We’re currently walking up the strip to the MGM Grand, and I can hardly take my eyes off the gorgeous woman beside me. A deep blue, silk dress is draped perfectly over her body, showing off every dip and curve I long to explore. Her arms are bare, and her strawberry blonde hair is flowing down her shoulders. The heels she’s wearing make her a few inches taller, and all it does is make me want to kiss her. I’m utterly captivated.
“So, you really aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?” she asks as we walk side by side.
“Nope. It’s a surprise for a job well done today.” At least, I hope it will be. If I fucked up and picked the wrong restaurant for my little foodie, she might throw me to the curb before we even sit down.
When we walk into the MGM, Ainsley looks around in awe.
“We have a little bit farther to walk if that’s okay.” I can hear the uncertainty in my voice, and I hate it. I need to channel confident Ledger.
“Yep! Let’s go.” She practically drags me along when she sees the sign for the restaurants.
We get to the area that houses most of the restaurants and I take over, grabbing her hand and leading her to Craft Steakhouse.
Ainsley stops in her tracks, and I tense up.
I fucked up. This was the wrong place to take her.
“We can—”
“Shut up.”
I slam my mouth closed and start to panic. Her voice is shaky, and I think I might have just lost all the headway I was making.
Turning towards me, I see her glossy eyes and it’s like a gut punch.
“I have stalked this place and Tom Colicchio for so long, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I know about him. It’s borderline creepy level. This is, by far, the only place I wanted to go to while we were here.”
“So, I didn’t mess up?” I ask hesitantly.
“God no!” She raises up on her toes and grabs my cheeks, pulling me in for one hell of a kiss.
My shoulders finally loosen up, and then tension rolls off of me like a wave.
“Okay, good,” I say breathlessly.
She grabs my hand again and pulls me toward the hostess stand.
Getting seated allows me to get back on my footing again. Having time to look at the menu lets me refocus on my reason for taking her out in the first place.
“You absolutely killed that presentation. I couldn’t have done it without you,” I tell her quietly.
“You managed it just fine on your own,” she deflects.
I clear my throat. “You have blown me away with just how good at this job you are. I know it’s not exactly where you saw your life going, but I’m very grateful to have you.”
What I don’t tell her is how thankful I am to have her in my life, period. I don’t think she’s ready for that, even if she’s pushing us past the “slow” barrier.
“You know, when I took this job, it was because it was convenient. Sorry.” She looks up at me sheepishly, but I nod my head to continue. I know why she accepted this job, but I want to hear where she’s going with this.
“How much do you know about my old job?” she asks.
“Only what you’ve told me, which admittedly, isn’t much.”
“Okay, so I was climbing the ladder at the financial firm I was at, advising the shit out of clients. Bringing them in and making money for everyone. The money was good, I won’t deny that, but I had bigger goals. I wanted to climb to the top. A management position was opening up, and I put my hat in the ring. The problem was a coworker who liked to make everything a competition. I didn’t think much of it, honestly, because my numbers were better and I was the obvious choice.
“Joke’s on me, though, because I not only didn’t get the position, but they moved me to a different division, which made him my direct supervisor. That’s when the harassment started.”
I tense, not knowing how to react.
