Page 26 of The German's Guilty Pleasure
Lars
The sky was vibrant with stars and the lights of the city vibrated on the horizon. I stood on my balcony trying to relax, but I could not concentrate on the vision above me with my mind still on the beautiful woman down the hall. The one who had worked her way around my defenses to lodge in the deepest parts of me. She was excellent at testing me and turning me on, the latter being the problem tonight. The whole way to the airport, I had to fight with myself not to turn the car around and take her the way I wanted to up against my door. The only thing that stopped me was knowing she was a virgin. That was something I could not overlook. Taking a woman’s virginity, especially at her age, was too much responsibility for me. It was too much for my immature mind to wrap itself around. I would break her heart and that was not something I could risk. Hell, I was already risking everything. All she had to do was cry sexual harassment, and this company was hers. Sure, she cannot hire the kind of lawyers I can, but I had seen stranger things happen. I did not see Serenity as a threat, though. I should, but I never could get there with it. She did not know anything about running a company like Kontakt. She was a marketing genius, but a ruthless CEO she was not.
“Mein süβen Sohn, bist du in ordnung?”Mutter’svoice filled the balcony, and I lifted my head.
“I am okay,Mutter. I thought you were asleep.”
She pulled out a chair with perfectly manicured fingers before she sat, her long silk and lace caftan flowing around her perfect size four-figure. Thinking back, I could not picture her ever wearing anything else to bed. I once joked that she was dressed to the nines, day or night. She responded that a lady, a woman who knows her worth, was never dressed to the nines. She was dressed for success, day and night. I was too young to understand what she meant at the time, but over the years, I slowly grasped what she was trying to say. She took pride in her appearance, whether she was in the boardroom, going out on the town, or simply spending time with her family. She was always put together because she was always a lady.
“Hardly. It is after six a.m. at home. The question is, why are you still up? It is almost one a.m.”
I shrugged, and she raised one perfectly sculpted brow. In her life, men do not shrug. “It was a long day and I cannot settle.”
“Is that not your secret? You are never settled, and that is why you are successful?”
I pulled out a seat and lowered myself to it. I had long ago lost the suit coat and tie. My dress shirt was rolled to the elbows and was obviously hours old. If I was smart, I would go inside, take a shower, and crawl into bed rather than sit here and spar with her. She had slept on the plane. I had been awake for nearly twenty hours. “I would say I am successful because you are mymutterand for no other reason. You know how I get this time of year.”
“That is the reason I am here. I would never leave you to go through this time alone, but Lars, it is time to move on.”
I tipped my head back to the sky and shook it. “You know forgetting is impossible,Mutter.”
“Sohn, I did not say forget. I said, move on. Those are two different things. I know for I had to do it.”
“Wash. Rinse. Repeat,” I sighed, my eyes trained on the stars.
“What does that mean?” She leaned over the table and folded those long pianist fingers together into a prayer pose. She was ready for battle, and I was ill-equipped at the moment.
“It means we have this conversation every year.”
She nodded once. “We do, and every yeargeh in ein ohr aus dem anderen.”
I laughed then and lowered my gaze to hers. “No, it goes in one ear and rattles around, it never goes out the other. I do not want to fight with you tonight. I want you to see what I have done here and enjoy our time together, nothing else.”
Her eyes, the same blue as mine, sparked with frustration. She never looked a year of her sixty years, and tonight was no different. Most people mistake her for my sister, which is a compliment to both of us. “I only want happiness for you,Sohn. You were not happy in Germany, but you also are not happy here.”
I leaned forward and took her hands off the table, holding them in mine. “I am happy,Mutter. I probably have never been happier than I am in this place. It was exactly what I needed.”
“I am not a blind woman, Lars. You look no different than you did when I sent you away. It makes my heart doubly sad.”
I patted her hand and leaned back, resting my head on the chair. “It might look that way tonight, but the truth is, in the light of day tomorrow, I think you will see the difference.”
She stroked her fine, golden hair for a moment. “Maybe that is the case, and I hope it is. This division is already turning a profit, which means you must be doing something right, at least in business.Privat?”
I laughed and shook my head. I expected her to at least beat around the bush a little bit, but then again, she was never one to do that. “My private life is just that.”
“Something tells me your demeanor tonight has more to do with a woman than your work. Call it intuition. Have you met someone?”
I was about to walk through fire and I had to be careful or I would get burned, I had no doubt. “I have. You are right, that person is the problem tonight.”
“Is she in trouble?”
I tipped my head n confusion. “In trouble? No, why would she be in trouble?”
She tipped her nose down, and her eyes flashed toward her abdomen and then back to mine.
“Oh! God, no!” I exclaimed, holding up both hands. “I just met her.”
“That has never stopped you in the past,” she pointed out.
