by K E Osborn
Aiden looks at me. “That’s normal for my father,” he says and shrugs. He pulls my chair out, and I sit next to his sister. He then sits down next to me.
“Brielle, I love your dress,” I say to her sincerely.
She looks down at her dress then back up to me. “Thanks, I love it too. I had it made by my friend’s cousin. She’s a designer, not a well-known one, but she’s really good. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I turn to look at Aiden, who is leaning back in his chair, smiling at me.
Brielle grabs my attention once more. “Aiden hasn’t had a girlfriend for ages. How long have you guys been together?” she asks casually. Mmm, there’s that girlfriend word.
I look at Aiden waiting for him to answer. I’m not sure what he wants me to say.
“You’re very nosey today, aren’t you, Bree?” he says, saving me from my mind blank.
She sticks her tongue out at Aiden, and he chuckles.
“Thanks,” I mouth to him as he winks.
The room is starting to fill with people from Aiden’s work. It amazes me how beautiful and glamorous everyone looks.
Another person joins our table. Aiden introduces him as Matthew Jones.
“He’s my rival at work,” he says with a slight chuckle.
“Don’t you know it,” Matthew says back to him, obviously referring to some inside joke that I don’t get. Another lady joins the table and sits next to Matthew.
“Hi, I’m Rachelle, Matt’s PA,” she says to me, shaking my hand. There is one seat left at the table.
“Who’s that seat for?” I ask inquisitively. Aiden smiles mischievously.
“You’ll see.” I look at him and wonder who it’ll be.
Chapter 12
“Nana,” Brielle calls out as she stands to hug Nana from the café. I smile at Aiden and stand to greet her.
“Hi, darling, how are you?” she asks me kindly.
“Hi, Nana, I’m great, thanks. Nice to see you again. How are you?”
She looks at me with a hint of a smirk on her face. “I’m great. Have you worked it out yet?”
I look at her, puzzled. “Worked what out?” I ask her as Aiden and Nana laugh, looking at me as if I’m the butt of their joke. Aiden hugs Nana and looks at me mischievously.
“Jeni, I’d like you to meet my father’s mother, and my grandmother.”
I look at him in shock. “Oh, she’s your real Nana?”
“Yes, honey, I sure am,” she says, hugging me.
I shake my head in disbelief that I could’ve been so stupid as to not realize. I laugh along with them when the waiter appears.
“Would anyone like any drinks?”
“Jeni, do you drink white wine?” Aiden’s mother asks curiously.
“Yes, I do.”
“White wine for the ladies and Macallan for the men,” she says, sounding ever like the matriarch that she is.
“Coming right up,” the waiter replies.
Callie looks at me with such kind eyes. “So, Jenifer, what do you do for a living?”
“I work as a receptionist for a vehicle repair shop.”
Callie nods in acknowledgement. “And do you like your job?”
“I do. I get to meet some very interesting people,” I say, looking sideways at Aiden, who smirks.
“So, Blair, how’s the shop going?” Aiden asks to shift the conversation.
“It’s going exceptionally well. I sold a couple more photos to Vogue,” he says, clapping his hands together and smiling. It’s obvious that he is proud of his achievement.
Aiden turns to me. “Blair’s a photographer. He has his own shop where he displays his works and sells them.”
“Congratulations, Blair. I’ll have to come and see your shop one day.”
His face lights up like a little boy on his birthday. “Yeah, that would be fantabulous.”
We laugh with him as the waiter shows up with our drinks.
Everybody is seated at their respective tables when I see Aiden’s father up on the stage. He’s holding a small glass of what looks like whisky on the rocks and taps the microphone a couple of times. He clears his throat to get everyone’s attention as the general sound of people chatting hushes down to silence.
“Welcome, everyone, to the farewell dinner for one of O’Connell Finance’s best, longest-serving, and most loyal employees. Vice President of O’Connell Finance, Donald Parker.”
Mr O’Connell continues on with a long and boring monotone speech about Donald’s service with O’Connell Finance. A few other speakers take the stage and also proceed to give drawn-out speeches. I’ve all but tune out when Alistair announces Donald to the stage. He’s an elderly gentleman, quite rotund in the stomach area, with gray hair in a comb over. He’s wearing a gray suit with a burgundy tie, matching the décor of the night.
