7. Daisy #2
Someone jostled me from behind, and I stepped forward, nearly knocking into Anthony. He put a hand firmly on my waist, and my flimsy cotton shirt did nothing to dampen my body’s reaction to him. I shuddered as if he’d slipped his hand under my T-shirt and touched my bare skin.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep. Damn, this place is super crowded.”
I cleared my throat and stepped back, and Anthony immediately dropped his hand.
Once again, he tried to compose himself and seemed to be staring at a spot on the floor.
I followed his gaze, but there was nothing to see.
I glanced back at him just as he drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes. I wasn’t even sure what was going on.
He finally looked back at me. “So, you were saying that you don’t want a junior position.”
“Not really. I’ve done that for a long time, and I want something fresh. To be honest, being your assistant pays very well, so if I can’t get a senior position at your company, I wouldn’t bother changing jobs.”
He flashed me a smirk. “Then maybe I’ll pay Samantha off so you’ll have to continue working with me.”
Breath whooshed out of me. “Why would you do that?”
He swallowed hard, taking another sip from his glass.
“I like having you as my assistant. Very much. I like you , Daisy. You are a breath of fresh air. I enjoy being around you, having drinks with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows and then shook his head.
“That was out of line. But I’ve used up all my self-restraint for the week. ”
My breath caught. I liked this side of him. “What do you mean?”
“This week, I’ve done my very best to behave. Now I’ve run out of willpower.”
I gasped. Oh my God! I licked my lips, and Anthony groaned.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. To give myself something to do, I brought my glass to my mouth, taking a huge sip. Then I put it down and glanced back up at him. His gaze was still trained on me.
“I didn’t realize you were making an effort,” I mumbled.
“A fucking huge one.”
I cleared my throat, playing with the glass. “Anthony, I’m?—”
“Wait. I owe you an explanation.”
I had no idea what he was about to say, so I simply nodded.
“When I stepped into my office and realized you were my new assistant, I nearly lost it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve got the reputation of being too hard on my assistants.”
“I did hear that. Only, I can’t seem to put two and two together. Do you have two personalities?”
Holy shit, how many sips did I have?
“No, I don’t.” He smiled, then seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say next. Then he blurted, “I usually make an effort to be extra distant with my assistants.”
What did he mean by that?
“I’m thoroughly confused.”
He sighed. “I think my previous assistants were confused too. According to Dorothy, they thought I had a personal problem with them .”
“But you didn’t?”
“No! I’m the problem.”
I was even more confused than before.
Again, he looked as though he was trying to find the right words. Then he began, “Years ago, I crossed a line with an assistant. We went from completely professional to… more.”
Oh. Now all the pieces were falling into place.
“It went terribly wrong. She seemed to think it was more than a one-night adventure…”
I almost laughed at how he phrased it. He’d clearly meant to say “one-night stand.” I kind of felt bad for him, as he really didn’t need to tell me any of this. But he continued .
“And she threatened to sue the company if I didn’t continue the relationship with her.”
Holy shit! My eyes bulged. “Wait, she was trying to blackmail you into being with her?”
“Yes. Mind you, all this was consensual—and my lawyer at the time thought she’d probably planned it from the get-go.
Anyway, it caused a number of issues in the company, so I promised myself that I’d never get involved with an assistant—or any employee, for that matter—ever again.
That I wouldn’t even give an assistant room to doubt my intentions. ”
“So, you were extra cool and more businesslike with them, and they wondered why.”
He nodded a bit sheepishly.
I whistled. “Damn! That’s a hell of a way to build a reputation for being difficult.”
Anthony started to laugh. “True. I managed to complicate things for myself.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me. It certainly explains your reaction when you saw me in your office. I can’t even begin to imagine what went through your mind.”
“No, you can’t.” His voice changed a bit. It was dangerous somehow, but I couldn’t explain why.
God, this evening was getting more bizarre by the moment. Once again, I didn’t know where I stood with Anthony. So, all this week, he’d made an effort to not flirt?
“I’m not sure what to make of all this,” I confessed.
“Neither am I.” There was a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Just figured I should share it.”
This man was unlike anyone I’d ever met.
He held his glass up. “Bottoms up?” he suggested. We each only had two sips left at best.
“Sure. Are you driving?”
“Nah, I Ubered here. Figured you and I will have a few drinks.”
“A few?” I whistled. “Careful there, boss. ”
His eyes flashed. “There’s one thing you should know about me, Daisy. I work hard, but I play even harder.”
My breath caught. I cleared my throat, downing my drink. Anthony did the same. The sexual tension between us was getting thicker by the second. I needed to change the subject.
“So, you often have lunch with your family at the restaurant?”
The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. My tactic of changing topics was way too obvious, but what else could I do? We obviously were attracted to each other. He’d basically told me I was tempting him just with my presence, and that was a line he didn’t want to cross.
“We mostly gather at my parents’ house. Both sets of grandparents also live there.”
“That’s so cool. Growing up, my mom’s parents lived with us. It was pretty awesome, like having two sets of parents.”
“Mine weren’t living together when we grew up. Though I don’t think they were at odds anymore back then.”
I frowned. “Wait, they used to not like one another?”
He grinned. “Oh yeah. The families used to run rivaling businesses back in the day. They weren’t happy about Mom and Dad marrying at first.”
“This is fascinating!”
“Oh, it is.”
“But now they’re very close, right?”
“Yes, especially my grandparents. They buried the hatchet a long time ago. After retiring, my grandmothers decided they still wanted to work together and opened a fragrance shop.”
My eyes bulged. “At their age?” I clapped my hand over my mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
He chuckled. “The whole family is thinking exactly the same. But they’re both very fit and like to feel productive. It’s fascinating that they became best friends over the years. How come your grandparents lived with you? ”
We got refills of our drinks, and I immediately took a sip. “Mom had me at sixteen.”
This was deeply personal, but I felt at ease talking to him about my family after he’d shared so much about his.
Anthony whistled. “That is quite scandalous.”
I nodded. “Especially for a small town. My grandparents were up in arms, but Dad did the right thing and married Mom. She told me once that all their friends bet they were going to separate before I even turned one. But here they are, almost thirty years later, loving each other more each day. I envy their relationship.”
A strange expression crossed Anthony’s face. “Let me guess. You’re hoping for a relationship like theirs?”
My face suddenly felt hot. “I’m not even sure. I’ve never had a clear idea of what I want personally. I just knew I wanted to get out of town, go to college, and then move to a big city and have a fancy career. So, I did exactly that.”
“And you never gave your love life much thought?”
I shook my head. “Is that strange?”
“Not at all. I’m the same in that I just go with the flow. I focus on running the business and increasing profits every year to build on our family’s legacy. I enjoy time with my family, but I have goals set for my personal life.”
“I think that’s a guy thing, though. My friends all have dreams about weddings and know how many kids they want to have and so on. I guess I’m not built the same as them.”
“I’ll drink to that. Looks like we need another cocktail already.”
I gasped, looking at my empty cup. “I didn’t even realize I finished this.”
“The perils of being in excellent company.”
He tilted closer, just a smidge. A seductive smile played on his lips.
He wasn’t planning on being the consummate professional tonight, I was sure of it.
He was flirty Anthony once again.
And I liked it.