Again, I look over my shoulder at him, and this time, find his eyes already on me. They take their time slowly tracking down my length, outlining my dress while his bottom lip absent-mindedly slips between his teeth.
“Aww,” Miller coos, sliding into the space next to me at the bar.
I quickly pull my attention away from her father and focus on the glass of freshly poured wine in my hand.
“Mutual eye-fucking across the room. So cute.” She thinks about what she just said before she audibly gags next to me. “I cannot believe I just saideye-fuckingin regard to my dad.”
Chuckling, I take a sip from my glass. “Sorry to break it to you, Miller, but your dad is very eye-fuckable.”
“Oh God. Not you too.” The look on her face is utter disgust before she rethinks that statement as well. “Actually, I take that back. You’re just about the only person I’m okay with saying that.”
I gesture to the bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“A beer would be life-changing at the moment.”
“Yeah, I bet it would be. I’ll happily buy you a beer once you push that baby out.”
“Fine. I’ll take a water. How boring.”
We’re shoulder to shoulder, saddled up to the crowded bar top, with our backs to the party. I’ve just asked for an ice water when Miller says, “My dad likes you,” quietly enough that only I can hear.
I swallow hard. “Yeah. I like him too. We work well together.”
“No. Helikesyou. In a way I’ve never seen before.”
I’m beyond tempted to get all schoolgirl on her with a, “you really think so?” but I restrain myself.
Emmett’s daughter was not the first person on my list I expected to discuss this with, and it would be so much safer forme if I could get back to my grandfather and spend the rest of the night trying to pretend that my field manager didn’t exist.
“We just...” I speak in a hushed tone, discreetly checking my surroundings. “It can’t be like that.”
“Why not?”
How do I even answer?
Sure, as the owner of this franchise, there’s nothing that would explicitly keep me from having a relationship with someone in my organization. But it’s not about some metaphorical rulebook. It’s about the way it would look. I’m his direct superior.
What would that do to my reputation? I’m still dealing with the mess that happened online this past week. I can already see the headlines now about me being a woman and sleeping with someone on my staff. Let alone just months after I took over the team. The situation would be entirely twisted to fit a narrative, and I have a responsibility to other women who are trying to break into this industry to not give us a bad name.
I’m his boss. He’s up for a new contract. Who knows how messy that could get?
“Because...” Again, I hesitate. “I want to protect him. And myself too. He loves his job, I love my job, and he really loves you. He wants to stay in this city. He and I would just be... messy.”
“I think messy is worth it sometimes.” She mulls something over for a moment, taking a drink of her water. “I wouldn’t normally be this bold—”
I lift a brow in her direction.
“Okay.” She laughs. “I meant I wouldn’t be this bold about someone else’s relationship, but he’s always been my favorite person, so I’m just going to say my piece on the whole thing.” She turns to face me, so I give her my full attention too. “I know he’s been lonely. He may never admit it because he keeps himself busy, but I see it. I don’t remember what he was likewith my mom, but he’s a completely different person than he was back then anyway. Raising a kid on your own that you didn’t plan for and putting everyone else ahead of yourself will do that to you. But he doesn’t look lonely when you’re around. As an only child, that kind of means everything to me, you know?”
The backs of my eyes burn in a way I’m wholly unaccustomed to. I don’t often cry, especially now. I’ve learned to overcompensate being a woman in a man’s field by trying to take the emotions out of most things.
But this little speech might just get me.
“And I hear you on the whole job thing,” she continues. “I don’t know what that would look like for his career and your reputation. But I used to base a lot of my decisions off what I thought was best for him too. I used to travel for work all the time, constantly be on the go, because I thought staying away was the best thing for him. I thought it gave him the space he needed to do his own thing and live his own life after giving it all up for me. Then I realized that he just wanted me around.”
She offers me a small smile. “I’m pretty sure he just wants you around, Reese. And if there’s anyone who deserves to get everything they want, it’s him.”
Well . . . shit.
