Mark leaned in. “Want to know the truth?”
I nodded.
“Mr. Townsend’s tough as hell, admittedly, but he’s just as tough on me as he is on everyone else.” He looked down, holding his arms out. “Most people look at me and all they see is the chair. I’ve had former bosses not give me certain tasks because they figured I couldn’t handle them. They never said anything outright, of course. That’d be illegal. And I would receive good annual reviews but when it came time for promotion?” He stopped and shook his head. “Mr. Townsend isn’t like that. I get the grunt work like everyone else. He has no problem keeping me in the office late if needed. Sounds like a drag, but after so many years of being made to feel inferior because of my chair, it’s a breath of fresh air… either that or I’m a masochist, too.”
We both laughed.
Aaron must’ve heard our laughter over his barking because he stepped out into the hallway, his eyes zooming in on me. His scowl grew.
“Uh oh,” Mark commented.
I smirked, moving past Mark down the hall.
“Yes, I heard you the first time you made that sorry excuse,” Aaron continued, talking to whomever was on the phone. I noticed the earpiece in his ear. His eyes were glued to me, however. I reached him, pressing my hand against his abdomen. I felt his stomach muscles clench. Though his frown remained, I could see his eyes brighten. I turned my head upwards, beckoning a kiss. He didn’t disappoint, plastering his lips to mine, and squeezing my hip. He moved away, granting me space to enter his office, before shutting the door behind us.
I circled his desk, going to sit behind it, in his chair. He raised an eyebrow my way and I gave him a wink.
“Yeah, Steve, that’s the plan. How about you put it into action…” he continued on the conference call. I watched him pace, one hand in his pocket as he responded to whomever was speaking at the other end of the phone. I licked my lips at the image he made in his dark blue three piece tailored suit, and shiny, brown shoes. I’d been feeling extremely tired the past two days but just watching him revived me with new energy.
When he hung up, he glanced over at me. “Comfortable?”
I smiled, leaning back farther in his desk chair, crossing my legs.
“We’re going to be late,” I answered.
“The plane leaves when I tell it to.”
I rolled my eyes. He was so cocky and full of himself. God help me, that was just one of the things I loved about him.
By the time I refocused my vision, he was standing over me. “You slept in this morning.”
I shrugged. “Somebodykept me up late.”
An actual smile touched his lips and my heart skipped a full beat. He bent down, cupping his hands around my upper arms, pulling me up to stand.
“That samesomebody’skeeping you up late tonight as well.” He pressed a kiss to my neck.
I shuddered. “That’s because we have an opening to attend.” We were flying out to San Francisco for an energy convention Townsend Industries was hosting, and an art gallery opening that evening.
“You’ll definitely be up later than that. What were you and Mark laughing about?” he questioned, abruptly switching topics.
I knew the question was coming and yet he still managed to surprise me with it. I grinned, pulling back to cup his face.
“Masochism,” I answered.
He frowned, confused.
I pressed a quick peck to his lips before stepping out of his hold. “Come on. I know you think the world waits on you, but it’s impolite to keep others waiting for too long.” I tugged his hand. He barely budged and instead pulled me to him.
“Othersdowait on me.” He squeezed my hand, his other arm curling around my waist, to cup my ass.
“No.” I forced myself to push away from his hold.
He sighed. “Fine. I’ll save it for the plane. Let’s go,” he ordered, pulling me to the door. After Aaron paused to give more orders to Mark for the next two days while he would be gone, we were finally on our way down the elevator to the awaiting car. My hand rested in Aaron’s and I leaned against his shoulder, yawning.
“Still tired?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.” I didn’t have to look up at him to know he was peering down at me through skeptical eyes. “I’m glad Ms. Sheryl was able to come out and stay with the children over the next few days. They missed her a lot. You should’ve seen the way they ran to her this morning when she arrived.” Ms. Sheryl had flown from her new home city of Houston to spend time with and babysit the children while we were out of town.
