“Don’t be jealous, J. There’s more than enough of me to go around,” he says as he moves around the table, pulling me into an embrace and nuzzling my neck.
“Stop, you know I’m too damn ticklish there.” I push at his shoulders to break away before I burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
“Oh, I forgot,” he lies.
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes because there’s no way Mark forgot a damn thing. He’s more adept at reading my body than even I am sometimes.
“What movie are we watching tonight?”
He shrugs. “Why don’t we go out to that neighborhood I told you about that has the decoration contest going on?”
It’s a Friday night, and our work is done for the week. Finally. This deal with Cypress and Townsend is in its final stages before the announcement. Mark and I are still putting in the extra hours every Tuesday through Thursday after work, and all is going well. We could both use this night off to enjoy one another’s company.
“That sounds like fun. Let’s do it.”
“Nice.”
Grinning, I love how much of a kid in a candy store he looks. It’d been a bit of a stressful week for the both of us with this merger. Things were going well, but everyone could feel the pressure of the anticipation of this announcement. For me, it felt as if everything I was working toward hinged on this merger going through. My relationship with Mark, securing the house for my mother with my bonus, and finally getting out from under my father’s thumb.
“Hey, you still with me?”
Blinking, I turn to Mark, who’s looking at me with a curious expression.
“What’s going on?”
I start to shake my head, but he cuts me off. “Don’t tell me nothing. We’ve kept enough from one another over the years, don’t you think?”
Blowing out a sigh, I say, “I was just thinking about work.”
It’s not a lie, I remind myself.
“There’s so much stress around the offices of Cypress.”
“Yeah, we’re feeling it at Townsend, too.”
“I bet.”
“Aaron really wants this deal to go through, but he’ll walk away from it quicker than a prepubescent boy can come his first time seeing aPlayboymagazine if it’s not right.”
“What?” I burst out laughing.
Mark shrugs with that cute grin on his handsome face. “You know what I’m saying. Luckily, there haven’t been any more hiccups since the explanation of those fishy numbers.”
“Yeah, but it cost Cypress.”
“They should’ve been upfront from the beginning.”
“They should’ve. Hopefully, it won’t affect my bonus.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I need to grab my coat.” We’d met at Mark’s place after work for dinner, even though today wasn’t one of our typical days in which we’d meet at Townsend for another merger meeting.
My whole drive over here, I asked myself if I was making the right decision. I tried to remind myself that it was only a few more weeks before everything settled. The merger would go through with Townsend. I’d get my expected bonus from Cypress, and I’d be able to put down enough money on the house to take it over from my father’s estate. That way, I could grant Mama full ownership, and she’d be able to live there in comfort, and I wouldn’t have to hide my relationship with Mark from anyone.
“After you,” he says, holding his door open.
I stare into his hazel eyes, and everything inside of me warms.
