As he drove, his mind drifted to his favorite subject of late—Serita. He’d caught a glimpse of her on his way out that morning, but hadn’t gotten a chance to say anything to her. He was still blown away by their weekend, but he couldn’t rid himself of the sensation that she was still holding back. Each and every time he came close to revealing the depths of his emotions, he sensed her retreat and didn’t know what to do to convince her that what they had was the real thing. What she said about wanting to find someone who accepted her as is still resonated with him. He got the feeling that one or more of the men in her past had tried to change her instead of respecting the incredible woman she was. But she didn’t have to worry about that with him. As Jeremy had told her, her uniqueness was what drew him. Cookie-cutter women were a dime a dozen, but finding Serita had been like discovering a blue diamond, a rare and precious jewel.
Jeremy arrived at the office and went straight to the work area where he knew he’d find Serita. He knew he couldn’t kiss her like he wanted, but he had to see her and talk to her for a minute to see how she was doing after their phone call last night. Without saying as much, he’d pretty much told her that he loved her. He still didn’t think she was ready to hear the words outright, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to hold out. “How’s it going, ladies?” he asked when he opened the door.
Serita and Elena glanced up, and Elena said, “Making good progress. Did I already say that you should hire Serita permanently?”
He smiled. “Yes, you did, Elena.” Serita’s face was unreadable.
“And since I know you were raised to honor your elders, I have no doubt you’ll follow through.”
“I’ll take your suggestion under advisement.”
Elena eyed him over the glasses she had recently begun wearing. “You’ll do more than that. Serita, go ahead and take your break,” she added with a knowing smile. “That’s why Jeremy is here in the first place.”
Serita’s eyes widened. “I don’t think... I’m sure he’s just making sure we’re progressing on schedule,” she stammered.
She patted Serita’s hand. “I may be a few years older than you, chica, but I’m not blind. You could do worse. He’s a good man.” She gestured to the door. “Go. We’ll continue when you get back. And you can tell me the story of how you two met. I know it’s going to be a good one,” Elena said with a little laugh.
Jeremy couldn’t do anything but smile. Leave it to Elena to figure it out. He had been very careful in his dealings with Serita, so he had no idea how Elena knew, but he planned to question her as soon as he got the opportunity. “I’ll have her back in a few minutes.” He didn’t say anything until they were safely behind the closed door of his office. She seemed more beautiful each time he saw her. Today she wore her hair piled on top of her head, and a few errant curls had come down. “How are you, baby?”
“I’m okay. Did you mean what you said last night?”
“Every word, sweetheart. I’m not asking for details because they don’t matter, but just know whatever he or they told you about who you are is wrong. You’ve enriched my life in ways I can’t begin to describe.”
Silence stretched between them. Finally Serita said, “I feel the same, but...” She ran a hand over her forehead and paced.
“But what?”
She stopped and held his gaze intently. “It never works out in the end. At least not for me. I’m not sure I want to put myself through that again.”
Jeremy blew out a long breath. Seeing her so vulnerable made his heart ache. He wanted to hold her so badly it hurt. But he’d made a promise, and he would keep it even if it killed him. And at this rate, it just might. “What can I do to help you with this? I don’t want to lose you, Serita.”
“Don’t change.”
“I won’t.” He stood there warring with himself whether or not to go to her. In the end, he lost the battle and gathered her into his embrace. Neither of them spoke. After several seconds, he released her and went around to his desk. “I’m plugged in to several job sites and I received an announcement from Sac State that might interest you. I’ll email it to you.”
She perked up. “For an adjunct professor?”
“Yes. I wish I had seen it earlier, though. It closes tomorrow.”
“No, no, that’s okay. I’ll get it done. Thanks for looking out.”
“Hopefully, you’ll get the position. It’ll be a win-win situation for both of us. You get to work on that perfect world you mentioned and I’ll be able to do the same.”
“And your perfect world would be?”
“Doing everything I can to convince you to stay here with me.” He rapped his knuckles on the desk. “I know you need to get back to work. We can talk later.”
Serita shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t want to give Elena anything else to talk about.”
Jeremy chuckled and held up his hands in mock surrender. “For the record, I didn’t say a word. I have no idea how she found out about us. I’ve been very careful. And I know Chris wouldn’t say anything.”
“She’s a mother, so that probably explains it,” she said, opening the door. “They always know everything.”
“Right. See you later.”
Smiling, she gave him a tiny wave and exited.
He stood there a few seconds longer, then went to check on his other two hires. He had only a couple more weeks before making a decision. He started with Darryl. “I just wanted to check in with you and see how you’re doing.”
“Good, good. This is one of the better companies I’ve worked for. I mean, I’m not saying that because I want any special favors or anything,” he said. “But everyone here is nice.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“And I’m glad Wade isn’t here anymore. He was pretty rude to Scott. I tried sticking up for him, but...” He shrugged.
