“You mean?—”
“With us,” she clarifies. “What happens with us? Was this a one-and-done situation?”
I scoff. “Absolutely not. Did you not hear me last night when we were discussing how I don’t even put you in the same category as all my past girlfriends? You’re in a category of your own, Whitney. And I don’t say that lightly. I have no intentions of letting you go anytime soon.”
The corners of her lips twitch up. “Then what?”
“What do you want to happen?” I turn the question back to her.
She shrugs a shoulder. “I just want to be with you. I want more of what we had this weekend.”
I smile at her. “I do too.”
Relief pours over her features. “You do?”
I nod my head, more sure about this than anything else in a long time.
“Do you think we should officially report a relationship between us? Talk to HR and inform the Board?”
Everything comes to a screeching halt in my mind. The thought of approaching the Board with this has my heart rate skyrocketing. I already have Elena breathing down my neck. Would it really be the best decision to come out and say I’m dating my assistant while there’s already so many things piled up against me?The company has a strict no dating policy. Even if we hid it, if we were found out, I could get fired for the nondisclosure and the simple act of dating my assistant itself. On top of that, Whitney could get fired.
The thought of termination from this job is concerning, but not as much as the potential of having to leave Whitney just when we were getting started. And I don’t know if I’d be able to live with myself if she were to lose her position at the company which means so much to her.
“What if we just…wait?” I suggest, and she frowns. “Maybe we don’t make it official yet—to the Board,” I add on quickly.
I can see the wheels in her head spinning though they don’t gain any traction. “You want to keep it a secret?”
“Just when it comes to work,” I tell her. “Until I can get through that ninety-day review with the Board of Directors, then I’ll have more leeway with them and I’ll be able to make more changes to policy. After that, we can officially report our relationship to anyone you want. We can scream it from the rooftop if you want to.”
Whitney is still not sold, her expression grim as she tries to work through my reasoning. “Why?”
I reach over and take her hand, winding our fingers together and giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I promise it’s nothing to do with you or wanting to be with you. You know the employee relationship policy as well as I do. And right now, still being so new to the CEO position, I don’t have the ability or the power to make any changes or really do anything about it. Does that make sense?”
Finally, Whitney nods her head. “Yes.”
My hand moves to the side of her face, and I brush my thumb over her full, heart-shaped lips. Her eyes glisten, and it stabs at my heart. “Whitney,” I whisper. “I don’t want to lose you yet, not when I think I’ve finally gotten you. But I think the right move for now is to wait to make things official with HR or the Board.”
“Okay,” she whispers and nods her head gently against my hand. “I trust you, so if you think this is the best course of action, I’ll go along with it.”
I lean over and kiss her, grateful she’s being so flexible. I’d never want to put her in a situation where she was uncomfortable, so knowing that she’s willing to let me guide us through our relationship this way so early takes some pressure off of my shoulders.
When we land, Whitney and I are escorted off the jet and down onto the tarmac. We both slide into the backseat of the car waiting for us. Whitney is quiet the entire drive to her apartment, responding only when I ask her something directly. I’d be suspicious that she was upset about our agreement if not for the way she kept looking over at me and giving me that secret smile, and reassuring me that I am still on her mind like she is on mine.
As soon as we arrive in front of her apartment building, Iget out of the car and round to open her door for her. Together, we walk over to the sidewalk while my driver gets her bags out of the trunk of the car.
When we’re standing face to face, my hands rise to frame her cheeks. She looks up at me, her eyes sparkling with affection. My chest feels full as I gaze back down at her. Without needing to say anything, I bend my neck and capture her lips with mine, doing my best to convey everything I’m feeling through my kiss rather than with words.
Whitney grips my suit jacket with her fingers and holds me tightly to her. When we break apart, we’re both breathless and flushed.
I tuck a strand of stray hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering maybe a second too long. “I’ll see you Monday,” I whisper.
“See you Monday,” she says back before standing up on her tiptoes and kissing me again.
Finally, she untangles herself from my arms and grabs her bags, hurrying into the lobby of her building. I stand there for a moment longer, waiting to see if she’ll return. When she doesn’t, I breathe in deeply through my nose and get back into the car.
As we drive further and further away, I find myself counting down the minutes until I get to see her again.Even though I’ll have to try my hardest to make sure my desires for her are hidden, I’m looking forward to being near her again. We are playing a dangerous game together, exploring this new relationship. Anyone could find out and bring it to HR or the Board of Directors before I’m ready for them to know about it, and that would be bad news for both of us. But even with that risk, I can’t seem to stay away from her.
For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I’m excited for Monday to come.
