by Claire Adams
I thought that over. “That makes sense,” I said slowly. “But still, I hope you're not selling yourself short.”
Lexi laughed. “By being here with you?” she asked. “If anything, I'm reaching for something that's way out of my league!”
“Not what I meant,” I said, rolling my eyes, but I couldn't help smiling as well.
Lexi's expression turned serious again. “I still feel bad about the Renée situation, though.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in surprise. Renée and I had broken up about a month ago now, and I had hardly thought of her since. If I'd needed any proof that she wasn't the one for me, it was that.
I spared a moment to be grateful that she hadn't done like she'd threatened and come after me for vengeance. But then, I tuned back in to what Lexi was saying.
“I feel like I screwed that one up for you,” she told me, looking guilty. “Here you were, in a relationship with this beautiful woman, and I came along with Emma and demanded a place to stay. That was bound to make any new relationship awkward. I should have been able to figure out some other plan. Or I should have been better about hiding who I was.”
“First of all, you didn't demand a place to live,” I reminded her. “I offered.”
“Even so,” she said, shaking her head. “Don't get me wrong; I think you're better off without her. Not that I knew her all that well. Not that I knew her at all. But she didn't respect you the way that she should. And you're great with Emma.”
I laughed. “Are you saying that it boils down to, I shouldn't have been with her because I'm great with Emma?”
Lexi blushed a brilliant shade of red, perhaps redder than I'd ever seen her before. She rolled away from me so that she was looking up at the ceiling. “What I mean is...” She trailed off, sounding embarrassed. Then, she cleared her throat and glanced over at me. “Don't you think it's only natural that you be with me, given that you're the father of my child?”
I frowned, seriously thinking over that. “I'm not sure what I think,” I told her guardedly.
What I really thought was, I wasn't going to stay in this relationship if it wasn't working out for us, regardless of whether we had a kid together. At the same time, I didn't want her to misinterpret my saying that out loud, especially not since I knew she must already be thinking that, somewhere in her mind.
Lexi turned back to face me, carefully analyzing my expression. “Okay,” she said simply, no judgment in her tone or her expression.
“I do want you to stay for at least a few months, while we figure things out,” I told her slowly.
I brushed back her hair and leaned in to kiss her, moving unhurriedly, giving her plenty of time to pull away if this wasn't what she wanted. But although I shied away from saying it in words, I hoped to convey how much feeling I already had for her.
It seemed to work, if the smile on her face as we pulled apart was any indication. “Thank you,” she said appreciatively. “For letting us stay.”
“It's all for Emma,” I teased. But then I fixed her with a serious gaze. “You've grown on me too, though.”
“You've grown on me as well,” Lexi admitted. “At first, you were a total jerk. It seemed like all you cared about was yourself and the success of your business. But I don't know; since we've been here, you've seemed different. More caring.” She ducked her head, as though she couldn't believe she was saying the words. “Not that it's any of my business anyway.”
I tilted her chin up and kissed her again. The kiss was gentle and sweet, only hinting at our hidden passion. “I'm trying to be a better role model for Emma,” I told her.
It was my first time I had admitted it even to myself, but I knew it was the true story behind my transformation at work, as well as the true story behind how frequently I now worked from home.
From Lexi's pleased smile, I could tell that she appreciated the revelation. She leaned in to reward me with another kiss, this one much more heated than the last.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lexi
I looked up as Andrew came into the room where Emma and I were playing with some cars on the floor, zooming them around the “town” that we'd built from blocks. It was still early in the evening, but Andrew was already home. I was impressed with how much he was trying to temper his workaholic side and become a real family man. The fact that he made an effort to change at all surprised me.
“How was your day?” I asked as Andrew joined us on the floor, heedless of the fact that he was in a tailored suit.
“It was good,” Andrew said, nodding. “We're well ahead of our internal production goals for the month, and we're on track to return record profits.” I could tell that there was something more to those record profits, but he didn't expand on it. Instead, he watched Emma for a moment, a smile on his face. “Emma, darling, would you mind if I stole Mommy away for a night?”
Emma looked curiously between the two of us and then frowned. “Why?” she asked.
“Because I thought that you and Janice might want to decorate some cookies and surprise us,” Andrew said, winking over at me.
Emma gave him a long-suffering look. “Daddy, it's not a surprise if you already know about it,” she said matter-of-factly, and I had to stifle a laugh.
“Indeed,” Andrew said, grinning over at me. “Then I guess you're just going to have to think of a new surprise with Janice.”
“Okay!” Emma cried, jumping to her feet and tearing out of the room.
I raised an eyebrow at Andrew. “You're stealing me away for the night?” I asked.
“I figured it had been a while since you'd had some time off from Emma,” Andrew said. “And it's been a while since I did something that wasn't work or hanging out with you and Emma. So, I thought that, just maybe, we might both benefit from an adults-only fun night.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering exactly what he was suggesting. We had barely touched since the night we'd slept together again, and I wasn't sure how to bridge the space that seemed to lurk between us. I wasn't sure what Andrew was thinking, if he didn't want to bridge that space or if he also wasn't sure how. It seemed like he had plans for us tonight, though.