“I appreciate that because we’re like family here. Speaking of family, how’s your mother doing?”
Darryl seemed surprised by the question. “She’s okay and is glad to have me back home. I’m looking into getting her some in-home help because she can’t do as much on her own.”
Which meant he would definitely need a permanent job. He knew in-home care was expensive and insurance didn’t always cover everything. “I hope you can find what she needs.”
“Thank you, Jeremy. And thank you for giving me an opportunity.”
Jeremy asked a few more questions before ending the conversation. He met with Scott next and the young man related the same incident regarding Wade. It made Jeremy even more glad that he had booted the man out.
“I really like working here. I’m learning a lot, especially from Shane.”
Scott was only two years out of school, but Shane had mentioned that the young man was a quick study and showed great potential. “That’s good to know.” He glanced up at the wall clock. “It’s almost five, so we can call it a day.” His father had drilled into Cedric’s and Jeremy’s heads the notion of having a balanced work life and, as soon as Jeremy’s business was on solid footing, he had cut back on his working hours. He still had to put in extra hours sometimes, but he tried to make sure his employees didn’t stay beyond regular working hours unless absolutely necessary.
“Thanks. See you in the morning.”
After Scott left, Jeremy rotated his chair toward the window and stared out onto the tree-lined street. It would be difficult to choose which two candidates to hire because they all possessed the skills he wanted and needed to grow his company. Serita was a forgone conclusion, even if he didn’t factor in his emotions. But the other two men would be valuable assets, as well. Laughter in the hallway interrupted his thoughts. Through his open door he saw everyone leaving for the day. It pleased him to see Scott, Darryl and Serita blending so well with Shane and Elena. He stood and went to the door. “Elena, got a minute?”
“Sure.” She said her goodbyes and walked over to Jeremy’s office. “What’s up, boss?”
“Just want to know why you think something is going on between me and Serita.”
Elena reached up and patted his cheek. “I’m not blind, mi amigo. It’s not anything you’ve said, but your eyes tell all. You love her, no?”
He dropped his head. “I do. Did Serita say anything?”
“Not one word,” she said with a laugh. “She’s a shy one. Smart as a whip, though.”
“That she is.”
“She’s good for you.”
He agreed wholeheartedly. “Thanks. See you later. Tell Eduardo and the girls I said hello.”
“I will.”
Jeremy watched her disappear down the hall and round the corner, then made his way to Chris’s office. “Hey.”
Chris leaned back in his chair. “What’s going on?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the meeting I had with Archibald Manufacturing. They’re looking to build a dozen dual-arm robots.”
“Isn’t that out of the scope of what we typically do?”
“Yes, but it’ll give us the opportunity to expand into the industrial arena.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t know, Jeremy. Right now, we’re pretty maxed out, timewise, on staff. Taking this on will mean increasing staff and pay, and I thought you wanted to keep the company relatively small.”
“That hasn’t changed.” Unlike his LA cousins who owned a large in-home safety company and employed almost a hundred workers, he didn’t want the increased responsibility that came along with that size business. Neither did he want a board of directors that would have input and make the decisions on the way he ran his company. “What if we kept Serita, Darryl and Scott?”
“Offhand, I don’t know if we could offer full-time employment to all three right off the bat, especially when you factor in the benefits package.”
He thought for a minute. “If we took this contract and sealed the deal for the exoskeleton, it would be doable.”
“True,” Chris said slowly, as if mulling it over in his mind. “If you’re serious about hiring all three, I’d feel better if we offered a part-time position to the third one, with the possibility of increasing the hours. That way, we don’t overextend ourselves at the outset. At the same time, we keep them away from the competitors.”
“I like the way you think.” They did a fist bump.
“That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” He made a show of thinking. “Wait. No, you don’t, and I’m still waiting on that raise for reuniting you with your woman.”
“Shut the hell up.”
“Speaking of Serita, are you any closer to getting to your goal?”
Jeremy sighed. “Sometimes I think yes, then other times I’m not so sure. The more we get to know each other, the more I realize how her past failed relationships are affecting what we’ve got going on.” He still couldn’t believe what she’d told him about guys wanting her to look different, and he shared some of the details with Chris.
“Some men are asses. You know, when you first talked about the whole love-at-first-sight thing, I really thought you were crazy. But I’ve been watching you with Serita, and I have to admit I might be wrong in this instance.”
He smiled. “You doubted me? As long as we’ve been friends, you should’ve known better. It’s not like I’ve said anything different in all that time.”
“True. I’m just amazed, I guess.”
Jeremy stood and stretched. “Well, while you’re being amazed, I’m going home. I’m serious about Serita being my one and only, and I’m going to do everything and anything I can to keep her in my life.” Whatever it takes.
Chapter 14
Serita sat at her desk Friday afternoon eating her lunch and checking her emails and messages. She saw that she had missed a call from her mother and decided to return her call first, then listen to her other messages.
“Hi, honey,” her mother said when she answered.
