Page 41 of Between Love & Ruin

“Sure,” she says. “But I have to go somewhere at 4:30.”

“No problem. I will drop you.”

“You are not my driver, Dominic. You don’t need to pick and drop me.”

“But I love driving you around.”

I love driving her insane too.

“You exhaust me,” she sighs, and I grin. How I love the sound of that for not-so-innocent reasons.

“We are just getting started, Ms. Hayes. See you in about thirty minutes.”

* * *

I tap my foot impatiently under the table as I wait for Roy’s call to inform me of Sienna’s arrival. I wanted to receive her myself, but I didn’t want to look too much like a creep or impatient.

I have been able to hide my feelings for so long about everything that it has become second nature now. But Sienna is the one person I can’t hide in front of. Something about her presence makes me act out of character, and while I did not like it in the beginning, I am starting to enjoy it slightly now.

“She’s here, lover boy,” Roy says as I pick up his call when it rings only once and I roll my eyes.

“I am not a lover boy,” I deadpan as I make my way out of my sacred space.

“Agree to disagree. I have not seen you this excited to meet a woman in this life. So don’t tell me you are not a lover boy for her, sir.”

The audacity of this man to say the most revealing shit about me and end it with respect with that “sir.”

Are all of my employees such brats or just the ones in close contact with me?

I take the elevator down, and the most beautiful sight greets me as I exit.

Sienna Hayes is standing there in a beautiful pink sundress that falls all the way to her heels. Her hair is left open, completely unstyled, and perfectly wavy. She is so beautiful that it makes a grown man like me want to cry.

She doesn’t notice me, too busy talking to the brat in question, Roy, and I don’t particularly like that.

I like it when her attention is on me.

“Hi,” I say, and I don’t know why it comes out like I am catching my breath. But what can I say? Looking at her leaves me feeling breathless all the time. “You are here on time.”

“Hi,” she says, passing a smile to Roy, and I grow not so fond of him at the moment. “I knew you were old, but I didn’t know that you forget things and run out of breath even when you take the elevator.”

Roy smirks and excuses himself, and I wish she would just close her eyes so I could kick his ass in a minute.

“What can I say, cara mia?” She narrows her eyes the moment the nickname leaves my mouth. “I forget things and lose my breath the moment you come into view.”

A pink tint coats her cheeks, matching her dress, even as she glares at me.

“You are so cheesy.”

“Only for you.”

* * *

“So continuing where we left off in our last meeting, we need to discuss what happens from chapter eleven to chapter eighteen,” she says the moment we settle down in my office, and I internally scowl because I can’t tease her much when we are working.

“Fuck professionalism” is what I want to shout right now.

“Sure,” I say, undoing my coat and hanging it on the back of my chair. I don’t miss how her eyes bulge out for a second before she averts her gaze, seeing me do that. Another day to thank gym and discipline for this great body.