10
How was it she was working harder with Max gone than when he was there? Of course that meant her day flew by. But it also meant she needed to work late to get things completed.
Charles had texted her earlier saying he’d pick her up at six. But it was already after five and she hadn’t left yet. The option was she meet him someplace or cancel. Neither was how she planned the night to go.
Rosslyn didn’t want to send a text. So she decided to call him instead.
“Hi. Is everything okay?” Charles asked.
With a heavy sigh she said, “No. I’m still at work. I might not get out till six. By the time I go home and take care of the cat, it’ll be late. Maybe we should—”
“We can have dinner at my house.”
“Charles, that won’t change anything. It will be so late and—”
“You can stay the night. I’ll take you by to take care of the cat in the morning before you go to work.”
Rosslyn was so tempted to say yes. There was nothing more she wanted than to spend a night in his arms. But working the next day with hardly any sleep wasn’t the best way to show Uncle Max she was qualified to do the job.
“How about a compromise?” she asked.
“What it is?”
“Have me home by midnight?” That sounded reasonable, just not as much fun.
“I can do that.”
“Great. So how about picking me up at seven instead?”
Charles grumbled. “Now you’re pushing it. But okay. How do you feel about Thai food?”
“Never had it,” she said. “But willing to give it a try. Just nothing too spicy.”
“Okay. I’ll pick it up on my way to grab you.”
“I’ll be ready.” She ended the call so she could finish the last few things on her list. But it wasn’t easy with her mind still on Charles. She knew he was trying to give them as much time together as he could. That was sweet. It showed he was missing her too.
She was finally done and closing her laptop when the phone rang. She was so tempted not to answer, but who could be calling the office at this hour?
“Mr. Grayson’s office, this is Rosslyn, may I help you?”
“I just sent you an email. Make sure you have everything taken care of first thing in the morning.”
“Of course. Anything else?”
“There’s a lot riding on this. Don’t be late.” Max ended the call before she could reply.
Gee, you’re welcome. No. I don’t mind working late. I know how much you appreciate me going the extra mile. Errr. That man was so damn rude. How did Liz do it for so long? Rosslyn didn’t care how good the money was, if she took this too long, she might start to lose her self-respect. She had to get out of here before that happened.
She couldn’t do it tonight, but tomorrow she needed to look at her finances and her options. No matter what Max was going to do, she knew she needed to look for another job. One where she was free to date Charles. It shouldn’t be her employer’s choice or anyone else’s. This was between two grown adults who really . . . enjoy being together.
Grabbing her purse, she headed to the elevator before the phone rang again. Although she felt bad about not spending serious quality time with Miss Snuggles, Rosslyn knew she was going to only have time to feed her, give her a quick pet, and get in the shower. She might be wrong, but she didn’t think Charles was going to have them eat Thai food in his car. If he was taking her back to his place, there might be dessert on the menu too.
She rushed so much that she got a cramp in her right calf. It was horrible and she needed to kick off her shoes and try to walk it out. Charles must’ve pulled up just in time to see the sight.
“Are you okay?” he asked, practically picking her up into his arms.
“Yes. Just a cramp.”