Chapter 4 Nicolas #2
But Zofia wasn’t mine. Not to touch, not to look at, not to anything.
Still, I couldn’t help but steal a look at the pictures.
There was one of her cat, Duchess, and one of her holding her diploma at her college graduation.
She had a cup of sparkly gel pens, which I’d long since learned were her favorite, and a vase of pretty white flowers next to a pink candle.
It was effortlessly feminine and perfectly her.
“Nic.” Zofia walked up, her long, curly hair down past her shoulders, wearing a pink pantsuit and a pair of heels with red bottoms. I’d learned rather quickly how much she loved her shoes. “Everything okay?”
“Hey.” I flashed her a grin, hoping that if I ignored the fact that I’d had my mouth on her pretty brown nipples a few months ago, I could act normal. “Want to get lunch?”
After a moment, she nodded. “Sure. Angelina is still on her honeymoon, so I don’t have plans. Give me a few to grab my things.”
Leaning against her desk, I watched as she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, not bothering to grab her coat.
September in Portland was normally still beautiful out—the rain hadn’t started yet, and we still had the last bits of summer hanging on.
Still, it could get chilly in the office even when it was warm outside, thanks to the air conditioning.
“Where are you thinking?” Zo asked, though she knew there were only a few restaurants I went to regularly, creature of habit that I was. The Willamette Tech offices were in downtown Portland, which meant we were within walking distance of a ton of different places.
I thought about it for a second. “Thai?” It had been a bit since we’d gone to our favorite Thai restaurant, and I was craving some pad see ew. It was the same place I’d been ordering from since college, which felt nostalgic.
Right now, I needed that. After the conversation with my dad earlier, I felt like I was standing on unsteady ground.
“Perfect.” She followed me towards the elevator, and we chatted about general work stuff—what was happening for the rest of the day, the budget reports, the proposals I had yet to approve.
Our working relationship was comfortable.
Easy. I was terrified the day would come when she would leave me.
When she realized she was way better than this job—and me. What would I do without her? Suffer.
Zo kept my head on straight—something I’d definitely needed, because despite being groomed for this position, I hadn’t been prepared for the sheer amount of work my father had done every day.
I still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to be my assistant in the first place. Of course, her offer package had been incredible, with a whole lot of zeros.
Zofia was staring at me as I turned back to her, walking down the sidewalk. She’d clearly been talking, and I’d been in my head. “Are you even paying attention to me?”
“Fuck. Sorry.” I flashed her a grimace, shoving my hands in my pockets. “My dad came by earlier,” I said, knowing that was an explanation in and of itself.
Our relationship had always been strained. I knew he loved me, but he had never been the best father.
“I saw. Everything okay?” She tilted her head at me.
“Define okay,” I muttered. She shot me a look, and I hung my head. “The board is worried I’m not settled. That because I’m unmarried, I’m not taking this seriously. They want stability.” I put air quotes around the word.
Zofia chuckled. “So you can’t do a good job as CEO because you don’t have a wife at home? What is this, the fifties?”
I rolled my eyes. “Apparently to them, it is.”
We both laughed, and the mood felt lighter.
Lighter than it had in months.
I cleared my throat. “Zofia—”
“My mom called me to tell me another cousin of mine got engaged,” she said, interrupting, letting out a huff as she twisted a piece of hair around her finger.
“I’m the last single one in our extended family.
She asked if I wanted her to set me up with an arranged marriage…
again.” Zofia scrunched her nose in the most adorable way.
I found it more endearing than I should have.
“I told her no.” Her dark brown eyes met mine and there was something deeper there, something I was trying not to read into.
“You did?” I asked, not sure why I was surprised. It satisfied me she wasn’t looking for a husband. I hated the thought of her in the arms of anyone else. After that night, it would be hard to watch her be with another man.
It was really hard to remind myself who she was to me when she looked at me like that. But I needed her more than I wanted her. At least that was what I kept telling myself. That little feeling in my chest—the tightening when I imagined her with someone else—was impossible to ignore.
“After the last time?” She rolled her eyes.
“I think it shocks her sometimes that I’m thirty and not seeing someone.
By this age, she and my dad had already moved our family to the States.
” Zofia shrugged, the movement causing her dark curly hair to spill over her shoulder.
“She had three kids and a dream.” A sigh.
“But it’s hard for her to understand that I want something different for my life.
That I’m independent and okay with that. ”
What’s your dream? I wanted to know. I wanted to do whatever I could to make it come true. Wanted to watch her be happy, to see her eyes light up every day.
But I was also a selfish bastard who wanted her by my side. She was a damn good assistant, and the idea of losing her made my insides uneasy.
Zo quirked her eyebrow as I took her in. “What?”
“I was just thinking… maybe there’s a solution to both of our problems.”
“Huh?”
“We should get married.”
She blinked. “Married?” Zo crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t be serious.”
“Remember when you asked me to marry you to become my assistant?” I laughed, then realized it was actually perfect.
Maybe I’d make good on that request after all.
“Think about it, though. If we get married, if it would get your family off your back. The board is up my ass, too, so it would help both of us. And we already know how good we are in bed together.” I grinned at her.
“I’m just saying. It’s a great idea. It wouldn’t be real.
We could just, you know… have a contract marriage. ”
It would be convenient—and wouldn’t that be the best part? I wouldn’t need to find an actual wife. Wouldn’t need to have someone who expected love or devotion. The board would take me seriously as CEO.
I’d stunned her silent. Shit.
Her eyes were wide when she finally responded, “That’s ridiculous. We can’t just get married.”
“Who says?”
“Me.” She narrowed her eyes, pointing her long red nail at my face. “And have you forgotten that I’m your assistant, Mr. CEO? How would that work?”
I shrugged, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“Guess we’d have to figure that out.” I had my own motivations for it, but I didn’t need to tell her that.
The sizable bank account with a lot of zeros at the end being one.
Not that having a wife was enough for the clause for my inheritance, but it was a start.
The company didn’t have a no fraternization policy, though it was frowned upon being in a relationship with your superior—because there was a power imbalance there.
Would the same thing apply if my assistant were my wife? Or would I have to accept the loss of her in one area of my life to have her in another?
Zofia just stared at me. “This is a joke, right? I’m being punked right now?” She pretended to look around us. “Is there someone filming, who’s about to jump out and say gotcha?”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “Never mind. It was a stupid idea.” My cheeks burned. “Of course, that would never work. Just forget it.” Even though I knew I wouldn’t. I shot her a curt smile as I opened the door to the Thai place. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Throughout lunch, I couldn’t get the thought of calling her my wife out of my head.