37. Aisling
THIRTY-SEVEN
Aisling
PRESENT
“That is one hot piece of man candy right there.”
“His hair looks especially good today, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ass isn’t too fairing too bad, either.”
I roll my eyes. How can they even see his ass from this angle?
“Could you guys stop objectifying my boyfriend?” I say to my coworkers. All three of them turn at once. It’s kind of freaky. “You know, your boss ?”
“I seem to remember you saying Finn didn’t consider himself our boss.” Shea’s dark eyebrow shoots up in defiance. “Something about him being, what was it? Oh, right…our boss’s boss’s boss ?” I should have never told them about that.
“And besides, we’re just making impartial observations. No objectifying going on here.” Damien grins and looks me straight in the eye. “Well, not on our part, I mean.”
“You literally just said, and I quote, ‘That is one hot piece of man candy right there.’”
“What? One good-looking bloke can’t appreciate another?” Don’t do it. Don’t roll your eyes again. “Besides, I’m in a good mood. Oh, look—he’s about to start!”
All the O’Connell employees—or at least as many as we could fit into the lobby—are packed like sardines in front of a makeshift stage. A few people I recognize are on it, though I don’t know their names, and then there’s Finn.
He’s dressed in a dark navy suit and a crisp white shirt. His nearly black hair does indeed look good today—but I tend to think that most days. He steps up to the mic and flashes the crowd a warm smile until his eyes find mine, and it turns a bit wicked.
My pulse quickens. My knees weaken.
“Can I chastise you for objectifying the boss now?” Damien whispers.
“Shut up.”
I hear him snicker as Finn greets the crowd and introduces the board members on stage. The ones he called late last night to lay down his demands—otherwise, he would walk. Additional staff, including executive positions and support staff. Clearly, he got his way.
It seemed like a simple solution, but Finn had been raised to believe he had to shoulder all the responsibility like his father had. It was a difficult legacy to follow, an illusion built on lies and one he no longer had to bear.
“O’Connell Tours is a family business. My grandfather founded it to share his love for his country—and to make some money. At the time, the family coffers were a little low at the time.” Everyone laughs. “We’ve grown a lot since then, and we’re set to grow even more over the next year or so, thanks to Nora and her team.”
Oh, okay. Everyone is looking at us and clapping now.
I look up at him, and he smirks as my cheeks flame red. Jerk.
“But we’ll always be that small family company that wanted to share our love for Ireland, and we do this by staying connected. In the coming weeks, we’ll roll out additional positions and programs to ensure that every department and employee feels supported in their role here—from the executive branch all the way to those of you putting in the miles every week on tours.”
He continues to introduce a few individuals who have already been promoted from within to fill new executive positions.
Damien leans over again. “That bloke on the right.” He gestures with his head. “I took his job.”
This is why Damien is in such a good mood. Last night, he and I lost our jobs. Today, he was offered a new one at the company—a better one, according to him. Everything is falling into place. Including?—
The crowd erupts in cheers and applause as my eyes snap to the stage. Shit, I missed the ending.
Finn gives a quick wave and jogs off the stage, and like a magnet, I move toward him.
“Okay, bye!” Shea shouts playfully. “See you later!”
I don’t bother looking back. They know I have tunnel vision for my man right now. The need to go hug him and tell him how proud I am of him is fierce.
I didn’t think we’d ever get here—this place where I can envision a future with him.
The crowd is enormous, and I find myself getting tangled up in it as I try to reach him. Before I can cover even a few feet, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Finn
Meet me in my office.
I look up, meet his gaze across the room, grin, and then bolt for the nearest exit.
* * *
Finn
I’ve been standing in my office for five minutes now.
Did she get lost? Because I’m fairly certain I saw her bolt out of the lobby…before me.
I lean against the mahogany desk, one long leg crossed over the other as I stare at the open door. My gaze wanders around the dark paneling and settles on those stupid crystal decanters.
I gaze at it for a beat longer. “Right, okay then.” I twist around and press the intercom button on the phone. “Stella, do we have any boxes?”
