“Consultant. Legal advisor. We can determine the title later but essentially you’ll work full-time saving our ass. We already know you’ll be good at it, so now you just need to decide if you’re ready to make the leap.”
The waitress brought our lunch and business talk was stifled for the time being. Not a lot of negotiating could happen between bites of food but after the bill had been paid, Mark raised the issue again.
“I don’t need a yes right now, but I also won’t take a no. Take some time to think about it. This is a prestigious position and you are a young woman. This could really launch your career.” Mark and I shook hands. “I have to say, I expected you to not even let me finish making my offer.”
“Why’s that?” I was surprised, too, actually.
Mark thought for a second. “I’m not sure. I just picked up on some strong loyalty between you and Connor.” He chuckled. “I know he’s a big fan of yours. He’ll be pretty pissed if he finds out about this conversation.”
“What Connor doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” I said with feigned gusto. In reality, my talk with Mark felt like the ultimate betrayal. Not because Mark had offered me a job, but because I was seriously considering taking it.
When I returned to my office, the bouquet of flowers on my desk made everything that much worse. I knew from one glance at them that they were the work of William Connor. I stared at the white lilies and reached for the card with a shaking hand. The envelope said simply, “Olivia,” and the card inside was simple and to the point.
“Please say yes to dinner with me tomorrow night. All My Love, William.”
CHAPTER TWO
When I first met William, I tried to fight it. I tried to pretend that I was an independent woman that could do as I pleased. But very quickly I learned that I would save myself a lot of trouble if I just accepted the truth- I couldn’t say no to William Connor.
It was the Friday after Valentine’s Day and the restaurant was crowded. But William knew how to exert his influence so I wasn’t surprised when the hostess led me to the best table in the place. William was already there, standing gracefully as I approached. He looked dashing in his dark suit. I was sucker for a man in suit. Scratch that. I was a sucker for this man.
“Livy.” William’s smile was breathtaking. “You look amazing.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved away his flattery. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it, I just had a hard time accepting compliments. I smoothed down a few wrinkles in my skin-tight red dress and winked at him. “You look pretty damn hot yourself.”
William laughed and kissed my cheek. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me for dinner.”
“You know I can’t resist you.” No use denying the obvious. “Plus you know how I like a free meal.”
“It’s the least I could do.” William pulled out my chair. “This is technically our first date.”
I looked up in surprise. Now that he mentioned it, this was the first public outing for the two of us as a couple. “Wow, I guess you are right. At least it doesn’t matter now if I put out on the first date.”
William laughed again. His laughter was one of my favorite sounds. “You have no idea how much I have missed you.”
If it was anywhere close to as much as I missed him, then he had been going through hell. It would have been easy to forget the past and just focus on being with William in the present. I wanted to be with him, and we were together. But not everything could go unspoken.
“About what happened in my office,” William said. He reached for the glass of scotch in front of him and that was when I noticed that he had ordered one for me, too. “I crossed the line. I should never have done that.”
“Because you were trying to stay away from me, or because it happened at work?” I hated that I couldn’t tell what William was thinking. Did he want to be with me, too? Was I imagining our rekindled romance? Maybe William had just been looking for a quick fix in his office and now he was regretting his slip.
“Both, actually.” He twirled his scotch and took a drink. When he removed the glass from his lips, I recognized his teasing smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I regret it. Quite the opposite actually. But I shouldn’t have done it.”
“I don’t want to play these games anymore, William.” I waited for him to look me in the eye. “I want to be with you. Plain and simple, that’s what I want. If you aren’t willing to commit to that, then we need to move on.”
William reached across the table and took my hand. He laced our fingers together and said, “That’s all I want, Livy. You’re all I want, all I’ll ever want.”