One Night(15)

“This is a big mistake,” Steve Anderson, the Chief Operating Officer, said one last time. “But it’s your call.”

“Cheer up, Steve,” William said. “I’ll buy you a drink tonight at the party.”

Steve smiled reluctantly. “You’ll be buying all the drinks tonight, Connor.”

As the others left the room, I hung back. “William?”

He looked up at me with tired eyes. His decision today had been more taxing than he let on. “Yeah, Livy?”

“Last night you said I barely know you. That I couldn’t know you were a better man than Paul.” I looked directly into his eyes. “You were wrong. What you did today, turning down Wilkinson, that’s my proof. The way you treat your employees, that’s my proof, too. You’re a good man, William Connor. Accept it.”

He smiled sadly. “Thank you, Olivia Harris.”

“Anytime.” I turned to leave but William stopped me.

“About tonight…” He thought twice about what he was about to say. “See you at the party?”

“Absolutely.”

Changing into my party dress in the bathroom stall was a bigger challenge than I anticipated. Keeping my feet from touching the sketchy floor was a lot of work and I nearly stepped into the toilet bowl two separate times. So it was surprising that I somehow managed to look presentable when I surveyed the results in the mirror.

“Good enough,” I said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Downright gorgeous, I’d say,” Tara disagreed. She wagged a finger at me. “You are so getting laid tonight.”

“Ha! I don’t even have a date tonight.” In typical fashion, I had forgotten to remind Thomas that he was supposed to be my date for the party. He had made other plans, and now I would be attending the party solo.

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” Tara nudged me with her elbow. “You could always go after Connor.”

I choked out a laugh and walked away before she could see the flush spreading across my cheeks.

One thing about William couldn’t be denied- the man knew how to throw a party. He had rented out an entire club for the company holiday party. Tara and I checked our coats at the door and headed directly to the first bar we could find. We had worked late and missed the dinner, so we had a lot of catching up to do. I made a complete lap of the first floor, introducing myself to both co-workers and significant others. I was still new enough that I didn’t know at least 70% of the people at the party. After I lost Tara in the crowd and was on my own, I began to feel out of place. With a few hours of drinking under their belts, many people were already drunk, and some of them were bordering on inappropriateness.

I was relieved when I found the stairs leading to the second floor. The music started playing just as I began to ascend the stairs. I had a feeling I was leaving at the perfect time. The second floor was much quieter, and only a few people lingered about. I headed for the back, where I would be able to watch what was happening on the floor below.

“Hiding?”

I jumped as someone stepped out of the shadows. “Shit, William. You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry,” he said, but I was close enough to him now that I could see his smile.

“This is your party. Shouldn’t you be downstairs mingling with the minions?” I hadn’t meant to sound judgmental but it came out that way. I stepped closer to the railing so I could observe what was happening below us.

William shrugged and moved next to me. “In my experience, people tend to have more fun when their boss isn’t sneaking up on them.”

I knew that he was probably right. William was probably the best boss most of these people had ever had, but he was still their boss and that meant they would act differently around him. “This isn’t such a bad place to be,” I commented, pointing out the great overhead view we had.

“I would have to concur,” William said, but he wasn’t looking at the view. “In fact, if it was up to me, this is exactly how I would spend the entire evening.”

“Hiding in the shadows?” I teased, nudging his arm.

“No. Alone with you.”

Very slowly, William reached over and took my hand. The shadows upstairs were dark enough that no one would be able to see unless they were within a few feet of us. I squeezed his hand and leaned into him slightly.

“I miss you, William,” I said, betraying my feelings for him for the first time.

“I’m right here, Livy.”

It did seem strange that I had seen him every day in the past week and yet somehow I still missed him. “It’s not enough.”