Chapter 9
Sullivan~
It was six o’clock on a Monday morning, and being at the office this early wasn’t anything new. However, being here after finally discovering what it felt like to be buried deep inside Mitzi Bardot was new, and I’d spent all weekend accepting the fact that it was all over for me.
After I had walked Mitzi to her car Friday night, she had respectfully asked for some space, which I’d no choice but to give her.
Now, while the ambitious side of me had wanted to ask her why, I hadn’t been so far gone not to recognize how delicate the situation had been.
I’d done things to Mitzi that she hadn’t ever experienced before, and most of it had been the opposite of loving, so I’d given in against my better judgement.
Still, that hadn’t stopped me from thinking of her all weekend long, and I still couldn’t get her out of my mind.
I could admit that I was terrified that she was going to want to leave things between us as a one-night stand, and I couldn’t have that.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, I’d fallen for Mitzi Bardot and there was no going back.
So, after speaking with the corporate lawyers yesterday, making them earn their exuberant fees on a Sunday, I’d spoken to my parents, then I had called an emergency meeting with all my department heads, also reminding them of why they made so much money.
For better or for worse, they were paid to be on standby whenever I needed them, and I’d needed them yesterday for this.
Now, while almost everyone in the room had been rendered speechless, Martin hadn’t been.
As soon as I’d made the announcement, he’d been quick to ask how that was going to affect his department, and credit to the man, he’d been pissed, and rightfully so.
His department was a very important one, and Mitzi was his most valuable asset, so I could understand how it’d been personal for him.
Luckily, I’d been able to soothe his ruffled feathers, assuring him that Mitzi would still be working for R I was just always professional enough not to act on it before. ”
“Okay,” she drawled out slowly, calming down. “Be that as it may, I still don’t see how that leads to an engagement after only one night together.”
“I tend to go full steam when there’s something that I want, and I want you,” I replied truthfully. “I want you more than I can remember ever wanting something before.”
She didn’t look impressed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Because I let you slap me around while calling me names?”
My chin immediately went up. “I was interested in you way before that ever became an issue,” I pointed out.
“And to be completely honest with you, if this was all about wanting to treat a woman like trash sexually, then I have more than enough money to pay someone for that shit. So, do not ever dismiss what happened between us again. This is not about sex.”
After a few seconds of processing what I’d just said, Mitzi let out a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm down some more, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work.
No matter what she said, I wasn’t going to rescind the announcement.
I wanted to date her, and I refused to let her become some employee-fucking-the-boss cliché.
Whatever it took, I was not going to allow her to be whispered about or disrespected, and an engagement would ensure that.
Taking my hands out of my pockets, I placed them on her shoulders, then ran them up and down her arms. “Baby, this doesn’t mean that we have to get married tomorrow,” I said. “We can have a long engagement, dating in the meantime.”
Though she no longer looked pissed, she still didn’t look onboard with all of this. “Sullivan, this is crazy. Not only are you my boss’ boss’ boss, but...but...”
“But what?”
“I just broke up with my boyfriend,” she reminded me. “How the hell do you plan to explain that away? How is there any way to spin getting engaged to you after having left my boyfriend only last week? It makes me look like a cheater or you like a rebound.”
Admittedly, I hadn’t factored that into my plan, and it was a valid issue. “Then we tell the truth.”
“Which is?”
“We’ll just tell people that I’ve always been interested in you, and when I found out that you ended things with your boyfriend, I announced our engagement as a desperate attempt to get you to date me,” I explained.
“We’ll trade The Fantasy Factory for a dinner date, and we’ll say that it only took me one night to be all in with you, which is all true. ”
She shook her head, still not convinced. “This is just too much.”
“If you ask me, it’s not enough,” I countered.
“Sullivan, you don’t even know anything about me,” she went on. “Yeah, you know my academic history and have witnessed my work ethic, but you have no idea what I’m like outside of work.”
“Hence the long engagement,” I replied pointedly.
My hands dropped when she took a step back, letting out a hollow laugh. “I’m going to be the girl who’s banging the boss, Sullivan. After all that I’ve accomplished, that’s what I’m going to be reduced to.”
“No, you’re not,” I insisted before heading back to my desk. “Besides, anyone that has ever worked with you will know better.”
Like the tenacious hellcat that she was, she followed me to my desk, refusing to let me get away. “How do you know that?”
Pulling out the second drawer of my desk, I grabbed the jewelry box that got delivered yesterday, then placed it on the stack of files that needed my attention. “This will say otherwise.”