Page 14 of That First Date

“Listen, I’m heading into the office.”

“Wait, really quick,” he stops me. “Are you free for dinner tonight?”

I sigh. “I can’t tonight. I’m hanging out with the girls,” I tell him, which is a partial lie. It’s just me and Kali like it always is every night.

“One of these days, I will get you to agree to an official date with me.”

“We will see,” I laugh. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Talk so—” he starts before I end the call just as I step foot into the building.

After I grab a coffee from the cart in the downstairs lobby, I make my way to my office. Marc’s door is open so I can see that he’s here already which is unlike him to be this early.

Stepping into the office, all the air leaves my lungs as I see Marc again. Remember those checkboxes? I am pretty sure all of Marcs are on the pro side of perfect boyfriend material. He can keep up with my back-and-forth banter. I know, for a fact, that he’s the sweetest guy under his grumpy exterior because I have seen the way he is with the people he cares about. He’s tall, with perfect dark hair I can comb my fingers through and he’s handsome as hell. There is no denying that. To top it off, I know what he’s like when he has sex. It’s explosive. It’s dominant. It’s dirty. It’severything.

“Good morning, Avery.” He smiles at me as I continue to stand in the doorway. “Are you going to come in? Or are you going to stand there all day?”

“Thinking I might stand here all day.” I let out the breath I was holding before I make my way into the room.

Part of my routine when I come into work is that I stop at his desk before I even head to mine to put anything down. I get a quick rundown of the day, what meetings are scheduled and priority tasks I have to complete. It’s something we started when I first began working here and it works well for us.

Placing my coffee on the desk and my bag on the floor, I take a seat in the chair in front of his desk. My eyes meet his. He looks a tad bit distraught this morning. His scowl is deeper than it normally is, and he has his fingers interlocked under his chin as if he’s deep in thought.

“You look like your cat ran away, Marc.”

“I’m more of a dog guy,” he responds. No hint of joking in his tone.

“Noted.”

“I’m going to cut to the chase.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the desk. His eyes never leave mine. “We need to talk.”

I nod and swallow the lump in my throat at his serious tone. My eyes scan his face to assess his features. They are mixed with panic and worry. His eyes are heavy like he hasn’t slept much in the last twenty-four hours. I can tell whatever it is, it has been bothering him all night long.

“As you know, Bill flew in yesterday and I had a meeting with him and Todd in the afternoon.” He pauses. His eyes bounce between mine before he continues. “He and his wife are spending the summer here in the city.”

“This is the last place I would want to vacation for the summer,” I huff. My attempt to ease some of whatever tension he’s got going on.

“He’s only partially here for a vacation,” he says with the most serious expression on his face. “He’s really here for the summer because he still has not made a decision about who he’s going to hand the company keys over to.”

I don’t like where this is going.

“I hate to put you in this position, Avery. I know you do a lot around here to help me out as it is. You’re probably the best assistant I have ever had.” He offers me a small smile. “But… I need to ask you if you would consider being my fiancé again.”

“What?” I practically scream as I stand up from my chair.

“I know, Ave.” He winces as he stands just as fast as I did and strides around his desk to stand in front of me. His hands lightly grip my biceps as he stares at me before continuing. “Trust me, I want to do this as much as you do. But this company means everything to me. Taking over Prestige Horizons, would mean the entire world to me. It's the only thing in my life that hasn’t tried to break me down.”

I am silent, my mouth still open in shock.

The only thing that hasn’t tried to break him down? I want to know more about that, but I don’t want to open that can of worms right now.

“This was supposed to be a one-night thing, Marc.” I shake my head as I release myself from the hold he has on my arms. “I can’t play your fiancé formonths.”

“Why not?”

“Marc…” I groan. “I just can’t. There is no way we can convince him. We did fine the first night thanks to some champagne confidence and a room full of people. There’s no way we can pull this off because we are two totally different people. You’re used to this lifestyle.” My voice grows louder with each word I spit out. “Besides, what if I’m seeing someone?”

“Are you… seeing someone?”

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