Aiden’s father and Donald shake hands.
“Thank you, everyone, for attending tonight. It means a lot to know that you are all here. I’ve spent the last forty-odd years with Alistair at O’Connell Finance, getting to know all of you. Working with you has been the utmost pleasure. Thank you for this big farewell.”
He continues on with his speech, and I tune out. Everyone laughs, and I tune back in to the speech.
“Here’s looking at you, Aiden and Matthew. One of you will be taking over my position. Good luck, boys, and may the best man win.”
I look at Aiden in surprise. Now I understand Matthew and his inside joke. He raises his eyebrows up and down at me. Alistair, which I now know is Aiden’s father’s name, raises his glass.
“To Donald,” Alistair says. Everyone raises their glasses.
“To Donald,” the people in the room says in unison and take sips of their drink then turn their attention back to the stage.
“So it is with great pleasure that I give this gift to Donald, as a memento of his time and outstanding efforts spent working for me.” Alistair goes over to a small table where a burgundy cloth is covering something. He pulls the cloth off and underneath is a gold statue of a golf bag and golf clubs. The bag has the company logo on it, which is also burgundy. Ah, it’s starting to make sense as to why everything is burgundy in the room. It has a big forty-year symbol coming out the top; it’s quite a nice gift. Donald looks over it with a beaming smile.
“Thank you, old buddy,” Donald says to Alistair. They briefly hug, and everyone in the room claps again. Alistair goes back to the microphone.
“This concludes the formal part of the evening. The menus are on the table, and the waiters will be around shortly to take orders. I hope everyone has a great night and, once again, a big thank you to Donald for all his hard work over the last forty years. Let’s have some fun,” he says then downs the last of his drink.
Blair finds the menu on the table and reads it out to us. “Okay, for the appetizer, we have potato, bacon, and leek soup with garlic and herb croutons. For entrées, we have a choice of Atlantic salmon, pan-seared and garnished with a mint, coriander, eschalot, and red wine vinegar dressing, served with greens and a potato puree. Now that’s a bit fancy. Or we have rib eye steak cooked on a hickory grill, served with smashed rosemary potatoes, baby carrots, and a tangy barbecue sauce. Now for the best part, dessert! Drum roll please. We have chocolate mousse served with a chocolate ganache topping, strawberry caulis, and vanilla bean ice cream. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry, and I’ll have one of everything,” Blair announces as we laugh at his very enlightening interpretation of the menu.
Benjamin smiles at Blair, making me think there is more than meets the eye to their friendship. I look back to Aiden.
“Know what you’re having?” I ask as he takes my hand under the table.
“Probably the steak.”
“Thought you might.”
“What are you having?”
“Probably the salmon.”
“Thought you might.” We both chuckle.
“Dessert sounds nice,” I say as
he moves in closer to me.
“I know what I want for dessert,” he says, kissing me on the forehead then winking at me. I look at him in shock, and he starts to chuckle, making me blush.
“Aiden!” I say sternly. I look around to see if anyone heard his insinuation. He smirks and leans back, sitting in his chair properly. He’s still holding my hand. The waiters come around and take our orders. I take a sip of wine to calm my nerves. His suggestion of dessert has me thinking. I start to think about his muscular arms pinning me against the shelves in a steamy embrace. He tightens his hand around mine, and I look up at him.
“You okay?” he mouths to me with those lips. I want to push everything off the table and take him here and now. The muscles in my core react to my thoughts, and I cross my legs tighter to try to stop the feeling of endless wanting. I nod.
After the waiter is gone, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. Aiden looks at me curiously as I let go of his hand and walk toward the main foyer. As soon as I am out of sight, I lean against the wall and breathe, trying to calm myself. What is wrong with me? I try to shake the images of Aiden and me making out on the table. I compose myself and head to the bathroom. I enter, and there are other ladies talking meaningless gibberish about finance. It sounds like gibberish to me anyway. I go into a stall, and I lock the door. I hear more ladies enter and start talking.
“Oh my god, did you see her? She’s so not what I thought Aiden would be seen with.”
