Page 45 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

‘Mr Lintel won’t be happy—’ Aisha protested.

‘I’ll handle my dad,’ Miles informed her. ‘Look, Dad isn’t convinced that you are ready to be promoted but I am, Aisha. When I move up into the CEO position, I want you as my operations officer.’

She knew that Mr Lintel had his reservations, but hearing her suspicions confirmed made Aisha wince. Maybe she should cancel on Pasco and go to that dinner.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ Miles warned her. She lifted her finger to point it at her screen. ‘You need a life and when you get the promotion, I will be pushing you to find more balance in your life. And if some mad-about-you man wants you to stay in Cape Town, we can make that happen. After Covid-19, we’ve all realised what can be achieved by working remotely.’

Aisha released a long sigh, a mixture of confusion, relief, and sadness. ‘I appreciate that, Miles, I do. I just don’t know if things will work out with Pasco. Our relationship has been anything but smooth sailing.’

‘Relationships aren’t supposed to go smoothly, Aisha. Where’s the fun in that? They are supposed to have dips and highs, valleys and summits. How you navigate the obstacles is what matters, how you love each other through the hard times.’

Aisha lifted her eyebrows. ‘Did you learn that from the Danish prince you’re dating?’

‘No, I learned that from watching my folks stay married for close to thirty-five years,’ Miles replied.

‘Right, that’s sorted. I’ll see you on Friday in Joburg, okay?’

‘Okay.’ Aisha glanced down at the pile of résumés on her desk. ‘Can I ask you a quick question about St Urban and my search for a general manager...?’

‘Sure, hit me.’

God, she loved her job. At least she knew what she was doing there.

Due to Jason’s suspected malfeasance, Pasco was working at his restaurant in Franschhoek on Wednesday night and, thanks to the unexpected arrival of a tour bus of English tourists, he saw his plans for sneaking out early to spend the night with Aisha fading away. The tourists were in a mood to party, his kitchen was slammed, and the bartenders and waitresses were run off their feet.

Pasco found himself pulled a hundred directions and when he stepped into the restaurant from the kitchen, he saw Aisha sitting at the bar and pushed away a surge of irritation.

He wasn’t irritated by her presence, but by the fact he hadn’t seen her since the ball and, thanks to their busy schedules, knew that they wouldn’t be able to spend some quality time together before Saturday night.

The freaking sky could fall in but nothing—repeat,nothing!—was going to interfere with his plans for Saturday night. And Sunday.

Pasco lifted a hand in her direction, spoke to a waitress, and sighed when one of his regulars stood up to speak to him. It took ten minutes for him to reach Aisha, which was about nine and half minutes too long.

Bending his head, he kissed her temple and wrapped his hand around her wrist. ‘Come with me,’ he told her.

Aisha followed him through the doors marked ‘staff only’ and down a short hallway that led to his office. Standing back, he urged her inside, followed her in, and slammed the door shut, twisting the lock. Not giving her time to speak, he lowered his lips to hers, taking her mouth in a need-you-now kiss.

Aisha, so responsive, opened her mouth to his insistent tongue, and he couldn’t resist sliding his hand up and under her thin jersey to thumb her already responsive nipple. Why did they put work first when being together, loving each other, felt like this? What was wrong with them?

Pasco felt lust flash through him as she angled her head to allow him deeper access to her mouth, her tongue tangling with his. She moaned, a sexy sound deep in her throat, and dropped her hands from his shoulders to run her fingers across his stomach, letting them drift over his aching erection before settling them low on his narrow hips.

Three hard raps on the door had him lifting his head. ‘Give me a goddamn minute!’ he shouted.

He heard footsteps fading away and immediately returned to kissing Aisha. Seeing her was an unexpected pleasure and the rest of the world could give him five minutes. Or thirty. Or a couple of hours. What the hell could be so damn important?

Pasco nuzzled her neck and lifted her sweater to her collarbone, tonguing her breast through the lace fabric covering her nipple. He yanked her bra cup aside and took her nipple into his mouth, smiling when he felt her hand in his hair, holding him in place.

She loved what he did to her...and he loved doing it. Win-win. Caught up in the passion between them, he drank her in. Not able to resist, he slipped a hand between her legs to cup her.

‘Pas!’

Pasco heard the need in her voice and fumbled with the zip to her jeans so that he could feel her hot flesh on his fingers.

Someone banged on the office door again. ‘Boss?’

Pasco lifted his head from her mouth to glare at the door. ‘What?’ he shouted, annoyed.

‘Uh...another bus of tourists has arrived. We need another pair of hands at the bar.’

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