"Actually, I do." He pulled into the parking lot of his building. Her car was still there, and so were several other cars. She did her best to ignore them. "I know I'm attracted to you. I loved our kiss, and I want to do it again. I watch you walk away because I love your ass. Your tits are more than a generous handful."
"You are really crossing that line."
"That line was already crossed, and I'm not going to uncross it." He took hold of her hand. "I'm being serious about this. This isn't a decision that I'm going to change tomorrow, or when I get bored. I'm in this for life, and while you're thinking about it, I want you to consider that. I won't push you away. I won't find another woman."
"How do I consider this? Nearly every part of me is screaming hell no."
"Then what is your other part screaming?" he asked.
"Not as loudly. I'm … ugh … I don't know what I am."
"I'm not going to rush you. Okay. We'll go in, work, and just think about it. Can you do that?"
"Of course I can do that."
Climbing out of the car, she held her bag tightly in her grip. They made their way toward the elevator. No one else was on it, and she glanced over at him. "Why did you give me this job? I never applied for it."
"The way you treated me when you had no idea who I was. I thought you handled yourself well. You knew all of the details of the business that were important. Did you know some of our colleagues were laughing at you?"
"Yeah, I know." She was used to it.
"I wanted to give them a reason to stop laughing. I also saw that if you garnered that information within a few months, then I wanted to see your potential working with the guy who built it from the ground up. I wasn't wrong."
"Thank you."
"They are not compliments. You earned the right."
"Still, it's nice to know." She smiled at him.
She was never afraid of hard work, and the moment she got this job, she knew she'd done well. Xavier was a hard boss, but he was fair.
They got off on their floor. She stopped at her desk while he made his way into his office. Several people had seen them together, but that wasn't newsworthy. They often met at the parking lot, and traveled up.
He wants to have a baby.
Firing up her computer, she handed the tray of letters to Lottie, the postal lady in the company, and then went to the coffee station. Martha was there, grabbing an entire tray of coffees.
"First floor has you getting their drinks?" she asked.
"It's okay."
"It's not your job." Anya knew from experience that certain floors would gang up, and see what they could get certain people to do. They got a kick out of making the receptionist their little slave, or something. She didn't get it. "What did they say this time?"
"I'm fine, really."
Anya didn't press, but she saw that Martha was upset.
"Fine, okay. They told me I didn't have much to do anyway, and I might as well get busy and get them coffee."
"They're assholes. Your job is very important."
"I man the desk, direct people, and answer the phone. It's not a lot."
"I tell you what, Mr. Leigh believes it's one of the hearts of the business. People come here, that first initial greeting can be the difference between a good meeting and a bad one."
"I never really thought about it like that."
"I wouldn't get them their coffee, and to avoid the floor, just use the stairs. You're a hard worker, Martha."
She grabbed her and Xavier's coffee, taking him one, and then going back to her desk. For the most part, the day went by without a hitch. Clients and prospective companies turned up for their appointments. She assisted Xavier in any way that she could and dealt with people from the first floor who were pissed to have to get their own coffee.
Throughout it all, she couldn't get rid of what Xavier wanted from her.
A baby.
A living, breathing, precious thing.
Something that usually brought families together.
By the time people started to leave, Anya still hadn't come to a decision. She kept saying yes, and then no, and then yes again. She'd always wanted a baby, and at least she knew she could trust Xavier. He may be her boss, and for the most part an asshole, but he did follow through with his word.
Not once did he break a vow, or offer something that was never going to happen.
By six, she was finishing up her work and grabbing her jacket. Xavier was still arguing on the phone, and she made her way toward his door. She didn't enter, nor did she draw attention to herself.
Watching him work, how deeply he fought for his company was the final reason she made a decision.
He slammed the phone down, shaking his head.
"Did you not get the deal you wanted?" she asked.
"Oh, I got it all right. Never doubt me when I want something."
"I don't." She glanced down at her feet, took a deep breath, and looked at him. "I thought about your offer, and I've come to a decision."
He put down the pen he was holding.
"It's yes. I'll have your baby."
Xavier looked around her apartment. He'd never been inside before, and he liked it. It was tiny. Much smaller than his penthouse suite, which he loved. Anya's space was filled with personality, life, love, all of it. He saw a picture of her graduation with her mother and father on either side.
She had agreed to be the mother of his child, and instead of letting her change her mind, he'd wanted to go to her place to iron out the details.
Taking a seat, he leaned back, and sighed. She had a wonderful sofa, nice and soft on the back, and something to sink into. Resting his head back, he closed his eyes, and it was strange how he found peace.
The apartment smelled like her. A floral sweet scent that always made him want to press his nose against her neck, breathing her in.
"I don't have any fancy coffee I'm afraid, so I made hot chocolate."
He watched as she walked in, and bent down to place his cup on a coaster on the coffee table.
"Hot chocolate is fine. Do you cook for yourself?" He noticed the long line of cookbooks across a wall.
"Yeah. It was something I always did with my mom. She's an amazing cook. Every time I feel a little homesick, I cook or bake."
Since she had entered the kitchen she had put her hair down, and now the long red strands caressed her face. He wanted to reach out, and touch. Resisting the urge, he grabbed the cup, holding it in his hands.
"We could have done this in the office," she said, fidgeting in her chair.
"You don't like having me in your space."
"It's nothing personal. Well, not much. It's just, I don't know what I'm saying."
He smiled. "You've agreed to have my baby."
"I know."
"So, I should probably come around a little more, and get used to being with you."
"I don't want anyone at work to know. Can we keep it secret?"
"What about when the baby is born?"
"I'll deal with everything after. Until then I'd just like to have this chance to … have a quiet life. It was difficult for me when you hired me without the interview. I'd rather not stir anything up."
"You're going to have my baby. That will stir everything up. I won't keep it a secret."
"I know. I know. Please, just do this for me."
"Fine. I want you to start spending more time with me. When we're out of work, I expect you to go on dates. I don't live in the limelight as you've seen, so there's no fear of us being caught together by the press."
"I can handle that."
He chuckled at her lack of enjoyment. She was such a refreshing change from all the women that wanted to be seen in certain places, by important people. "I guess we should talk about marriage then."
"Wait, what?"
"We're going to have a baby together. I want us to be married."
"People have babies without the need for a marriage."
"I know. I know what I want."
"You want marriage now?"
"It's a small thing. I don't want my child to be known as a bastard. It's old-fashioned, but I want my name at the end of his or hers."
She held her hands up. "Okay, okay."
"Besides, I don't see why marriage will be a problem. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together. Anya, I don't want you seeing other men. When we do this, we become it for each other." He wanted to make clear he had no interest in sharing her.
Anya blew out a breath. "I won't cheat on you. This is a whole lot to take in. What if we're not compatible?"
"We are."
There was no way he was getting fucking hard if there wasn't anything there. "How about we take a chance? Are you willing to … experiment?"
"How?"
He leaned back in the chair and patted his lap. "Come and have a seat."
"Are you serious?"
"Yep. Come and sit with me. It's a way to find out. You're going to have to get used to being touched. We're going to have to do it to get pregnant."