“Boxes? Um, let me check.”
“Great, thanks.”
Still unsure where my girlfriend has gone, I decide to go ahead without her—well, with one part of the plan at least. The other definitely requires her participation.
A few minutes later, I hear a knock and look up to see Ash leaning against the doorframe with a handful of boxes in her hands. “Stella said you needed these?”
God, she looks fucking insane right now. The slim black slacks, high heels, and blood-red blouse are professional and classy, but I know exactly what she looks like underneath, and that makes it so much hotter.
“Decided to do a bit of redecorating,” I say as she saunters in.
“And by redecorating, you mean?—”
“I’m getting rid of all his shit, yes.”
“Finally. It’s depressing in here.” She sets the boxes on a chair and steps in front of me, where I’m leaning against my desk. “You were amazing today. And you look incredibly hot.”
“Yeah?”
She nods. “Even Damien said as much.”
“I don’t know what to do with that.” She laughs, and I pull her closer. “What took you so long? Did you forget how to use an elevator?”
“No, I ran into Nora, actually.”
“Oh?” I know where she’s going with this, but I let her speak. I’m curious to hear what her answer will be.
“With all your new positions, her boss is moving upstairs, and Nora is taking her place—” She frowns. “Wait, you already know this, don’t you?”
“Yes, but continue.”
She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle. “Anyway, since Nora is being promoted, her job is open, and?—”
“And?”
“You’re annoying, you know that?”
I grin. “Did you take it?”
“Did you suggest it?” She looks anxious, her eyes wide and vulnerable.
“No, darlin’. I didn’t. Nora was the one who recommended you.”
She exhales in relief. “Okay, that’s good. I guess that’s good.”
“You guess?” I smirk. “You know you don’t have to take the job, right?”
And she doesn’t. Not anymore. Last night, after I told her about my da and going to my parents, she asked what we were going to do if she didn’t have a job.
This morning, I laid down the best option.
“Citizenship?” Her eyes widen. “I can apply for citizenship?”
“Yep.” I grin. I’m feeling pretty damn proud of myself right now. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this when we were in Clare with her family. “Since your grandfather was from Ireland, you can be granted citizenship by descent.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. We need to ensure we get all the proper documentation from Lonnie to support it. But it could take a while, so we’ll need to come up with a plan in the meantime.”
“Oh, actually, I might have an idea for that…”
“It’s a perfectly good job.”
Her gaze drifts downward, a telltale sign that she isn’t being honest with herself. Or with me. I tilt her chin upward. “Perfectly good? Such enthusiasm.”
“It’s just that last night, I was in tears over losing this job, and today I’ve been offered a new one. Shouldn’t I be as ecstatic as Damien?”
“You’re not Damien. You have every right to feel how you feel.” I pause, allowing that to sink in. “What do you feel?”
“I feel like—and don’t take this the wrong way—if I work for O’Connell, I’ll always worry that everything I do here will always be tied to you. Because I’m the boss’s girlfriend?—”
“Or fiancée, wife. I feel like it’s fluid at the moment, but continue…”
She snorts out a laugh. “Now, who’s the presumptuous one?”
“Not presumptuous if it’s true.”
She bites her lip to conceal her grin and continues. “Anyway, as much as I enjoy working with my friends, I honestly believe Shea would be a better fit for Nora’s position.”
“I can see that. She’s a fine leader.”
“And after talking this morning, I really got excited about going back to school. Initially, it was just a way to stay—get my student visa and take a few classes while my citizenship application was cooking. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go for it.”
“I think that’s a grand idea.”
“Yeah?”
“I thought so two and a half years ago, and it’s an even better idea now that you’re on the right continent.”
“Yes, well, now that we have all that sorted, shall we get all this sorted?” she asks, glancing around my office.
“No.” I start to slide my hand down her ass.
“No? But I brought all those boxes.” He fakes a pout.
“And we’ll get to them. Eventually.” I reach for my tie. Her eyes darken with anticipation of what I plan to do with it. “Now go lock the door. And try to be quiet this time.”