She shook her head.
“As much as I like hearing that. I love you too much to let you be reckless.’
His smile widened. “You love me?”
She placed a hand over her heart.
“I’ve loved you since the moment I met you, David Jones.”
He kissed her again, then straightened as a couple came through the restaurant doors.
“Let me take you home.”
She looked back at the restaurant. “Our meals. We didn’t eat anything. What a waste.”
“I asked them to wrap up everything. That’s what delayed me a bit,” he admitted sheepishly.
She shook her head.
“Should have known. You are responsible to a fault.”
When they reached her home, Ronnie asked.
“Do you want to come up and have dinner with me?”
~*~*~*~
“So, was she also a legal assistant?” Ronnie asked, biting into her enchilada.
“Who?” David asked around a mouthful of Spanish rice.
“The woman who caused you to be so careful about these types of relationships.”
He deliberately took a few slow sips of his drink before answering.
“Her name was Justina. She was an intern from Chicago Law School. In her final year. She was a lot like you. Bright, eager, hard working. I had just convinced Dad to introduce an electronic filing system, and she was the one I put in charge of that project.”
“The same…you mean she was the one who started the initial project?”
He nodded.
“We’d gotten close. I believe I was her mentor. She often came to me for advice, and we began spending a lot of time together. Then my mother was killed. I was a mess. Justina comforted me. I was very vulnerable at that point and she was always there.”
He looked away as his memory drifted to that time.
“Sad to say, we got intimately involved. I was filled with guilt. I was a Christian and I knew better. I knew I was sinning against God. I repented of my sin, and I told Justina I could no longer continue to have a sexual relationship with her. At that moment I saw a side of her I’d never seen before. She accused me of cheating on her with someone else. She went crazy. I realized that she was not the woman for me. I also realized that these types of relationships could be very disruptive when they went south. She began to under-perform. When I threatened to have her fired she threatened to sue me for sexual harassment. I told her to go ahead.”
“What happened next?”
“She went to my father with her claim that I sexually harassed her.”
“What did he do?”
He gave a mirthless laugh.
“I don’t know what he did. I could never get him to tell me. But I do know that I showed up to work the next day to find her gone and she had left a little gift behind.”
“Gift?”
“She had installed a virus that corrupted the database. It threw our system into whack. Dad tried to have her arrested, but she had already skipped town. It caused some issues with our filing, our client database, and we had to revert to our manual system which slowed things down a bit. We even lost a couple of clients because of errors. Dad blamed me. Called me irresponsible. He also immediately instituted the policy about relationships between managers and employees.”
His voice drifted off as he recalled the humiliation he had suffered for months knowing that the incident had rippled through the organization. How Darrell had rapped his son over the knuckles for his indiscretion with the intern. He had done everything he was supposed to up to then. Been the good son. And because of one mistake, he was labeled once again as irresponsible and undisciplined. The only thing that had prevented him from quitting right then was that he hadn’t wanted to give his father the satisfaction of being able to say he was indeed undisciplined, someone who gave up when the going got tough.
So he had stuck it out and vowed never to find himself in a similar predicament. Over the years there had been plenty of women at Jones Law who served as temptations. Smart, beautiful women. And he had ignored them all. Ignored their looks. Their suggestive comments. Their flirtatious gestures. He had resisted, and if he had to be honest, it had been relatively easy to do so. Because not one of them had had the effect on him Ronnie Dickson had.
Ronnie caressed his cheek. In response, David pulled her closer and tenderly kissed her.
After they had pulled apart, she said, “David, I know I was planning to return home for Christmas, but now I want to spend Christmas with you.”
He smiled and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“What about your mom?”
“She’ll be fine. I’ll just call and tell her I’ve got something here and can’t get away.”
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t you want me to stay?”
“So much it hurts. I just didn’t want to be selfish.”
“I think I should resign now.”
“I’m not sure I want you to do that.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay at Jones Law if we’re dating.”
“Whether you quit your job or not people will know we got involved while you were working for me. I want you to at least remain until you finish the M&A. That’s an important account.”
“So, how do we act at work?”
“We’ll act like nothing has happened. We’ll remain very professional and act normal.”
“You think that can work? That we can keep up that pretense for long?”
“Of course we can. We are both professionals.”
~*~*~*~
“Mr. Jones wants to see you,” David’s secretary said.
“Certainly,” Ronnie said lightly.
She began to make her way to his office but turned back to her desk to retrieve a notebook on the pretense of discussing business. She did not want to raise suspicion by showing up in his office empty handed, although she had done so countless times in the past and had thought nothing of it.
Ronnie knocked and entered as she always did and found the room empty. She heard a slight noise coming from the bathroom. She took a deep breath and debated whether she should sit or remain standing. She felt uncharacteristically nervous.
