at his office. Every week, he gave me flowers. Every day, he made sure I had coffee when I was coming to the office, and he took care of my lunch. I found myself growing more and more attracted to the way his mind worked. Only once had he almost gotten me bent over backwards across his desk, but thankfully, I was able to restrain myself. If I felt like he would be okay with just sex, I wouldn’t deny us of it, but it was clear he wanted more.
“I don’t want you to feel like you’re settling with me,” I told Tristan as he walked me out of the office. “I know you want a relationship, and I don’t. If I say yes to sex or to this date, I will feel guilty. I’ll feel like . . . I can’t give you what you want.”
“First, it’s not your responsibility to protect me. I protect you,” he clarified, taking my hand into his and stopping me from going outside.
“That’s not entirely true. Your woman might not be tasked to protect you physically, but she should protect your heart. Your mind. Your reputation. That’s the point of our ribs, right? To protect our hearts. Your wife is supposed to do the same.”
He gave me a soft smile before running his fingers through my hair. “You can’t say shit like that and not expect me to want you even more.”
“I’m saying it because I want you to be aware. You’re too good of a man to settle for the little I have to offer.”
“If all you have to offer me right now is your pussy, I will use that to make my way to your heart. I know what I’m up against. Taking my time with you isn’t settling just as long as I know there’s a chance you will one day give me more. If you can honestly tell me that day will never come, I’ll stop pursuing you.”
“There she is.”
At the sound of Destin’s voice, my teeth gritted. “My God. He’s like a roach that just won’t die,” I muttered, and Tristan choked on a laugh and used a cough to cover it before wrapping his arm around me and turning me so that we both were facing Destin.
“Here she is, but I believe I told you to stay away from her, didn’t I?” Tristan confirmed.
“I can’t speak to the woman that was so close to being my wife?” His smug grin turned my stomach. Instead of entertaining him, I did something I hoped I wouldn’t regret.
