Chapter 10
Mitzi~
The initials on the box were enough to give me a heart attack, and just being in the same room as whatever was in that box was enough to make my hands shake a little.
When I’d woken up this morning to unrelenting messages and notifications of my engagement to Sullivan Gray, I’d been shocked.
I’d been shocked enough to power down my phone completely, hoping that it’d just been some kind of crazy update glitch, but no.
..it hadn’t been. Sullivan had really announced our engagement to the world, and I was still reeling from how he could do such a thing.
The Sullivan Gray that I’d been working for all these years hadn’t been known for being reckless, yet here we were.
Two days hadn’t been enough to forget about him, either.
When Sullivan had walked me to my car, I’d been feeling a bit overwhelmed, which had led me to asking for some space, but not because I’d been confused about wanting to see him again, no.
I had asked for space because I’d needed time to process what had just happened, an experience that I hadn’t expected to be so intense.
Then, when I’d woken up with those promised bruises and bite marks, I’d also woken up with no regrets.
The degradation experience had been everything that I had ever dreamed of, and Sullivan had been the perfect partner to make it all happen.
I hadn’t felt abused or cheated of the experience, and everything in me had wanted to invite him over to make it happen again, and that’s what had made me go radio silence.
I’d woken up in over my head, and I’d needed to process my feelings to determine if they were from the sex, my breakup with Scottie, or if I really did have the hots for my boss.
Always the researcher, I’d needed to assess what I’d been feeling before making my move, but because of that, I was now engaged.
I also hated how Sullivan was making it all sound so simple.
He had explained every concern away like they were nothing, leaving me with no real argument.
Plus, I couldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t very attracted to the man, and it was more than just his looks and body.
I could appreciate his drive and ambition more than most, and his work ethic would never cause any problems in our relationship because I had the same kind of single-mindedness when it came to work.
Still, no matter what he said or no matter how many times I recycled it in my brain, this was crazy as hell, and did I really want to be engaged to a crazy person? Most people would say no.
“Sullivan-”
“Baby, relax,” he instructed, and it was hard not to grab something to throw at him. “It’ll be fine.”
“You haven’t even asked me if I like you,” I pointed out. “Sleeping with you doesn’t equate love.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed. “But, again, that’s what the long engagement is for, Mitzi.”
Before I could say anything to that, Sullivan was grabbing the box off the desk, and my heart started slamming in my chest. Whatever was in it, I knew that it had to be worth a fortune because those were the only diamonds that Harry Winston dealt in.
Though stunning, his jewelry wasn’t for the weak or the working class, and I could totally see people trying to rob me constantly.
Nothing was said as Sullivan popped the box open, and inside was the most spectacular piece of jewelry that I’d ever seen in real life.
Since I wasn’t a reality television dingbat, the stone in the middle seemed excessively large for one ring, and the surrounding diamonds looked just as equally impressive.
In fact, it looked more like a legit wedding ring than it did an engagement ring, and I could only imagine what he’d pick for the actual wedding set.
Christ on The Cross.
When Sullivan slipped the small fortune on my finger, the weight of it was another indication that the piece was rather expensive.
While a lot of people always fawned over the stone, I knew enough to know that the metal supporting it was just as precious and just as expensive, and I’d bet my yearly salary that the ring was made from the rhodium member of the platinum family.
When I looked back up at Sullivan, he had the most vulnerable look on his face, and it was hard to reconcile the man in front of me with the man that had spit on me, called me horrible names, and then had broken me in anally. I mean, Jesus Christ.
“You’ve impressed me for a long time now, Mitzi,” he said seriously. “I’ll do anything to make this thing between us work.”
Doing the most reckless thing that I’d ever done in my life since last Friday night, I asked, “How do you feel about sex while I’m on my period?”
His lips twitched in the sexiest smirk ever, and I really was toast. “Baby, I’ll eat your pussy while you’re on your period if you let me.”
While that would be unsanitary to say the least, it was also the right answer. “I’m not sure that we’re there yet, though that’s good to know.”
His green eyes narrowed a bit. “Since I’ve already had my tongue buried in your ass, I disagree.”
My face immediately turned red.
The jackass.
“Can we...uhm, how about we table this conversation for later?”
Sulivan grabbed my hips, then yanked me closer. “How about you give me a little taste to get me through the day?”
I could feel my eyes widen. “You want to have sex in our workplace?”
“Well, it’d be in my office,” he clarified. “I mean, I don’t have plans to spread your legs in the cafeteria during lunch or anything like that.”
“Sullivan, if we start having sex in your office, then people are really going to start to think that I’m just a corporate piece of ass,” I harrumphed.
“No, they won’t,” he argued. “They’ll think that I can’t keep my hands off my fiancé, and they’ll be right about that.”
Because it was apparent that I was weak when it came to this man, I said, “I’m still a bit sore.”
“Then let me kiss it and make it all better,” he replied wolfishly.
Ignoring that, I said, “You know, we’re going to have to have some pretty serious conversations soon, and that includes discussions about where we’ll live, if we’re going to have children, and how I want nothing to do with your bank accounts.”
Sullivan leaned up against his desk, taking me with him. As he wrapped his arms around my waist, he said, “We’ll go shopping for a new house together, I’ll give you as many children as you want, or none at all, it’ll totally be your call, and as for my bank accounts, that’s not how it works, baby.”
“We’ll talk about that some more later,” I murmured, and the man just laughed.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he chuckled. “However, I’m willing to discuss a lifestyle that you’re most comfortable with.”
After a few seconds of silence, I finally decided to jump on Sullivan’s crazy train, on the condition that he let me drive. “Okay, I’m in.”
“Thank-”
“On one condition,” I quickly added, interrupting his premature celebration.
He immediately scowled. “What condition?”
“If this engagement eventually does lead to marriage, I get to decide when,” I told him. “You do not get to decide when the time is right for me.”
He gave me a solemn nod. “Okay, that’s fair.”
“And I have one more.”
“Okay,” he drawled out, though there was a small smile playing sweetly on his lips.
“You’re the one who’s going to have to explain this mess to my parents,” I informed him. “I am not getting yelled at because you went off half-cocked.”
“Okay, I can do that,” he easily agreed. “Anything else?”
“I like to donate to the local animal shelters,” I added. “A lot.”
“I’ll write out checks first thing after you leave my office,” he replied quietly, pulling me closer to him. “Anything else?”
“If we’re going to have children, then they will need pets to keep them company,” I threw at him.
Sullivan arched a brow. “Because they won’t be able to keep each other company?”
“I like animals,” I finally admitted.
“I’m beginning to see that,” he chuckled.
“What about you?” I asked. “Do you like animals?”
“I have a cat named Roger, and he only cares that I feed him, so he doesn’t mind my hectic schedule at all,” he answered, and my heart nearly exploded with instant love for the man. “In fact, he seems to get annoyed whenever I work from home.”
“I have a hamster named Arnold.”
“I’m sure that they’ll get along just fine.”
After another few seconds of silence, I asked, “So, how much time do you think we have before people start showing up?”
His smile lit up his entire face. “More than enough, baby.”