Before she could decide what to do, she heard the bathroom door opened. She looked up and saw David coming out.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello,” she squeaked as her eyes met his.
Her heart raced. He came towards her, and before she could speak, he took her in his arms and kissed her.
Ronnie closed her eyes and melted into his embrace. Vaguely, she thought that it would be very awkward if his secretary were to walk in at that instant. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“How am I supposed to get any work done after that kiss,” he murmured against her hair.
She chuckled softly.
“So we've got two meetings this morning, right?” he asked as he played with a strand of her hair.
“Yes…the first one is…with the…team. The other… Mike Orbitz.”
Ronnie tried hard to focus on their conversation and not what his light touch was doing to her nerves.
“That’s what I called you about.”
Ronnie hid her feelings of disappointment that he had really called her about work.
“There’s an urgent matter that I need to attend to at the congressional office. I need you to chair the meeting with the team for me. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course I mind. What kind of notice is this?”
“Now, now, don’t talk back to your boss. I’m beginning to see why there’s this policy in place that you shouldn’t date your subordinates. ‘Cause then they get uppity and think they can call the shots.”
Before she could deliver some witty repartee, he placed his hand to the back of her head and kissed her soundly on the mouth, leaving her breathless. He went over to his desk and lifted up his jacket.
He shrugged it on and as he passed her,
delivered a chaste kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t pout, sweetie. See you later,” he said throwing her a wink. “I’ll be back in time for the meeting with Orbitz.”
~*~*~*~
At the meeting with Orbitz later that day, David found it difficult to focus. He tried to pay attention, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off Ronnie. Everything about her was a distraction. When she stood to present a status update on the project, he watched her in her orange business suit with her hair twisted into a top knot on her head and felt such pride that this was his woman. He found himself daydreaming about her, about unpinning that hair, about kissing that satin smooth neck, about capturing those plump sensuous lips.
And he was still staring when she had resumed her seat and the HR Director was discussing the transition plan. It wasn’t until Orbtiz repeated his name a couple of times that he blinked rapidly and turned to find the man watching him with a knowing smirk on his face.
David cleared his throat and determined to focus on the meeting from then.
That was when he noticed that Orbitz was planning to sever 200 employees.
“I wasn’t aware that you were planning to cut so many jobs, Mike,” he said.
Sally Gray, the HR Director, interrupted.
“Initially the proposal was for twenty. Since then our analysis revealed that we could benefit from streamlining tasks and actually cut 200.”
David shook his head. “That’s ill-advised.”
“With all due respect, this isn’t your call David. As our lawyer, you simply need to advise us if our course is legal,” Mike said.
The meeting went back and forth with David asking for an explanation for the job cuts, how the analysis was done, and then finally expressing his displeasure.
After the meeting, he called Ronnie into his office.
“Can you believe that this man is looking to cut 200 jobs? I can’t allow this to happen. I need you to draft a letter for me to sign expressing my objection to this course of action.”
Ronnie nodded.
“It is a little drastic. But they did say that it would maximize shareholder value. Wasn’t one of the first things you told the team that they needed to consider how every action would do that?”
“Yes, but Ronnie this will not minimize their risk. I don’t have time to explain right now. There’s a matter at the constituency office I need to attend to but please just draft the letter for me.”
“Okay, boss,” she said and tried to leave but not before he stopped her and pulled her into his arms. He gave her a tight hug.
“You were amazing out there today. I’m so proud of you. Of how you hold your own. You’re wonderful, you know that?”
She played with the lapel of his black jacket.
“Thanks, David.”
He wanted to kiss her on her lips, but the orange lipstick she wore prevented him.
“You need to stop wearing lipstick.”
“Why?”
“So that I can kiss you at will,”
She gave a low laugh.
“You shouldn’t let my lipstick stop you.”
“I have to. I don’t want to walk around here wearing your lipstick.”
“Why? Is it the wrong shade?” she asked, making concentric circles on his chest with her index finger as she gazed at him through her lashes.
“You’re funny,” he said. “Are you working late tonight?”
“Sure. Are you?”
“Definitely.”
“Now you have to promise not to distract me from my work, David. I have a whole bunch of things to file.”
“Would I try to stop you from doing your work? After all your work is my work.”
~*~*~*~
Instead of being a hindrance David was actually a help. He assisted her with filing documents, although she had to spend several minutes instructing him on the filing system and what went where, but soon he caught on.
When she was all done he declared, “Great, now that we’ve got that boring stuff out of the way, you can come sit in my office and have dinner with me.”
“Dinner? Where’d you get dinner?”
No one had come in to deliver anything during that whole time she was there.
