Page 26 of If You Could Only Believe
Chapter 14
Michael~
It was a few minutes before my lunch meeting with Sophia and I couldn’t believe how nervous I was.
Of course, this wasn’t just any lunch meeting.
I told Mason to give me 15 minutes to prepare Sophia before everyone joined us for lunch. I had called Gabe yesterday after I left Sophia’s and told him I had finally found the girl I was meant for. He turned a brotherly moment into an emotional circus when he conferenced in Aiden and Mason on the call, and in turn, Denise, Shane and Justice.
The call had been one of the most bizaare conversations we’ve all ever had, and that’s saying something. My brothers wanted details on finally getting my dick wet, while the girls wanted to hear all about how in love I was with Sophia. I finally had to hang up on the nutjobs just to end the torture.
The phone on my desk buzzed and my assistant’s voice came through the speaker. “Mr. Buchanan, Ms. Martella is here for her meeting,” Florence announced.
“Thank you, Florence,” I replied. “Please send her in. Oh, and moving forward, she needs no appointment, Florence. Ms. Martella has the same access as all the other Mrs. Buchanans.”
I heard a little gasp come through the phone, but I wasn’t sure if it was hers or Sophia’s. Wording it as ‘all the other Mrs. Buchanans’ implied that Sophia would be one herself one day. However, I hadn’t had a chance to speak with her about that just yet.
“Very well, Mr. Buchanan,” Florence responded, automatically. I wasn’t too fond of being called Mr. Buchanan, but Mason had insisted on it. I, personally, thought there were too many Mr. Buchanans running around this place and thought that first names would be a nice distinction. Not to mention the girls insisted on being called by their first names, too. But Mason would not hear it. He said the only reason the girls could be addressed by their first names was because Shane had insisted on it and there’s nothing he’d ever refuse her. Now feeling what I felt for Sophia, I didn’t blame him one bit.
There was a soft knock, and I looked up to see Sophia walking in. She was dressed in a similar office appropriate outfit she had donned on Friday. The colors were bland, and the outfit standard and I wondered if she did that purposely to avoid standing out.
I knew she thought she was weird and avoided people because of her penchant for speaking her mind, but I thought she was remarkable. If she was wearing bland clothing to blend in out of fear or anxiety, well, that bothered me. Sophia’s personality was meant to shine. Her honesty was something to revere, not slight.
I stood up, rounded my desk and met her halfway. I leaned down and kissed her temple even though what I really wanted to do was bend her over my desk and make her scream the building down. It was even harder to resist when I knew my brothers would totally support that idea.
Jesus, we were a dysfunctional group.
“Hey, baby.”
Her sweet brown eyes were all pensive. “I’m not sure why we have a meeting, but can I talk to you really quick before the meeting starts?”
I smiled and led her to the small conference table. I pulled her chair and sat down next to her. “What’s up?”
“You can’t do what you’re doing, Michael,” she said, taking me by surprise.
I leaned back in the chair and regarded her. “And what, exactly, am I doing?”
“Well, not to bring up the past or anything, but you pulled me away from my job, forced me to go to a party that I was excused from, made me mingle with your family, got me all hot and bothered, causing me to invite you to my apartment, took my virginity-allmy virginities, encouraged me to work from home, didn’t let me sleep, called a meeting that, let’s face it, didn’t need to be called since I’m not in trouble…oh, shit!AmI in trouble? You know, for sleeping with you?” she asked, wide eyed.
“Uh, no-”
Sophia let out a deep breath and then continued to list all my offenses. “Well, you called a meeting that didn’t need to be called, putting a spotlight on my…suspected association with you and it’s causing problems with my supervisor.”
My body tensed. “What do you mean it’s causing problems with your supervisor?” I wasn’t an idiot. I knew this situation wasn’t ideal for her, kind of how Denise had struggled with Aiden’s pursuit, but Sophia would need to get over it. I wasn’t fucking letting her go.
Sophia sighed. “Katrina’s just concerned I might use my…association with you and your family for special treatment or perks,” she mumbled.
I’ve spent years working on my temper and my knee-jerk reaction to emotional situations that involved the people I loved. My temper was unstable and unreasonable most of the time and nothing good ever came from me losing my shit. But between overhearing Katrina talking shit about how she didn’t like Sophia, the way she behaved towards her at the party, Sophia’s self-image and, now, coming in here telling me she got a dressing down because of our relationship…well, my temper was skimming closer to the surface than usual.
And that was something none of us needed.
“Okay, first, quit using the word ‘association’ to describe our relationship,” I told her. “We are not associates, and we don’t have an association.” Sophia rolled her eyes, and I wanted to spank her for it. “You’re my girlfriend. We are dating. You got that?”
She looked down at her wringing hands in her lap. “Michael…” she murmured.
I reached out and lifted her chin with my index finger. “Sophia, you’re mygirlfriend,whether you want to be or not, so I suggest you find a way to deal.”
Sophia went from anxious to affronted in half a second. “Whether I want to be or not? Who the hell says stuff like that, Michael? You can’t just force me to be your girlfriend,” she huffed. “This is America, you know. I have rights.” God, it was shocking how much I could already love this quirky woman after only a weekend together.