I freeze as I realize they are talking about me.
“I know she is very plain, I mean I am so much prettier than her.”
“You’re so right, Josie. Don’t worry. She won’t be around for long. You only have to look at Aiden’s track record. I mean he hasn’t had a serious girlfriend for like... ever.”
“Well, hopefully I can change that. I’ll be his girlfriend soon, and she’ll be history.”
They both laugh and leave.
I exit the stall, feeling a little deflated. I look at myself in the mirror and decide I need more lip-gloss then maybe I won’t be so plain looking. I pull it out from my bra, and the other girls stop talking and look at me as though I’m a stranger invading their territory. I really do feel out of his league.
Eventually they go back to talking, and I put on some lip-gloss. I wash my hands and walk back out to the foyer. Aiden is waiting for me, and I smile as I see him there in his suit, hands in his pockets, his foot resting on the wall behind him, casually looking down at the floor. I walk up to him, and when he notices me, his face lights up. He takes both my hands in his.
“Are you really okay?” he asks me, sounding worried.
“Yes, I’m fine.” I decide not to tell him about what just happened, so I think of the next best thing. “It was all that talk of dessert. It got me a little hot and flustered.” I look down, blushing.
“I see,” he says, pushing my chin up. He looks deeply into me with those smoldering, intense bright blue eyes. He softly and gently kisses me, making the whole world disappear. I stand there with Aiden, and we are lost in each other.
“Woohoo! Go, big brother,” Brielle says, walking past us to the bathroom, making our perfect moment fade and forcing me to come crashing back to reality. I nuzzle my head into his chest, embarrassed.
“Thanks, Bree,” he says sarcastically. I look up at him and realize my lip-gloss has transferred to his lips again. I giggle to myself and wipe it off with my thumb. When I’m finished, he kisses my thumb, making me smile.
“Guess we should head back in,” I say, slightly out of breath.
“Guess so,” he says, taking my arm in his and walking me back into the ballroom.
He pulls out my chair and pushes it in when I sit down. He sits beside me, pulling his chair closer to mine, once again holding my hand under the table.
Alistair joins the table, sitting down with his wife on one side and his mother on the other. “Tell me, Aiden, who’s your new squeeze?” Alistair asks.
Aiden rolls his eyes. “Father, this is Jenifer Taylor.”
He looks at me like I’m not worthy. I feel instantly uncomfortable and cheap. I try to be nice.
“Mr. O’Connell, nice to meet you,” I say kindly, ignoring his lack of manners.
“I give it a week,” he says under his breath.
Callie looks worried. I smile at her, easing her concern.
Aiden takes in a deep breath. “Father, please be civil for once in your life.”
Aiden’s father looks at him with fierce intent. “Don’t talk to me like that. Know your place, boy.”
Aiden looks angry. “Don’t talk about Jeni and me like we’re not here. No one cares about your opinions.”
His father thumps his fist on the table. “Jesus Christ, Aiden, if you want this promotion at work, you’re going about it the wrong way, boy! You’re showing a complete lack of maturity standing up to me like this, and for what? For this, this floozy,” he says, waving his hand at me.
I look over and see Matthew smirking as though he’s winning the race to become vice president and not caring who he treads on to get to the top. I take a dislike to him instantly.
Aiden stands up to say something back, but I grab his arm. He looks down at me with hurt in his eyes.
“It’s okay. Don’t make it worse,” I say to him.
He slowly sits down. Callie takes Alistair away from the table. I’m not sure where they go, but the atmosphere relaxes when he leaves.
“I’m so sorry. My father, well, he’s—”
“It’s okay, honestly, don’t worry about it,” I say, feeling slightly disheartened. “What’s with Matthew smirking like that?”
“He’s one of those guys who’s a natural slimy son-of-a-bitch. Since he joined the firm he’s been out to get me. Or should I say, climb the corporate ladder above me. He’s ridiculously competitive and never likes to lose at anything. He’s Father’s go-to guy, and he definitely thrives on the fact that my relationship with Father is strained. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was out to get me most of the time.”
“Wow! I knew he looked nasty. You should be careful around him, babe.”