“I made dinner reservations,” he finally elaborated. “It's nothing quite as fancy as our first date. I just wanted something a bit more relaxed. I hope that's okay.”
“That sounds great,” I said. I looked down at my jeans and the old t-shirt that I had on for painting with Emma earlier in the day. “I guess I should shower and get changed.”
“You have plenty of time,” Andrew promised. “Our reservation isn't until seven.”
“Cool,” I said, pushing myself to my feet.
I showered and then stared into my closet, wondering what I should wear. Andrew had said casual, but I knew that when he said “casual,” he didn't mean the sort of casual I would have meant in the same situation. A casual date for him meant that I didn't need to wear a full-length gown, but it definitely didn't mean jeans would be okay.
Fortunately, he'd handed me a credit card and sent me shopping a couple weeks ago, claiming that all my clothes made me look like a homeless person or a college student. That wasn't the kind of role model he wanted for Emma.
I'd been defensive about my clothing at first, but when he pointed out that nearly everything I owned was stained and/or had holes in it, I'd had to admit that he was probably right. I could use a few new outfits. I still felt weird about the outing, but Misty and I had had a lot of fun trying to figure out what kinds of clothes would be appropriate for my style makeover, so I couldn't really complain.
I finally settled on a lacy white shirt and flowing, knee-length green skirt. The skirt hugged my curves, and I figured the outfit as a whole would be appropriate for whatever we were about to do, especially paired with that soft tan cardigan that Misty had picked out and the matching tan oxfords that I'd had forever.
I clipped back my hair and then I bit my lip as I looked at myself in the mirror. I could h
ardly recognize myself, but it wasn't a bad thing. In fact, I kind of liked it. I only hoped that Andrew was appreciative of my efforts.
When I came hesitantly downstairs, Andrew was waiting in the front hall. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance. “You look really cute,” he told me, pulling me into his arms.
It was the first real touch that I'd had from him in a few days, and I leaned into the hug, smiling easily at him. “Thanks,” I said. “You look good, too.”
And he did, dressed in his khaki shorts and a plaid, button-down shirt, his hair tousled to perfection. The outfit did nothing to obscure the muscles that I'd seen on him the other day when I'd walked in on him. For a moment, I wondered if we even had to go on a date, or if we should just go upstairs and have our way with one another instead.
But Andrew pulled away from our hug and held open the front door for me, leading me out and to his car. We had a nice dinner at a seafood restaurant on the lake, and as promised, the place was nowhere near as fancy as that first date we'd gone on. It was still nice, and the food was great.
It was what came after dinner, though, that really shocked me.
“This isn't the way home,” I commented, looking out the window and then looking quizzically at Andrew.
“No,” he agreed. “Emma's probably already in bed, so there's no reason to head home already. Janice is all right with watching her until midnight.”
I frowned. “What are we going to do until midnight?” I asked.
“You'll see,” Andrew said mysteriously.
We pulled up at the airport, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “You wanted me to learn the history of the Boeing Company?” I asked him.
Andrew laughed. “We're not here for the museum,” he said. “Come on.”
He led me past a line of hangars and out toward the runway, his hand warm at the small of my back. He stopped us in front of a sleek silver jet. “There are some perks to being a billionaire, and this is one of them,” he told me, smiling up at the plane.
I blinked. “You have your own jet?”
Of course, it made sense. I knew that he went to business meetings all around the world. But I supposed I'd picture him flying first-class on standard commercial flights.
“I have my own jet,” Andrew agreed, nodding. “I generally only use it for short-haul flights or for vacations, though. Let me show you inside.”
We climbed up into the plane, into what felt more like a living room than the interior of a jet. I shook my head, still marveling at it. I wondered why he had brought me here. Was this just another obnoxious display of his wealth?
Andrew knocked on the door leading to the cockpit and then opened it, leading me up there. “Captain Phillips and Mr. Daniels, good to see you,” he greeted warmly, shaking hands with the pilot and co-pilot. Then, he beckoned me forward. “This is Lexi Jordan. She'll be accompanying me on this flight tonight.”
“Very good,” Captain Phillips said. “I trust the two of you can get yourselves all ready for takeoff? The bird's ready to go whenever you are.”
“Excellent,” Andrew said, nodding. “I appreciate that.” He led me back into the living room area. “We'll need to be strapped in for takeoff, but I'll show you the rest of the plane once we're in the air. How does that sound?”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
As much as I liked the spontaneity of this date, at the same time, I couldn't help thinking about Emma, back home in Andrew's mansion. I knew, of course, that she'd be fine with Janice, but I'd never left her alone overnight before.
“Don't worry. Like I told you, we'll be back by midnight so that Janice can go home to her family,” Andrew said, accurately sussing out my worry, but not answering the question that I'd actually asked.
“But where are we going?” I repeated.
Andrew shrugged. “Just for a flight,” he said. “Trust me.”
“Okay,” I said, settling back against my seat and buckling my seatbelt. Sure enough, this is just another display of wealth. I sighed internally, barely refraining from rolling my eyes.