“Hey, Mom. I’m returning your call. Is everything okay?” Her mother typically didn’t call during Serita’s workday. She took a sip of her water.
“Yes. Nothing’s wrong. I wanted to catch you before you left work to invite you and Jeremy to dinner tomorrow.”
Dinner? She choked on the drink.
“Are you okay, Serita?”
“Yes,” she croaked, coughing and trying to clear her throat. “Water went down the wrong way.” It took a second for it to settle. “Dinner tomorrow?”
“We’ve been waiting to meet him, so I thought this would be a nice way to do that. And don’t give me that tired excuse about you two just meeting and it’s too soon. I’d venture to say you’re a lot more serious about him than you’ve let on, and your father and I need to check him out.”
Her mother knew her well. There was nothing to do but surrender. Besides, she’d met not only his parents but just about everybody in his family. She thought it only fair that he got a turn in the hot seat. “I’ll see if he’s free.”
Her mother’s soft laughter came through the line. “Oh, I’m certain he’ll be free and, more than likely, already spending the day with you. I gotta run. Call me later to confirm. Dinner will be at six. Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you, too, Mom.” Serita tossed the phone onto the desk and fell back against the chair. Why was she so reluctant to introduce Jeremy to her parents? He was a man any woman would be glad to bring home. She acknowledged that she continued to have doubts about whether she had another heartbreak in store, yet she’d made no attempts to end the relationship. She couldn’t. She had to keep taking it day by day and praying that her fears would subside under the growing love she felt for him.
Picking up the phone again, she listened to her missed messages. Her heart rate kicked up when she heard the one from Sac State letting her know she’d made it to the interview step. She wanted to turn a cartwheel. After writing down the contact information, she called right then to schedule. Afterward she was so excited, she packed up the remainder of her food and went to Jeremy’s office.
She poked her head inside his partially open door and knocked.
“Come in.”
“Are you busy?”
Jeremy shifted his attention from the computer to her. “Never too busy for you. What’s up?”
“I have an interview for the position next Tuesday,” she said with a grin.
He stood and hugged her. “That’s great. Congratulations.”
“Don’t congratulate me yet. I haven’t gotten the job.”
“But you will. They’d be foolish not to hire you.”
She came up on tiptoe and kissed him. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Belatedly she remembered they weren’t supposed to be doing this during work hours, and she nearly jumped away from him. She hadn’t closed the door when she came in.
He chuckled. “No one’s watching, sweetheart. You’re good. And you don’t hear me complaining.”
Serita swatted him on the arm. “You’re supposed to remind me.”
“Please. I haven’t held you in my arms in almost a week and as far as kisses go, I’m way overdue.” Jeremy moved closer to her. “So, what do you think I should do about that?”
Truth be told, she’d missed his kisses, too. However, with them working overtime, they hadn’t been able to schedule any private time since last weekend. She still had some apprehensions but had resolved to work through them. She wanted to be with him and he hadn’t given her any reason to think he would change. He’d promised he wouldn’t. “Nothing right now.” He gave her the smile that made her lose all reason and she knew she needed to leave. “I have to go.”
“You don’t like my kisses?” he asked with a sly grin, closing the distance between them.
She backed up and he kept comi
ng. “What are you doing?”
Jeremy reached behind her and closed the door softly. “I’m going to kiss you.” He slid an arm around her waist and dipped his head. “Any objections?”
Yes, yes, yes! She dismissed that voice of reason. “No.”
He stared intently at her, then traced his finger down her cheek and across her lips. “Do you know how much you mean to me?”
Her pulse skipped. “Jeremy,” she whispered. He touched his mouth to hers once, twice, then his tongue slipped between her parted lips, curling around hers in a long, drugging kiss. He drew her closer and deepened the kiss. After a tantalizing moment, sanity returned and Serita tore her mouth away. “I need to get out of here before you get me into trouble.”
He took her hand and placed it over the solid length of his erection. “I’m already in trouble.”
Serita snatched her hand away. “Yeah, well, you won’t be getting into any more.” She opened the door, then remembered the other reason she had come to talk to him. “I almost forgot. My parents want to meet you and invited us to dinner tomorrow evening, but if you’re busy, that’s okay.”
“I’m not busy and I’m looking forward to meeting them. Just let me know what time to pick you up. Afterward, maybe I can interest you in another game of Jeopardy!”
His reference conjured up every erotic moment of that night and the space between her legs began to throb as if he were touching her. “Dinner is at six. Bye.” She spun on her heel and strode down the hall, his laughter trailing. One more minute and she would have given in to everything he offered. That man is too tempting for his own good.
* * *
Saturday after his class, Jeremy drove over to see his new niece. He hadn’t seen her in a week and wanted to check on her. So far, she was progressing well. He smiled thinking about how disappointed his students had been when he had told them Serita wouldn’t be there. He didn’t blame them because he had missed having her with him, as well.
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