“I see you’ve forgotten I have a private elevator. Those few minutes when I was MIA I went done to the lobby to collect the Thai meal I ordered from that restaurant downtown.”
“Thai? Mmm, I love Thai, David,” she said excitedly, her mouth already watering.
“I knew you would. You’ve got great taste.”
“I didn’t know they did take-out.”
“It’s not take-out, honey. It’s a la carte.”
“Oh!”
“Yeah.”
“So they deliver a la carte meals?”
“People will do anything if you’re willing to pay for it.”
Most days went like that. Unless David had a late meeting at his congressional office, they ate dinner together after hours when everyone had left. David was always ordering meals from various restaurants. She was beginning to think he was even more of a foodie than she was.
One night after an amazing Greek meal, she said, “I’m really appreciative of this attention but would you think I’m very ungrateful if I say I long for my own home-cooked meal for a change.”
“Well, that’s new. Most girls I know hate to cook.”
“Maybe that’s because they can’t cook,” she replied saucily. “I happen to love my own cooking.”
“Hmm, I wonder if I'd ever have the privilege of tasting this cooking again. Aside from those delectable muffins that one time eons ago, I haven’t had a real meal cooked by you.”
“Great things come to those who wait,” she said. “Have you ever heard that?”
“As a matter of fact, I have not.” He glanced at her meaningfully. “But I’m sure it’s true.”
After they had stacked the plates to a side and were enjoying a cup of the coffee from the pot Joan kept warm for David, Ronnie said, “David, do you think tongues are wagging because of us having dinner together during the week.”
“Who knows we’re having dinner together? It’s just the two of us here.”
“Things have a way of getting out, David.”
Chapter 21
“I’m inviting you to dinner tomorrow night at my place,” David announced one Friday evening, almost six weeks after they’d started seeing each other.
“Alone?”
“You wanted me to invite other people?”
“Har, har. I’m just concerned that being alone with you might not be the best idea.”
Tracey had requested a couple more months leave without pay to spend with her son and was now due out at the end of March. Ronnie and David had agreed that she would resign at that time so he would have someone dependable to take over the M&A which was near completion.
“We’re alone now. In fact, we’re alone practically every weeknight and on the occasional weekend when we go out. What’s the problem?”
Ronnie took a deep breath.
“The problem is that we’ve had a few instances right here in your office when it was a little hard to keep our hands above the shoulders, as you will recall. At least when we go out on weekends, there are people around.”
David pursed his lips and met her eyes.
“I can control myself. I will control myself. I promise. The truth is I’d really like to show you around my home properly, and in light of your expressed desire to have a home-cooked meal, I really want to cook for you.”
How could she say no to an invitation like that?
Ronnie sighed. “Okay, but we need to be careful. Keep touching to a minimum. That tends to spark a desire for more.”
“Of course, I’ll keep my hands to myself. I haven’t forgotten you carry pepper spray.”
~*~*~*~
David led Ronnie to a seat, pulled her chair back for her and pushed it in.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
She s
at sipping her red wine and enjoying the amazing view of the lake from his terrace. A few minutes later David reappeared.
“You have to bear with me.”
He stepped onto the terrace holding two large plates smelling of garlic.
“Bear with you?”
“I made the pasta. I know what a foodie you are, and I didn’t want to serve you store bought pasta, so I made it myself. I spent practically the whole day putting this meal together in fact.”
“You made me pasta?” Ronnie sputtered in shock.
“I did.”
She was touched. “I love it already. Smells delicious.”
He gave her a self-conscious smile.
“Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.”
She cautiously took a bite and chewed slowly. It was a little chewy but surprisingly good. She met his anxious gaze and bit back her laugh at how much he looked like a little boy awaiting his mother’s verdict on his report card.
“It’s divine.”
He released a breath. “Whew. I was worried. Like I said, I’ve never done this before.”
“I feel special.”
“You are very special…to me.”
She beamed and took another forkful.
They chatted lightly from one subject to another as they ate.
“What’s for dessert?” she asked.
“Ice cream.”
“Did you make that too?”
His eyes widened, and then he realized she was joking. He laughed.
“Sure. Let’s go with that.”
“Am I allowed to come into your kitchen? I love your kitchen from what I saw last time,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a mess,” he said sheepishly, “but of course you may come.”
He wasn’t kidding about the mess. She began picking up stuff the moment she entered. He grabbed her wrists and gently took some bowls from her hand and placed them in the sink.
“You’re my guest. You’re not doing any dishes tonight, Miss Dickson,” he breathed, his face inches from hers.
“But I want to help.”
He took her over to a chrome bar stool and dusted it off with one hand.
“You can help by sitting your gorgeous self down and eating your ice cream.”
A Case For Love (Royals Series Book 3) Page 24