Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
At 12:35, I heard Selena’s voice outside my door, then the answering tones of Mrs. Kloss, and then a light tap.
“Come in,” I barked, regretting that I’d told Mrs. Flannigan she could go on to lunch.
Selena opened the door and made an after you gesture. Mrs. Kloss walked in, her eyes bright, her face unapologetic. I hadn’t expected one. After all, she was here on the right day and only half an hour late.
“Mrs. Kloss got turned around,” Selena explained for her. “She thought you were meeting at the restaurant.”
“My apologies, Mrs. Kloss,” I said smoothly. “I didn’t think we’d decided on a place.” In fact, I knew we hadn’t, but there was no point in saying so. I nodded at Selena. “Thank you for your assistance. Ms. Sinclair.”
The dismissal was clear. Selena began to pull the door closed, but suddenly, Mrs. Kloss said, “Wait!”
Selena stopped, confused, as Mrs. Kloss hurried back over to her. “Won’t you join us, dear?”
I shot Selena a look over Mrs. Kloss’s head that said in no uncertain terms you’ve already eaten. This conversation was going to be hard enough. I didn’t need any distractions.
“Oh, I’d love to, but I already took my lunch,” Selena said. “Thank you so much for the invitation, though.”
“You must come,” Mrs. Kloss insisted, her voice taking on a note of dismay. “I know just where we can go. They’re known for their desserts. Surely you haven’t had dessert yet.”
Selena tried to refuse again, but Mrs. Kloss wasn’t having it. She wrapped her arm through Selena’s and said stoutly, “Tell her she must come, Dominic.”
I wanted to growl in frustration, but my self-control was too rigid for that. The last thing I wanted was anyone at this lunch with us, much less Selena. The widow had clearly taken a liking to her, and I wasn’t looking forward to having an audience for this conversation. It was going to wound her pride. Mrs. Kloss had been born and bred in the lap of luxury. She got what she wanted, and she rarely troubled to ask how much first. And right now, she wanted Selena to come to lunch with her.
“If you insist,” I said tightly.
The conflict was clear on Selena’s face as she looked from me to Mrs. Kloss’s arm manacled around her own. She knew I didn’t want her there, and she really didn’t want to be anywhere she wasn’t welcome, but what was she supposed to do? Shake off the old woman and flee back to Albert’s office?
We made a strange trio, walking out through the building. My face was set like stone. Mrs. Kloss was keeping up a running stream of lighthearted chatter about a myriad of topics, and Selena was murmuring replies while sneaking glances over at me.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured when Mrs. Kloss finally let go of her to slide into the back of her chauffeured car. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“It’s fine,” I said tightly. “But don’t forget, this is a business lunch. She’ll try to use you to keep me off topic. Don’t let her.”
“What’s the topic?” Selena asked.
“Christmas,” I said darkly, and made a curt gesture for her to get in the car after Mrs. Kloss.
The three of us fit in the backseat just fine, but for some reason, Mrs. Kloss looked across at us and said, “Oh no, you’re crowded! I’ll sit up front.” And before I could insist on sitting up front myself, she was out of the car.
“Hi, Mr. Baran,” she said brightly to her longtime driver. “Can you put on the Christmas station, please?”
He did, and she turned the radio up, and there was no chance I was going to be able to lay the groundwork before we got to lunch. Not with Frosty coming to town at top decibels. My back teeth ground together. By the end of this lunch, I had a feeling my jaw was going to ache.
“Did you say Christmas?” Selena whispered. She’d scooted across to fill Mrs. Kloss’s vacated seat, but I was uncomfortable, aware of how close she still was. Only half an arms’ length away. I could smell her perfume, see the golden flecks in her brown eyes. The two of us were effectively alone back here. The car was long, and Mrs. Kloss and the driver suddenly felt like they were a football field away.
“What?” I asked, irritation snapping in my voice. She shouldn’t be leaning toward me like that. I shouldn’t notice how full and lush her curves were, how good she smelled. If thoughts alone were HR violations, I’d be fucked. Not to mention, she was Jake’s ex, so HR would be the least of my problems if anyone saw inside my head.
“Did you say that the topic of lunch was Christmas?” Selena leaned in closer rather than pitching her voice louder and possibly attracting Mrs. Kloss’s attention. The widow had a sixth sense for anything related to her favorite holiday.