14. Diana #2
I’m just not used to people helping me with childcare.
Maybe my parents, when they could manage to come down to Denver and help me, but my ex has certainly never pitched in much.
Or at all. So it’s difficult to accept that this man—this man who I didn’t even like when we first met—would willingly offer to help.
That Michael would not only be capable of handling a delicate situation, but was happy to unload it from me in order for me to have the tools necessary to succeed today.
Wiping the tears off my cheeks, I check the CGM one last time. After taking a deep breath, I push the conference room door open, praying my makeup isn’t that big of a mess.
Quietly, I slide back into my seat at the long, oval table with a murmured apology. “I’m so sorry for the interruption. It was a family emergency.” I shoot Edgar a pleading look. “It won’t happen again,” I assure everyone in the room.
“Is everything all right? Do you need to excuse yourself?” Edgar asks.
“No, no. It’s been handled.” At least, I’m trusting that it has.
The meeting wraps up smoothly an hour later, leaving both parties pleased—thank god. Edgar is happy with how our presentation went, and I’m ecstatic that my personal emergency didn’t affect our business—or so it seems. With a smile on my face, I gather up our documents and ready myself to leave.
When Edgar and Max excuse themselves to go to the restroom, and the rest of the Bloom Inc.
legal team leaves, I’m left alone by the elevators with the man who has unknowingly kept me up late working on his case.
Not that I’m complaining; I’ve actually found it quite fascinating.
But it’s odd to have spent so much time wading through his sensitive information without ever having really met him until today’s meeting.
“Are you joining us for drinks?” Jonathan asks.
“Oh. I didn’t know I was invited.” I clutch the documents to my chest, and look up at him.
“Of course you are!” He laughs, his blue eyes shining. “I was the one who made you guys come all the way here. It would be horrible of me to not even take you guys out for a drink.”
“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Bloom, but you’re the client. We’re supposed to be taking you out for drinks.”
That makes him laugh. “Please, call me Jonathan. And you think I’m going to make you pay on top of having the entire team travel all the way here?” He shakes his head. “I’m not that type of guy.”
No, he doesn’t seem like that type of guy. In the hour I’ve known him, Jonathan Bloom hasn’t given me Evil Billionaire vibes. He actually seems… nice.
“Well, that’s super nice of you, but I’m pretty sure we would’ve just billed you for it later,” I say with a smirk. “Still, I think I’m going to have to pass this time around. Remember that family emergency? It’s not an emergency anymore, but I should probably make sure everything is okay.”
“I understand,” Jonathan tells me. “Family should always take priority over work.”
I guess I must be visibly surprised that a billionaire would say that, since he asks “What? You don’t think I could ever value family over work?”
“Um, well, you’re Jonathan Bloom. You’re a media mogul and you’re self-made. I’m sure you had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to get to where you are. I’ve read your bio—you didn’t get to where you are easily.”
Running a hand through his thick, dark hair, he chuckles.
Piercing blue eyes bounce around my face, searching for…
something. His smile is perfect and straight, inviting and kind.
The guy is basically Superman in a business suit—Clark Kent without the glasses—but it’s not doing much for me. Have I gone insane?
“Yes, it’s been years of hard work. But recently I’ve realized that the sacrifices I made may not have been worth it. It’s been a lot of lonely nights and empty holidays. It’s a cliché, but what’s success if you have no one to share it with?”
I smile up at him. “I suppose you’re right.”
“You look like the type of person who carries a lot of weight and self-blame around. So, I just want to make sure you know that you didn’t cause a big interruption in the meeting today.
You did the right thing, and you had your priorities straight.
And if Edgar says anything to you, I’ll be extremely disappointed. ”
I grin at him and shake my head. “You’re really nice, but he would never. He’s probably the most supportive boss anyone’s ever had. He was my divorce attorney, too, so he knows me pretty well. That’s why I think he won’t mind me skipping out on our drinks to go back to Long Island.”
He perks up. “You’re from Long Island? I thought you were from Colorado.”
“Oh, I’m from Colorado, that’s true. But I’m spending the summer in Sag Harbor at a friend’s house for now.”
“Sag Harbor, huh? I actually have a house around there.” He scratches the back of his head, his cheeks suddenly a pale pink. “If you’re around and free… I don’t know. Maybe we can take a rain check on today’s drinks, and I can take you to dinner sometime?”
My jaw drops. He can’t be serious, can he? “Like a… date?”
“Yes.” He smiles, suddenly marginally more confident than he was just a few seconds before.
“Um. I… I don’t know if that will get me in trouble. Isn’t that a conflict of interest or something?” I gnaw on my lower lip, not knowing what to say.
On the one hand, what? On the other, maybe this will be good for me?
It could be an opportunity to find out whether whatever crush I have on Michael is only because he’s attracted to me like Jonathan, and I haven’t been with anyone who has shown any interest in me in years, or whether what I feel for him is real.
“If it’s a conflict of interest, then…” Jonathan shrugs, “Then I guess we won’t do it.
But I think you’re nice and smart and beautiful.
And I’d really like to see you again. I can come to you—you don’t even have to worry about coming into the city.
I have some stuff I need to take care of out there, anyway, so you’d really be saving me from a boring trip.
And there’s this special place I could take you to—a place I’d love to take you to.
” He smiles and it’s tender, his eyes soft.
Like he really does mean everything he says.
Odd.
“You don’t even know me,” I say, shaking my head, almost in awe.
“No. Not yet. But I have a feeling.”
But I don’t, I almost say. Though to be honest, who am I to say?
The last time I went on a first date was a million years ago.
I mean, low-rise jeans were still in, and we were all for it, for Pete’s sake.
And maybe this will be a good way to get Michael out of my head.
Not that I’d admit to him being there to begin with. Because he’s not.
Ugh.
Stupid Michael and his stupid dimpled smile and perfect body and the adorably considerate speech he gave me and the way he makes me feel and that hot almost-kiss.
Ugggghhhh.
“Um. Okay. I guess that would be fine.” My voice is small, hesitant.
Jonathan laughs softly, his eyes warm. “I’ll try not take offense to that level of enthusiasm.”
I laugh and shake my head, feeling a blush creep up my neck. “No, no. I mean yes. An enthusiastic yes.”
But is it enthusiastic? Is it really, Diana?
His eyes shine with humor as he presses his lips together. “How about this: how about you think about it? I don’t want you to feel pressured or coerced into it. You can give me your number or I can give you mine. Or both?”
“Okay,” I say softly. “I appreciate that.”
“Okay, then.” He nods and asks for my number, which he saves right before immediately sending me a text with his name.
“We ready to go?” Edgar comes up behind me, Max in tow, and I jump, lucky they weren’t there to overhear the conversation. I’m not sure exactly what my boss’s reaction would be, but chances are, he’d rather I not date the biggest client he’s been able to score in decades.
“Yes,” Jonathan says.