Page 26 of Handling the CEO

“Well, from where I am sitting, you seem to be doing pretty good. The company is in the black, your employees have yet to push you in front of a moving propeller, and from what I saw today, the town folk also think you are doing a great job. Also, I am surprised he didn’t groom you from infancy to take over.”

“Ha, those vultures at the luncheon! It’s just schmoozing, really. And no, he did not tell me stories of mergers and acquisitions while bouncing me on his knee. My mom and I weren’t so much of a priority for him, so the company was more of an abstract for me growing up. I did spend my summers in the hangar fixing planes with the techs, and that I truly enjoyed, but my father wasn’t the man to pick up a screwdriver. When my mother moved to the South of France, I decided that jet skiing in the summer and snowboarding in the winter were the way to go. I have to admit I got in some pretty crazy situations; some I am not that proud of.” Jon exhales slowly and stares at the ceiling.

“Haven’t we all? Suspect the drugs Miranda was trying to point at earlier were part of that?”

“Yeah, I was young and dumb, and ran with the wrong crowd, tried a few things, but it’s been at least… I don’t know… fourteen. Fifteen? years since I took anything, so she is grasping at straws. My dad’s death and Tae’s birth changed matters for me.”

“Hey, I was young also and some of the stupid stuff I did—let’s never go there, though my sister will probably tell you a few very embarrassing stories. So how did you manage with McAv just given to you?” I gently caress his arms, tracing the designs of his tattoos.

“Luckily, I do have a Business major so that helped a bit when I got handed over the proverbial golden key to the kingdom. Though, randomly it seems what you appreciate most is my English lit minor, you little mischief maker.”

“That explains a lot, actually.” I giggle, remembering his preference for ‘big’ words.

“It was Mike who really came through. She knew all about the contracts and I left them to her, as I took on more technical and supplier relations. Been working fine, I think. Well, it did, until someone threw a spanner in the works, and I got a very disruptive non-employee, one I can’t seem to get out of my mind. She tastes so good, too.”

All of a sudden, I am on my back and Jon accidentally discovers one of my best-kept secrets in the world as he nibbles on my side.

“Oh—what do we have here—is the fearless ball-buster Dahlia Jara... ticklish?” he asks in delight as I squirm and squeal as he keeps nipping, holding me down. “Well, well, I seem to have found your Achilles heel.”

“Oh yeah, you would be wrong!” I manage to say as I try to roll away, but I fake-fail miserably.

“I need to investigate this matter more, in great detail” he flashes his dimple at me—the one which I won’t admit to being one of my weaknesses either—and proceeds to tickle me more, until I slap his ass telling him to stop it.

“Ah, there is one thing I wanted to ask as well.” Jon stops entertaining himself. “What was with the outfit?”

“Which one?” I pretend not to recognize what he means.

“Come on, Avril, you know I am not asking about the heart-attack-generating dresses. Out with it or I am sure I can find how you can resist some… torture.” He grins at me and licks his lips.

Though that sounds quite interesting, and I take a note to order a feather, I suppose I need to come clean.

“Lost a bet. Actually, I lost a poker hand.”

“Vegas again?”

“Worse... my mother’s kitchen table. To a 10-year-old. A 10-year-old I am convinced counts cards, but little fucker won’t fess up.”

Jon snickers against my stomach, tickling me with his beard this time, as I continue describing another less-than-proud moment.

“My nephew Javi—my sister Laura’s son—is going through a card phase. Taught himself how to play poker from YouTube. Somehow he convinced me to play with him. Naively, I believed we would be gambling for candy. But no, the kid goes for the jugular. We start on candy as I thought, but within 5 hands I am wiped clean. He sports a knowing look at me and says, ‘let’s play for some real stakes, auntie DJ—dares or favors’.”

“Jeez, that sounds like you should have stopped right there before getting hustled.”

“I really, reaaaally, should have. By the end of the evening, I was down two trips to Disney, one ice cream for dinner weekend, and then, the after worse hand in the history of card games… he demanded a trip to Atlantic City which I wouldn’t budge on. My sister would have killed me and he couldn’t have gotten into the casinos either—though apparently he wanted to watch the casino floor from the balcony or something like that. So, Javier went for his fallback plan—as every kid obviously has one—the Dare.”

“And his dare was... shorts?”

“Not shorts, you dolt!” I mock punch him again. “I was dared to dress like I did in high school for an entire week. He saw the pictures and thought I was cool—which I evidently am. I am quite lucky it wasn’t the week with the interview. That would have been something about me rolling in my 20-year-old sneakers on my board—which I am literally the worst on. I would have probably run someone over.”

“The coolest aunt indeed,” Jon laughs his full-on laugh again, “so skateboarding is not your strong suit?”

“Hell no, I only tried it to get boys!” That makes him tickle me again, mumbling, “I’ll show you a boy in a minute!”

He only goes on for a bit until he is sufficiently amused by my giggles and continues the conversation, “You should have him meet Nathan. His actual business is making playing cards; at least you’ll know he didn’t doctor the cards next time. My mate is an excellent poker player himself. Won a bunch of championships in college.”

“Nathan, your flirty friend? Yeah—my sister would really like me to introduce her son to the card-shark Don Juan of Florida so he can pick up some more bad habits.” I roll my eyes at the idea, but perhaps it has some merit.

“Har, har. He isn’t that bad actually, more posturing than anything—shit! Forgot to text Tae to see if she’s alright.” He is up in an instant, shuffling through his clothes to find his phone, causing me to pause to admire that firm ass of his, biting my lower lip and thinking of biting something else.

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