Aiden nods. Nana comes over and sits in Brielle’s seat while she’s gone, distracting me. “Darling, you look wonderful tonight. I am sorry about my ignorant son. He has become arrogant and downright mean over the years. Unfortunately, Alistair has become like his own father. Insults and intimidation seem to be his only way of communication. It’s not how I would’ve liked him to turn out, but he is his father’s son. Please take anything he says with a grain of salt, okay, dear?”
“Okay, no worries. Thank you for letting me know.”
She taps my leg. “When are you and Aiden coming back for some more of my cooking?”
I giggle. “Hopefully soon. I’m impressed that you still run a little café on your own like that. You must be quite sprightly,” I say, trying not to mention her age.
“It’s something that I love, and I don’t have Patty here anymore. God bless his soul. I have a lot of free time, and I love to cook. So I decided to open my own little café.”
“I’m impressed. I’m sorry to hear about your husband.”
“Oh, never mind, honey. He’s been gone coming up on eight years now. Life goes on you know. It has to.”
“You’re certainly a brave woman in my eyes.”
Brielle comes back and gives her grandmother a hug from behind. Nana stands up and walks back to her seat, leaving Brielle to sit down. She leans in toward me.
“Sorry if I embarrassed you out there before. I got excited to see Aiden and you kissing. It’s been so long since his last girlfriend. I think he gets caught up in working for Father. He’s such a slave driver,” she says, laughing.
“You work there as well, is that right?”
“Yeah, Father’s PA I guess you could call me. I’d actually like to work with Father and Aiden, but Father says ‘finance isn’t a place for females,’“ she says, deepening her voice to mimic h
er father’s.
“I’m happy that Aiden found you. Hopefully, you guys can get married. I’ll be your bridesmaid, and you’ll live happily ever after,” she says, laughing.
I laugh a little anxiously regarding what she’s just said.
“I’m only kidding,” she says “But really, stick with him. He’s a great guy, and you are so cute together.”
I can’t help but giggle at her enthusiasm. Her attention is taken by someone else, and I turn to Aiden.
“She’s quite happy about us,” I say to him quietly.
“Us?” he asks, curiously.
I pause at his question. “What I meant to say is, she’s happy that I’m here with you tonight. Not that there is an us or isn’t an us. She’s happy that we’re here together. Not that we’re together or anything. It’s like—”
“Do you want there to be an us?” The look on his face is one of complete seriousness. I know the answer I desperately want to say is “yes.”
“Do you want there to be an us?” I respond back to him.
He smiles, lightening the tension, and, still holding my hand, whispers one simple word, “Yes.”
Oh my god, is he asking me to be exclusive? Is it too soon? I mean less than a week ago this man irritated me beyond belief, and now he wants me to be his. If I do this, then I’ll have to trust that he actually wants to be with me. Can I do this? Can I truly trust this man I hardly know? The waiter puts soup down in front of me, interrupting my racing thoughts. I let go of Aiden’s hand and try not to look at him. I hear him exhale as he looks away and starts to eat his soup. I feel bad that I haven’t responded to him. I know he must be feeling nervous waiting for me to answer. Is it too soon? I wish I had my cell phone so I could message Sarah for her opinion. I already know what she would say. He’s gorgeous, he wants you, and you want him. What’s there to think about?
I eat my soup slowly and carefully, trying not to spill any on my dress. It’s delicious, so creamy and full of flavor. I finish my soup. I can’t help but feel Aiden’s pain as he silently awaits my decision. I see he’s agitated because his leg is jumping up and down nervously. I put my hand on his knee to stop him. He relaxes his leg instantly at my touch. He puts his hand on mine, intertwining our fingers. I get up the courage to look at him and smile. He looks back at me nervously and manages a half smile through his anxious thoughts. I should give him an answer; either yes or no. It’s not that difficult. He looks away from me, taking another drink of his Macallan. Why am I doing this? It’s self-sabotage. I should be saying yes and enjoying this night with him, but instead, I’m making us both miserable by saying nothing. Remember, I tell myself, he’s nothing like Jason. I turn to him, and he looks at me, hopeful. I lean in and whisper, “Yes.” His face lights up.