lunches, and handed it to him.
He hesitated.
Her brow rose. They hadn’t discussed finances yet. That topic was scheduled for this afternoon. But she expected to pay for lunch since she had invited him out.
Jaw clenched, he took the money from her and headed to the counter. The stiffness of his bearing assured her their money discussion would start at lunch.
While he was waiting for their food, she checked her e-mail. Her boss had sent her two messages earlier that week. There was another message in her box from him.
We secured the Walesby account. I may need you to assist me on this one. Be prepared for a trip to Portland after you return from vacation.
She cringed. Damn, Brinks . The Walesby account had already been assigned to Jerry, another attorney. The man had been looking forward to the trip and planned to have his wife meet him in Oregon. Leave it to Brinks to mess over someone’s parade. She sighed. It was time to consider making some changes before things became worse. She had no idea why the man was fixated on her. She’d never led him on, spoke to him at a minimum, and went out of her way to avoid him. He married the senior partner’s daughter and his wife would lynch him if she had any idea what he was up to.
“Here you are.” Marcus placed her plate on the table along with her water bottle. He set his plate across from hers. “Can I get you anything else?”
The huge croissant was stuffed to the brim with chicken salad. “No, this is more than enough, thanks.”
He nodded and sat. For the next few moments they ate in silence. It wasn’t comfortable and she knew they would discuss what had happened on the way here as well as the money deal. Mentally, she shrugged. At least he knew to wait until they finished eating before tackling those topics.
Sure enough, as soon as she moved her plate to the side, he started the conversation. “This is our last day and I’d like to go over a few things that we already discussed, if that’s okay.”
She nodded and took another drink from the bottle.
“You own a home in one of Atlanta’s suburbs and you live alone. I’ll move into the room above your garage, which is separate from the main house and has its own entrance. I’ll have meals with you since that room has no kitchen, just a bed and bathroom. That’s temporary while we get to know each other better. When we both feel ready, I’ll move into one of the rooms in the main house.”
She bit her lip, still uneasy over that part of the deal. But it was the best solution for being close to a stranger and he didn’t seem to mind. She gave a reluctant nod.
“The few members of your family live in Missouri but you haven’t talked to anyone since your freshman year of college, when your grandmother passed. Your family is not close and you don’t feel as though you can depend on them in an emergency or otherwise.”
She nodded and ignored the spasm of pain at the mention of her Nana. She still missed her dearly.
“You have no problem dishing out punishment but would prefer a well-disciplined sub. In other words, you don’t want someone you have to constantly oversee. Is that the right way to say it?”
“Pretty much. I don’t want more responsibility. I need a grownup who won’t play games. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Don’t expect me to guess.”
He nodded. “That’s what I was trying to get out.” He paused. “I want a relationship that’s going somewhere. You don’t think you can give me that.” He looked at her. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Yeah, I mean you said no to us getting closer right out the gate. We haven’t even started and you’ve thrown out that possibility. I wanted to know why.”
“I’m not going to fall in love with you.” She pointed at him to convince herself of her sincerity. He didn’t blink and she wondered if he was even interested in her that way. “That’s not what I’m looking for, not what this is about. If you want a D/s
He hesitated.
Her brow rose. They hadn’t discussed finances yet. That topic was scheduled for this afternoon. But she expected to pay for lunch since she had invited him out.
Jaw clenched, he took the money from her and headed to the counter. The stiffness of his bearing assured her their money discussion would start at lunch.
While he was waiting for their food, she checked her e-mail. Her boss had sent her two messages earlier that week. There was another message in her box from him.
We secured the Walesby account. I may need you to assist me on this one. Be prepared for a trip to Portland after you return from vacation.
She cringed. Damn, Brinks . The Walesby account had already been assigned to Jerry, another attorney. The man had been looking forward to the trip and planned to have his wife meet him in Oregon. Leave it to Brinks to mess over someone’s parade. She sighed. It was time to consider making some changes before things became worse. She had no idea why the man was fixated on her. She’d never led him on, spoke to him at a minimum, and went out of her way to avoid him. He married the senior partner’s daughter and his wife would lynch him if she had any idea what he was up to.
“Here you are.” Marcus placed her plate on the table along with her water bottle. He set his plate across from hers. “Can I get you anything else?”
The huge croissant was stuffed to the brim with chicken salad. “No, this is more than enough, thanks.”
He nodded and sat. For the next few moments they ate in silence. It wasn’t comfortable and she knew they would discuss what had happened on the way here as well as the money deal. Mentally, she shrugged. At least he knew to wait until they finished eating before tackling those topics.
Sure enough, as soon as she moved her plate to the side, he started the conversation. “This is our last day and I’d like to go over a few things that we already discussed, if that’s okay.”
She nodded and took another drink from the bottle.
“You own a home in one of Atlanta’s suburbs and you live alone. I’ll move into the room above your garage, which is separate from the main house and has its own entrance. I’ll have meals with you since that room has no kitchen, just a bed and bathroom. That’s temporary while we get to know each other better. When we both feel ready, I’ll move into one of the rooms in the main house.”
She bit her lip, still uneasy over that part of the deal. But it was the best solution for being close to a stranger and he didn’t seem to mind. She gave a reluctant nod.
“The few members of your family live in Missouri but you haven’t talked to anyone since your freshman year of college, when your grandmother passed. Your family is not close and you don’t feel as though you can depend on them in an emergency or otherwise.”
She nodded and ignored the spasm of pain at the mention of her Nana. She still missed her dearly.
“You have no problem dishing out punishment but would prefer a well-disciplined sub. In other words, you don’t want someone you have to constantly oversee. Is that the right way to say it?”
“Pretty much. I don’t want more responsibility. I need a grownup who won’t play games. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Don’t expect me to guess.”
He nodded. “That’s what I was trying to get out.” He paused. “I want a relationship that’s going somewhere. You don’t think you can give me that.” He looked at her. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Yeah, I mean you said no to us getting closer right out the gate. We haven’t even started and you’ve thrown out that possibility. I wanted to know why.”
“I’m not going to fall in love with you.” She pointed at him to convince herself of her sincerity. He didn’t blink and she wondered if he was even interested in her that way. “That’s not what I’m looking for, not what this is about. If you want a D/s
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