Page 16 of Already His

“Did you think any more about that business proposal?” he said, standing and brushing off his wrinkled clothes. He looked delicious in dove grey pants and a pale blue shirt, with the sleeves rolled up over his muscular forearms.

“The one where you offered me a million and a half dollars for no reason, except that we slept together? I’m putting Julia Roberts to shame with that one,” I laughed. He tugged my hand and pulled me close to him. I resisted the urge to close my eyes, inhale his Elliot scent and lean my head against his chest.

“I offered you the money because you’re talented and bright, and ambitious as hell. You deserve a chance, Mia.”

“That’s sweet of you. It’s really kind, but I couldn’t possibly,” I said quietly, feeling wretched at that moment. Maybe Elliot thought that an investment like that could keep a casual sex relationship on the table between us. There was no way he could want more. He had no idea that I’d soon be off the market if my father had any say in it. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. It was too painful. Part embarrassment, part disappointment… no, I couldn’t. I would part on good terms with Elliot Winter, and he could at least remember me not as a pitiful person. That was a win, in a way. The words were hollow inside me.

“We’ll see,” Elliot said cryptically, as he glanced at his watch, and I jumped on the opportunity.

“I better let you get back to it, your secretary probably hates me,” I said, backing out the room. “You have the suit, and you look perfect, I mean, it fits perfectly.” My mouth going into its customary overdrive when I’m feeling awkward, which I definitely was just now.

Elliot watched me with an amused look.

“I’m going out of town for a meeting tomorrow morning,” he called to me, as I edged out the door. So, it was starting. The untangling of this fine, high-flying man with the lowly virgin from Bentonhurst. “I’ll be back on Sunday,” he said, and I rushed to fill that excruciating gap, where Elliot was too good-mannered and gentlemanly to just tell me he wouldn’t be seeing me again and wish me the best.

“I’ve got my cousin’s First Communion on Sunday. Fun times! Erm, have a great trip,” I said, now standing on the threshold, and just wishing I could disappear. Elliot was watching me with those dark eyes that seemed to see right through me.

“I’ll call you when I get back,” he said. I shook my head lamely.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said, and he frowned.

“Mia-” he started, just as his secretary joined me at the door, and wedged herself in the gap.

“Mr. Winter, they rescheduled the meeting to accommodate you and are waiting for you.” She looked a bit frazzled. I took the opportunity to back away. Elliot looked irritated a moment with his secretary, before fixing me with a look.

“I’ll call you when I’m back and we’ll talk about all of this,” he said confidently.

Unsure how to respond without blurting out all my fears and worries, I settled for a salute, like a true dork.

I slipped from the room with relief and hurried to the elevators.

Inside, my reflection stared back at me. I should have told him I couldn’t see him again.Why would he care? He’s had everything he wanted from you. The cynical voice was my father’s and he was probably right. Men like Elliot Winter are hardly waiting around for an inexperienced, recent virgin to go on a date with them. He probably wasn’t even going on a trip, just offering an elegant excuse to put some space between us. He’ll forget me by the time his sheets were changed, whereas, for me, he would be it. The highest ideal, living in my memory forever. It might hurt more, to have that comparison, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I could see in a detached sort of way, the extremely poisonous negative thinking that seemed to permeate everything related to men and relationships, but seeing it, didn’t stop it. That invisible collar of judgment, cynicism, and familial obligation grew ever tighter. The truth was, whether Elliot wanted to see me again or not, my father would never accept passing up the chance to marry a good old boy from the neighborhood, for the slim possibility that a verified billionaire wanted to casually date.

And I wanted to make my papa happy more than I wanted my own happiness in the end, so I guess I’d get what I deserved.

* * *

Elliot

My meeting on Saturday was tedious and quickly finished. As I was in Boston, I agreed to meet my parents for lunch. It was a chore best avoided, but today, I had something to talk about with them. Sadly my sister Clara wasn’t able to make it, the one bright stop on the usually terrible forced lunches.

Unfortunately, they had also come with an agenda, one which was patently clear as my mother brought up an ex-girlfriend of mine who was recently divorced.

“It’s such a shame though, she’s so young, and she’d really make such a perfect wife,” my mother’s voice droned on over entrees.

“Apparently not,” I ventured, sipping my glass of red wine. Drinking at lunch was a habit I didn’t like to get into, but lunch with my parents was the exception.

“Elliot, don’t say that. It was the man she married, he wasn’t suitable for her from the start. That’s what happens when you marry someone outside of your level… you might make it work for a while, but then you realize that you aren’t from the same worlds,” my mother plodded on, her thin voice gaining strength as she hit her stride. I couldn’t stop my laugh from slipping out. The sound startled my parents. It even knocked my father out of the wine daze he was in, and he looked up at me from his previous inspection of his plate.

“I’m sorry, it’s just so tired. I really don’t need to hear it again, mother, not today,” I said, wiping my mouth on a napkin and tossing it on the table.

“Excuse me?” my mother snapped.

“I don’t want to hear your tepid justifications and well-meaning scare-mongering about marriage. I’m not in the mood, and I don’t think I will be, ever again.”

“What are you talking about, Elliot?”

“I’ve met someone, I wanted to tell you at lunch. She’s not from my level, in fact, I’m not from hers,” I told them, pinning them with a blistering look, focusing all the intensity I used in the courtroom on their pale faces. “She’s out my league, sweet and strong, funny and kind… and I will do everything I can to make sure she’s mine, and keep her happy and by my side forever.” My parents were dumbfounded by my words. I picked up my phone and slid it into my pocket, and pushed back from the table. “As for the different worlds thing… I’m going to remake my world for her. That should solve any differences,” I said succinctly, and turned on my heel and left. I didn’t feel like staying and arguing with them over Mia. They wouldn’t understand until they met her, and maybe not even then. Nothing in my parents’ lives had ever prepared them for what love really looked like. They would come around eventually, especially when we gave them the grandkids they so desperately wanted. The truth was, my parents weren’t a big issue, as I didn’t particularly care what they thought. That’s the side effect of being a perfectly pedigreed show child who sees their parents as co-workers instead of a loving couple. Mia’s father, on the other hand… might prove to be far more complicated to win around.

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