Page 62 of Matchmaking the Rival

“Look, I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I was the one who got us into this by indulging my grandmother's idea that we're in a relationship."

"But we’re not." That took me by surprise. True, one night of hot sex was not a relationship, but things had changed since Grandmother walked in on us. At least I thought they’d changed. Didn’t Meredith?

Still, she was right. I'd made it clear to Meredith that I wanted her all for me. But one thing didn't imply the other.

Maybe it should.

"Come with me to the dinner," I said. "You'll have fun with me and my family. You know everyone." I needed her by my side. I couldn't explain that impulse, but when it came to Meredith, I was starting to learn to just take things as they came and act on them. “Grandmother will assume whatever she wants. And you and I know what we have.”

“Which is what? Two adults enjoying each other’s company, right?” she murmured.

"Enjoying it very, very much.” I tilted closer.

She flashed a huge smile. "Okay. Then let’s do this."

Chapter Fifteen

Meredith

“Sonya, you’re goingto love this,” I murmured on Tuesday morning, glancing at the printer. I was a little sleepy becausesomeonekept me up late, but things at the office were crazy enough to give me an adrenaline boost.

The last quarter of the year always brought on more stress as everyone focused on filling sales quotas and making sure all our key performance indicators were on track. I was keeping an eye on our point-of-sale promos. I had to give kudos to my predecessor because she'd kept calm during these months. I felt like I was going to lose it every time someone emailed me that things weren't going according to plan. Sonya herself was also more operationally involved right now. She asked for updated sales reports twice a week. I went to her office as soon as the printer was done, as I couldn’t wait for her to see the latest numbers. I knocked on her door; even though it was open, I didn’t want to barge in.

"Meredith, come in," she said, massaging her temple. "What do you have for me?"

"The latest numbers. You'll like them." I put them on the desk in front of her.

She only threw them a cursory glance and then looked up at me. I could tell she was happy. "This looks good. You're crushing it."

"Thanks. By the way, where are we with the sale? Did Arthur talk to Cade’s CFO?"

Sonya shrugged, avoiding my eyes and looking back down at the report. "Don't stress over that. Cade’s CFO reached out to us but we haven't moved forward in that direction. You just concern yourself with bringing more extraordinary numbers like this."

"Okay." My mood instantly lifted.Does that mean she gave up on the idea of selling? Or maybe she's simply postponing everything until after the Christmas and New Year's rush are over.That was more than fine by me.

“By the way, I know it’s none of my business, but you and Cade are... more than friends?”

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