Chapter 16
GINNY
We make love three more times.
Then we, obviously, sleep in the next morning.
I open my eyes slowly and roll to my back, stretching luxuriously before looking at the clock.
It’s almost nine-thirty.
I never sleep this late. As I sit up and become aware that I’m alone in the bed, I also note that the shower just shut off in the ensuite bathroom.
I take a deep, happy breath. I’m waking up with Everett.
We haven’t done this. I snuck out the first morning after.
But I’m not going anywhere this time.
This is the beginning of wonderful, new things.
He steps out from the bathroom with a towel around his waist.
He grins when he sees me awake. “You missed your flight.”
I lift a shoulder. “There are perks to sleeping with the boss.”
I freeze.
Everett lifts a brow.
Did I just joke about the thing that I’ve spent months swearing was what was keeping us apart?
Yes. Yes, I did.
I grin.
Everett grins. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He drops the towel, and I start to lie back, sure he’s coming back to bed.
Instead, he starts getting dressed.
“Uh, what are you doing?” I ask, propped on my elbows.
“Going out to get coffee.”
“There’s a thing called room service. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” In fact, they’d delivered our dinner, perfectly timed after our first orgasms had faded and just as we’d started kissing again last night.
“Oh, the food here is excellent. The coffee is pretty good, too. But it’s nothing like the lattes from the stand on the corner.”
“You’re going to go get us coffee on the corner?” I ask. “Really?”
“Of course. It’s right downstairs. I’ll be right back.” He’s now dressed in jeans and a pullover. He looks casual. A typical guy about to run out for coffee.
But he looks happy. Really, really happy.
And he looks like mine.
A swirl of pleasure twists through my stomach and warms me. “Okay. Hurry,” I say.
“Definitely. I’ll be back before the room service gets here. Probably.”
“You ordered room service too?”
“I did. And if it gets here before I get back, put a robe on and answer. Otherwise, I want you naked and waiting right there for me,” he says, pointing at me.
“Yes, sir.”
He pauses, seemingly wanting to say something to that.
Yeah, maybe we can not only joke about the boss thing but turn it into some fun, dirty role-play. That isn’t really role-play at all.
Why not lean into this? It is what it is. He’s my boss and the man I love and…it’s fine. Great even.
"See you soon," he says instead.
"I'll try not to start without you."
He pauses and gives me a hot, firm look. "Do not start without me."
"I'll try. But...I can be a little insubordinate."
"You don't say." His tone is dry, but I giggle as he heads for the door.
I lie back as the door closes, and I can’t stop smiling.
I reach for my phone and pull up my group text with the girls.
Me: Margot, how are you???
Margot: Good. So much better. Glad to be home.
Me: Good. When’s the wedding?
Margot: Wedding?
Me: You had Graham very worked up. *winky face*
Margot: Oh, that. Yeah, I know. *blushing face* He’s been amazing. *heart emoji* No ring, though.
Me: Yet.
Margot: Yet.
Margot: He said your meeting with the Albrights went well.
Me: Everett filled him in??
When had he had time for that? He’d been very busy. I grin.
Margot: The Albrights did. He hasn’t heard from Everett.
My grin grows. Perfect segue.
Me: That’s probably because we’ve been naked in bed since right after the meeting.
Sloan: I’m here just reading along, and I nearly swallowed my coffee down the wrong pipe! WHAT?!
Me: Yep. *fire emoji*
Margot: *heart eyes emoji* *fire emoji* *celebration emoji*
Sloan: *eggplant emoji*
Me: *laughing emoji* *heart emoji* It’s more than *eggplant emoji*. We’re in love.
Margot: No kidding.
Sloan: We are very aware of this. Have you told HIM this?
Me: I have. And he’s told me. And we’re going to be together.
Margot: Thank God. Can I tell Graham?
I hesitate. It’s funny to me that my brother hasn’t figured this out. Maybe Everett should tell him?
Margot: Yeah, probably. Dammit. I love this. When will he tell him? It will be very hard to keep this secret.
Me: I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about what happens after New York.
Sloan: Well, you’re together, right?
Me: Yes. But I don’t know how. Exactly. But we’ll figure it out.
Margot: Of course you will. I’m so happy for you!
Sloan: Me too! But if you’re still in New York with Everett, why are you texting us?? Get back in bed!!
I laugh. I don’t bother telling them I’m in bed. And naked. I get her point.
Me: *heart hands* Talk to you when I get home.
