“That’s an perfectly fine solution,” Luka said. “Jaeson, we can talk more about that later.”
“You heard the man,” Jaeson said to Dave. “Get him what you’ve got.”
“If everyone is amenable to the challenge,” Luka began, standing from his chair and straightening his suit coat, “then we’ll begin immediately. As I said, we will keep this short. Now that you’ve heard the proposal, I would like to see all those in favor. Please raise your hand.”
Without much pause, almost the entirety of the room rose their hands, mine included. I watched Vanessa look around, only to slowly raise her hand as well. Dave, of course, had his hand raised high.
I glanced over to Cynthia. She hadn’t put her hand up yet, but she seemed to be staring at Vanessa.
“Psst,” I whispered in Cynthia’s direction. “What do you say?”
“Mm?” Cynthia said at me, jolted out of her reverie. “Oh, right. Yeah, I’m in.” Her hand rose to join the rest.
“That makes it unanimous,” Jaeson said.
“Motion passes,” Luka announced.
“Now get to work,” Riot concluded.
The room erupted in busy talk as everyone stood up and started their shuffle out. I smiled wide at the scene. Thinking back to my first meeting, I couldn’t believe how much more engaged everyone was now in contrast to then. This was going to work. I knew it.
“I’ll catch up with you later,” Cynthia said to me.
I turned around to get my bag back together, not having expected things to go so quickly, when I felt a nudge at my shoulder.
“Did you forget something?” I asked, turning around, expecting to see Cynthia and instead facing directly into Jaeson’s chest.
“How could I forget my good girl?” he asked back in a low, dark tone. The rumble of his voice sent shivers down my spine. I marveled at how easily he was able to tap into that side of me, a side of myself I never knew I had before we started playing together. Luka commanded respect outwardly, but Jaeson’s manner was so different, so much darker, so self-assured, as though my ability to please him was a foregone conclusion.
But I was still very heavily in damage control mode. I shook off the feelings coursing through my body.
“Not now,” I said quietly. “Not here.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Jaeson said, sliding his hands into his pockets. It made his forearms flex and sent another involuntary shiver down my spine. “I’m not here to embarrass you, I promise. I just wanted you to know that I’m thinking about you.”
“You are?” I asked, unable to help myself. I could hear the girly upturn, the expectations in my voice, and I could have kicked myself.
“I am,” he confirmed, smiling. “We all are. We’re happy about having you here. In our own special way.”
My heart rate increased, and I blushed, looking up at him. “I appreciate it. Let’s catch up soon, okay?”
“You got it.” He trailed a finger along my collarbone. It lasted a hair longer than it needed to. He was pushing boundaries, even now, gently nudging them at a pace that he somehow knew I’d be comfortable with.
“Be seeing you,” he said, turning and walking away.
I watched him go for a moment with a sappy smile on my face before I remembered I was still in public. I grabbed my bag, trying to get out of the room as quickly as I could.
As soon as I turned for the door, I ended up face-to-chest with Luka and his very handsome tie clip.
“Princess,” he whispered, shooting me a wink. It went immediately to my heart, before I could stop it.
“Luka. Hi,” I said back, dumbly. “I’m sorry. Can we do this another time? Not… here.”
“I wouldn’t dare keep you.” He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. To anyone who didn’t know better, or to anyone who wasn’t gossiping about me, this would have looked like a mentor-to-student exchange.
But I knew exactly what those hands were capable of. I couldn’t help myself from inhaling his cologne. There was a hint of honeysuckle to it. It sent me into a brief haze of nostalgia, thinking of home, thinking of taking him there.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, exhaling slowly. “After everything… You know?”
