I reach for the pocket and fish out my old ring, a triumphant smile tugging at my mouth. I hold it up between us.
Her eyes move from the ring to my face. “I meant to give that back to you.”
“Oh no, baby. There is no giving this back. You should haverealized that this morning when you woke with it on your finger.”
“But what if we don’t have a future?”
“We do,” I say, adamant. But I see the fear and hesitation in her eyes, and I know I need to give her something. “I know I fucked up. I know you asked for me to listen to you and trust you, and I didn’t. I had just gotten another threat from the board, and it clouded my judgement. You needed me to be by your side, and I wasn’t there.”
“I . . . need to know,” she whispers, “that you’re on my side. If we do have a future together, will I always take a backseat to Langford Holdings? I know your company is a big deal, and I know that it will always take up a lot of your time and energy. I can live with that. But what I can’t live with is being pushed aside or disregarded because business always comes first.”
I take her hand in mine a press a kiss to her right middle finger, where she wore this ring before. “My father always prioritized my mother and his children. He’s given me a good example to follow. So no, that’s not something you need to worry about. But it doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes. Especially now, in the beginning. I’m not used to sharing my life. I’m not used to basing my decisions on someone else’s needs. So be patient with me. I promise you that I am trying. Even when I fuck up. I am trying.
“I want a future with you, Ella. I know that it might not seem that way with my misgivings, but I’m working on those too. I need to deal with the threats being made against my company, because those threats affect you, but I’m doing everything I can to clear them up. And once I do, I’m going to make you mine in every way possible.”
The column of her throat bobs as she swallows hard.
I slip the ring back onto her finger and kiss it again.
“Mr. Langford, Mr. Weitzman is here for your nine o’clockmeeting,” Haley, one of the receptionists, says over the intercom.
Ella jolts upright. The spell between us is broken, and in an instant, we both remember that we’re in the office.
“Thank you,” I call out toward my desk. “Let him know I’m running late; I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“I’d better get back to work,” Ella says, climbing off my lap and heading into the private bathroom in my office to clean up.
I follow her like a puppy, a part of me afraid she’ll push me away again if we’re separated so quickly after finding our way back to one another.
She yelps in surprise as I open the door.
“Let me help you.” I grab a washcloth out of the linen cabinet and turn on the faucet.
“I can do it.”
“I know you can, but I want to do it for you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m the one who made a mess of you. It’s only fair that I clean you up.”
I take the warm washcloth and run it over her pussy, planting a kiss on her nose as I do so.
“You sure know how to work your way back into my good graces, Mr. Langford.”
I flash her a knowing grin. “I always strive for excellence, Ms. Hale.”
I drop the cloth into a small hamper and button Ella’s shirt.
“What about my panties?”
I pull them out of my pocket. “You mean these panties?”
She raises a brow.
“I think I’ll keep these.” I shove them back into my pocket. “Maybe you can earn them back.”
“And how would I do that?”
