Initiate Me(64)

I went up on my toes and whispered, “You are so depraved.” Our lips touched, and once again, the conference was forgotten.

***

We were busy the next few days with the conference. Zane ordered the best technology for the Brunetti Hotels but particularly for the wineries. Unfortunately, everything would take a couple of weeks to arrive from Germany. Until then, we had to be very cautious with the systems we already had.

By day, Zane was professional as ever but by night he made my heart melt. Luckily I had been to Port Douglas several times before because I would’ve seen nothing at all. I know I had nothing to compare the sex to but I knew it was special, and by the time the three days were over I was sad. I was sad that I wouldn't have him to myself. He says he wants me and that he wants a relationship, but what does that mean in Zane Mitchell terms?

God, help me. All I knew was that I never wanted it to end.





Chapter Twenty-Two


MIA

One week later

Keeping our relationship a secret was difficult. Apart from Jada, nobody knew we were together. Marco was away for a week in Melbourne, so I didn't have to worry about him finding out, and Milan was busy working long hours at the clinic, but my parents were back home from their trip which made it harder for me. Max and Winter were constantly in the office and we had to be extra careful whenever we were together. Not being able to tell Max was the hardest, and the secrecy of it all was killing me. So I finally relented and told him that Zane and I were now an item. Max, being Max, threatened Zane to within an inch of his life if he so much as made me sad.

“Winter, is Max is his office? I need to see him,” I asked, perched on her desk.

“Sure, go on through. He just got off the phone with Jada; I don’t think she’s doing too well today after her IVF treatment.”

“I know, it’s sad. I was over there last night. All she did was cry, and I don’t know what to say to her to try and help her. I can’t believe they couldn’t retrieve any eggs because she was too over-stimulated from the drugs. I wish I could help her in some way.”

“It’s just going to take time. People go through IVF all the time, and I’m sure she knows there will be complications but that doesn’t make it any easier, does it?” Winter said. “She has you and a great network of friends to support her; that is all you can do for now, be there for her. I went through a rough patch a while ago, and Zane helped me out a great deal.”

“He did, how?” I asked surprised.

“Well, I don’t really want to go into details, but I was in a bad situation at the time and I reported the incident to the police. Zane was the officer looking after my case and he’s the one who organised for me to work here. I will be forever indebted to him and Max, of course.”

Max stepped out of his office and called me in before I could ask Winter any more questions. Winter was so secretive about her personal life and for her to share that with me was very rare. It had me thinking what sort of bad situation she was referring to, though.

“Mia, you want to see me?” Max grumbled.

"Yes, I’ll be right in.” I followed him through to his office.

“What is it, brat?”

“I know this is a hard time for you and Jada, and I don’t want to add to your stress. I want you to know I am here for both of you if you need anything, anything at all. If it is at all possible, I wanted to ask if it there is any chance you can move me to work with Blake in the winery. I've worked with Zane for over a month and I've got the feel of how the hotels and resorts run," I told him. The truth of the matter was that I couldn’t handle working with Zane anymore; all I thought of was jumping his bones every time I saw him. God, the man was a pure distraction.

"Thank you; Jada is lucky to have you as her friend. She wouldn’t have been able to cope without you or Milan by her side. As for working in the winery, you know I want you to eventually work in there but you still need a little more time here on the business side of things. I know you're dying to get out there and work with Blake, which makes sense; it's what you studied, after all.”

“She won’t change her mind, trust me. I should know.” I pivoted on my heel to find Zane lounging against Max's office door, a devilish grin on his handsome face. His navy pants and white polo shirt showed off his muscular body. My mouth watered as I remembered how we had started out the day. After lying to my parents, telling them I was sleeping over at Max and Jada’s to help her, I spent the night with Zane. I'd woken in his bed with his mouth between my thighs. And of course, he still hadn’t let me reciprocate. It made me wonder what I was doing wrong.