Page 34 of Boss On Notice
“Like…”
I sit back in my chair and swivel, feeling proud to be the one who momentarily has the upper hand. But he seems reluctant to tell me what he’s been working on. “I thought you said you could trust me?” Then, I jerk my body so hard that I nearly fall out of my seat. “Wait. Is it AI?” I can’t believe I just remembered that. I actually see us sitting in a bar that had chairs that glow like light bulbs and him telling me that.
Orion frowns confused. “Yeah…how did you know?”
“I think you told me on Friday night.”
Orion nods contemplatively. “Yeah, I must have told you, otherwise how would you know?”
We stare at each other mystified.
“What went on between us on Friday night?” he asks.
My shoulders curl over at the end of a big sigh. “I wish I could remember.”
“Do you remember me going off with a woman?” he asks.
I could lie to throw him off my trail. “I don’t.” That didn’t sound too convincing as far as I’m concerned, but I think Orion bought it.
“Right,” he whispers and then suddenly springs to his feet. “Well, listen. What will it take to get you to work for me for two months while I finish getting my AI software off the ground?”
Wow.“Your AI software?” Orion associated with such a hefty undertaking feels so improbable.
Orion nods. “I’ve been working on it for a while.”
“A while?”
He waves my two weeks’ notice as if it’s a white flag. “After two months we’ll revisit the matter of this notice.”
I shake my head fervently. “There will be no revisiting of the notice, Orion. I’m quitting. I can’t work for you anymore.”
“Aha,” he says poking his finger at me. “Then you are quitting because of me.”
My lips do not stutter when I say, “Of course I am. But you’re not the sole reason.”
Orion claps his hands. “Okay, Delilah, let’s cut the bullshit back-and-forth. I need you. So, what do I have to do to keep you for two months, at least?”
The two months crap unsettles me, but I can’t deny that I’m affected by the vulnerability he’s showing. Two months versus two weeks is a long time. However, I’m not as angry at Orion as I had been before our trip to Las Vegas. I’ll concede to the fact that if that was his intention, to take me off for the weekend and work to change my mind, then his plan might have worked to a certain degree.
My sigh is laced with defeat. I pick up my cell phone and go to my notes. “I’ve made a list.”
His eyebrows pull. “You made a list?”
“Of the gripes I have with you.”
“You actually made a list?”
I blast him with my serious and unyielding glare. “You forced me to make a list. Number one,” I read extra loudly. “I need you to show up to the office and to work every day of the work week.”
He shakes his head, frowning. “I do that already.”
“Wow. Talk about not being self-aware.”
Orion throws his hands up. “I work every day.”
“I don’t see you every day.”
His lips cut into the sexiest smirk. “You want to see me, Delilah?”
