We all toasted to that, and I sighed with relief. The attention was off of me, and we moved on to other topics for the next hour or two. It was great seeing everyone again because they were good friends to me a few years ago. We were all going to go places, regardless of the fact of where we lived, and I had a glimmer of hope for the future.
I agreed to a bit of shopping after lunch and found a few more outfits for work. I grew up with money, and I could always buy what I needed, and I loved Dad for that. Like him, I still shopped for the best deal on the things that I wanted to buy, and it made my friends laugh. I went home with a smile and started a hearty salad for dinner with fresh bread since I’d eaten so much today. I knew that Dad would be hungry, though.
I put my clothes away while the bread was baking, smiling at all my new pretties. I pulled out a black skirt and a crimson blouse that was fitted around my waist and ruffled on the top with just a hint of cleavage, placing it gently on my dresser.
We ate as Dad asked me about the job, making me laugh. He had an assistant as well and knew my days inside and out, so I didn’t know why he bothered asking me anything. “He’s your best friend, Dad. You know how organized Payne is. He’s going to be great to work for.”
“I know that you’ll be safe there.” I smiled at him. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. If you choose to be an assistant, that would be a good career move. I know that I work too much and always have. Once your mom left, I think I threw myself into it and left you at home too much. I am sorry for that.”
I reached out to cover his hand with mine. “It’s okay. I know that you were trying to take care of me. We’re so close from all of it that none of that matters.”
“We had great help back then. I am glad for that, and you’ve grown up to be a wonderful woman.” I smiled as a tear slid down my cheek. “I wish that she was here to see you.”
“Her loss,” I said as we held hands.
I went to bed early since work started at eight sharp. I rose early enough to shower, do my hair and makeup before I got dressed and be in the car with plenty of time to make it there. I used the same parking lot, making my way across the street and walking inside with all the other employees of the building. I stopped at the cute little cafe and ordered a coffee from the sweet red-haired girl that took my order, smiling as I walked towards the elevators.
I went right to my floor and my desk surprised at how welcoming everybody was. I knew some of them casually just from being around a lot when I was younger but tried a little harder today since we were going to be coworkers.
Payne’s door was open when I went to my desk to set my things down, making me glance inside to see him dressed in black slacks that fitted him perfectly, along with a crisp blue shirt and black tie. He was looking at his computer and raised his gaze to meet my eyes, making me weak in the knees.
“Good morning,” Payne said as I walked into the room and smiled. His eyes took me in, and he licked his lips slowly. “You fit in well, Vienna.”
“Thank you. There’s a lot of beautiful women that work in this building, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” I looked outside, towards the water where we ate dinner a couple of days ago with a smile.
“They don’t hold a candle to you.” Payne’s words caught me off guard, and I turned my eyes to him.
“Do you mean that?” I asked as he nodded.
“You have grown into a beautiful woman,” Payne assured me as I blushed. “I see a lot of Melinda in you.”
“How much does Dad hate that?” I quipped as I strolled over to the window.
“There’s plenty of him as well. I’m sure it doesn’t bother him because you were worth all that comes with it.” Payne smiled at me, and my heart melted inside of my chest along with the apex of my thighs. Yeah, the wanting wasn’t going anywhere soon.
“I hope so,” I replied as I headed towards my desk. “I’m going to finish those reports today for you. Let me know if you need anything, okay?” I had an arsenal of technology locked in my desk from him; including a laptop, tablet, work cell phone and extensive calendar to match to the program on the computer. I warmed up my computer and pulled out the phone, powering it up and leaving it on my desk in case Payne chose to use it.
I met some more people in the time that it took for me to get started and turned up the volume on my phone a little more to hear my music. The blue tooth speaker that I brought from home helped and I typed away as I hummed along to the songs, trying not to think about my sexy boss behind me. His door was closed now, but he sent random emails about reservations that needed to be made and case notes to add to a file here and there. He was even magnetic during those exchanges, and I cursed myself for my crush. There was no way that this was going to end well.