Sloan: *kissy face emoji*
Margot: *heart emoji*
Just as I set my phone back on the table, there’s a knock at the door.
Room service.
My stomach growls as I roll off the mattress and head for the closet for a robe.
I cinch the tie and pull the door open at the same time.
But my huge welcoming smile dies almost immediately. Killed by shock.
“Oh. Miss Riley.”
“Good morning, Mr. Albright.” I look at the other brother. “And Mr. Albright.”
What the fuck are they doing here? Here? At Everett’s hotel room?
“We weren’t expecting you.”
Yeah, obviously. This is going to be a problem.
Dammit.
“I wasn’t expecting you either.” I gesture down my body, indicating my robe, then give them a sheepish smile. “Was Everett expecting you?”
Surely not. He would’ve warned me.
Conner Albright shakes his head. “No. We haven’t been able to get ahold of him. He’s not answering his phone. But we spoke with Graham this morning. We wanted them to know that we already got all of the paperwork drawn up.” He waves the manila envelope in his hand.
Oh, damn. That’s amazing.
Gage Albright gives me a disapproving look. “We were very excited after our meeting last night.”
Were. Crap. They’re using the past tense.
“That’s so great to hear.” I pull the belt on my robe tighter. “Everett just went down to grab some coffee from the corner stand. He’ll be right back.”
“Graham thought it would be fine if we just stopped by,” Conner says. “He said Everett would be excited to see us and the paperwork.”
I nod and resist the urge to tighten my belt further. It doesn’t need it, and it is a sure sign that I’m nervous. Because I fucking am.
“He will be. Absolutely.”
Gage frowns. “Miss Riley. What are you doing here? And without any clothes on?”
I like a person who will get straight to the point. I sigh. Obviously, he knows the answer. He just wants to hear me say it. Or confirm it.
“I spent the night with Everett last night.” I lift my chin and meet his gaze. There’s no reason to lie about it. It is what happened, and they clearly know it.
It’s none of their business, but I’m also not going to deny the obvious when he’s asked me directly.
“Last night you told us, point-blank, to our faces, with Mr. Clark right next to you, that you are not involved romantically.”
“Yes. And that was true last night.” I wince, though. It wasn’t completely true. We weren’t sleeping together last night, but we were romantically involved. We were in love with one another.
“Mis Riley, you lied to us,” Gage says.
I shake my head. “When you asked us about our relationship, we told you we were colleagues and friends. That is true and that was all we were when you asked.”
I don’t really owe these men an explanation and yet…I kind of do. They did ask and instead of telling them it was none of their concern last night and establishing that boundary then and there, we did tell them that we were not involved.
“Everett and I met several months ago. Before we knew who the other was. Before I was working for IES. Once we found out about our connection, we agreed we needed to change our relationship and keep it platonic. And that has been true until last night.”
The brothers share a look, then meet my eyes again.
“And Graham is fine with this?” Connor asks.
This is none of their business, dammit. It’s not really Graham’s business, either.
But…it is. That’s how our family and friend group work.
We tell each other important things. We share our lives.
And who we are in love with is definitely a part of our lives that we want everyone to know.
And no matter how old I am, how independent I am, how private my love life could be, Everett is Graham’s best friend.
It’s just not realistic to say that this is none of his business.
Dammit. This is one of the things I hate about corporate work. I can’t tell people to fuck off even when they deserve it.
But I could nicely tell them that this is a family matter.
I decide to try that. “All of this is between Everett and me and Graham,” I say evenly. “It’s nothing for you to be concerned about.”
Gage Albright’s mouth presses into a thin line. Then he takes a step back from my doorway.
Fuck. That is huge red flag body language.
“We disagree,” he says.
I frown. “What does my love life have to do with the IES relationship with your company?”
“Our company is very personal to us,” Gage says. “It’s our family’s company. That means it’s much more than business.”
“I understand that. IES and IAS are the same to us.”
“Exactly why working with you was so appealing.”
Was. There’s that damned past tense again. My heart starts to pound.
“Shouldn’t my relationship with Everett make you feel more secure then?” I ask. “Everett is practically a part of my family already. This just makes our family business connection even deeper.”
“We don’t like the idea of entering into a significant business relationship, one that we are hoping will be good for our family’s reputation and name, with people who lied to us upon our first meeting,” Conner says.
I feel like they’re being a little oversensitive about us not being forthcoming about a personal matter, but they get to feel how they feel.