Once we were airborne, Andrew unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, holding out a hand for me. I followed him toward the back of the living room area. What could be beyond the door leading into the rear of the plane? Not that I really cared. There was probably just a mini bar or a party room or something. A place to entertain his dates.
It turned out that I wasn't very far off with that one. In the room, a large bed took up most of the available space. I burst out laughing.
“I figured that as a billionaire, I should be able to offer at least one novel place to have sex,” Andrew said, grinning at me as his fingers traced my side. “Unless, of course, you're not interested.”
My laughter died quickly as he pulled me snug against him, his hand firm against my ass. I whimpered involuntarily as he kissed me heatedly.
“Please,” I begged in a whisper as he pulled away.
A smile broke out on his face, and he took a step back, slowly beginning to strip. I hurriedly followed his lead.
“Don't worry about making noise,” he told me. “There's soundproofing between the cockpit and back here. Plus, the engines are noisy to begin with.” He looked at me with eyes already gone lusty and dark. “I want to hear you.”
I made a soft sound at that, unable to help it. Andrew smiled encouragingly and tipped me back onto the surprisingly soft mattress, before crawling up to join me.
From there, he began to tease me, working me slowly over into ecstasy. It seemed that his hands were everywhere at once, stroking along my sides and swirling across my breasts, fingers finding their way between my legs and then dancing nimbly away again.
Even when he finally breached my folds, he moved with agonizing patience, manipulating my pleasure zone until I sobbed wordlessly with the need for something more.
He fucked into me with the same slow movements. No matter how I clung to his hips, no matter how I rocked my own hips into his, no matter what I did in my attempts to spur him on, he continued to move with measured restraint.
“Please,” I begged.
“Louder,” he growled, kissing my neck and bosom.
“Please,” I repeated, louder this time.
But it evidently wasn't enough to satisfy him. He continued to move maddeningly slowly, although his thrusts became harder, until I could feel the fullness of him throbbing in every inch of my core, impaling me on its hot length.
“Please, please, please,” I sobbed. “Andrew!”
As though that were the key to unlocking my pleasure, he began to thrust into me with earnest, all restraint forgotten. I could barely breathe from his powerful motions, but I didn't protest. Instead, I clung to him, my fingers digging into his skin, no doubt leaving desperate marks there. Neither of us cared just then.
I rocked with him, lost in a world of desire and pleasure. Sparks of lust sizzled through my blood. I hovered right on the edge of orgasm for what felt like an eternity, helplessly calling out a litany of pleas, intermixed with awe-filled cries of his name.
I wasn't sure who orgasmed first, whether it was me or him, but we finally stilled, caught up in shimmering bliss. Andrew gave a few final, slow thrusts as almost an afterthought before he pulled out and collapsed next to me. He pulled me close, gently smoothing down my hair and then kissing me.
“Wow,” was all I could say.
Andrew chuckled, but he sounded just as blown away as I was. “Yeah,” he said, shaking his head.
I grinned, proud that I'd been able to get him to sound like that.
Andrew continued to hold me there in the bed for the rest of the flight, until we had landed at the airport, even though I was sure that we were probably supposed to put on our seatbelts once we began our descent. All too soon, it was back to reality. But I clung to the memories of that night, from the dinner-date to the “dessert.”
Maybe things with Andrew and I would work out after all.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I drummed my fingers on my desk, running through the meeting's agenda and mentally preparing myself for the questions that I knew would be coming. I sighed and pushed back my chair, making myself a quick cup of tea before I went into the conference room. Everyone was already there.
It's going to take a while before they quit expecting to be fired over every little thing, I thought, knowing that they were probably all here early because they were afraid that if they showed up after me, I'd fire them on the spot. That wasn't the plan for today, though.
“Good morning, everyone,” I greeted them, sitting at the head of the table. “Let's get started. Now, I know that many of you are wondering why we've gathered here today. Don't worry; we're not here to discuss the mid-quarter numbers, although they are looking very impressive. I can see that you are all thinking about those internal goals and about everything that we talked about in our last meeting.”
There was a murmur of assent around the table.
“As some of you may have noticed, I've been working from home a lot more lately,” I continued. “I've decided to begin changing my management strategy.” I could see looks of surprise around the table. “It's come to my attention that I've micromanaged this company for far too long. And although that has obviously yielded results, I think it's time for me to begin to take a step back from things.”
One of the men seated to my left frowned at me. His name was Tom, and he'd been with the company since my father had started it, way back when. He asked the question that I knew they were all thinking. “Are you retiring?”
I laughed. “I'm too young to retire,” I told him. “What would I do with myself? That would be a lot of time to kill. Besides, I don't have someone to take my place at the moment. Although I appreciate all that each of you does for the company, you all work in your own departments more often than not. The person who will eventually replace me will be someone who has experience bringing together the work of all those different departments.”
There were some nods around the table, and even though I knew most, if not all, of my employees feared me, there were a number of them who looked relieved. They were probably worried that if I left the company, there would be layoffs and other big changes to the company structure, more than anything else.