This is exactly why Hyacinth knew it was best that she kept her thoughts about her boss to herself. Not only was he a jerk to her when she was just trying to be a good employee, but whatever interest she had in him didn’t seem to be reciprocated.
“Cin? Why are you here today? I thought you were off today.” His face went from neutral to shocked to annoyed, all in less than two seconds.
Lips tilted in a friendly smile, Hyacinth greeted her boss. “Hello, Mr. Mannetti. And guest,” she added. She noticed his eyebrow lift at that, but ignored him. “Yes, today is my normal day off, but I wanted to lend a hand to Mateo and Missy, who should be here in the next thirty minutes. Is that a problem… sir?”
Rhys wanted to wring her neck. Did she have no clue how much control he had to exert just to be in her presence? How did she not understand that her calling him ‘sir’ was a turn on and got his dick hard?
“Of course not.”
“Rhys? Why are we here?” Both Rhys and Hyacinth looked at his date, Lisa. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and he wasn’t sure why he’d even asked her out tonight. They’d hooked up a few times before in the past, but her sense of entitlement and demands that he treat her like a Queen at every turn had pissed him off. Then again, he knew exactly why he called her. To get his mind off the woman standing in front of him.
Not only did he wait for her to show up every day so he could see her face, smell her perfume, and hear her laugh as she talked with the team. But at night when he went to sleep, she filled his dreams. When he woke up, she was the first person who entered his mind. It had only been a month since he met her, yet she was taking over his every thought.
It had gotten so bad, he began showing his less than sunny disposition to her regularly. Maybe if she cursed his ass out and quit on the spot because he was being an asshole, he could maybe forget about her and how much he desired her. Why was he trying to force her to quit? Because he sure as shit would never fire her.
Hyacinth probably thought he didn’t want her around him. That was the furthest thing from the truth. If she tried to leave, he’d probably lose his mind. Now that she’d crashed into his life, there was no version of his future where she wasn’t with him.
He wasn’t ready to tell her that just yet. Maybe she would be ready for that discussion at a later time. It had only been a month, so he needed to be patient. Take his time. Rhys wasn’t so good at waiting for things to happen to him. His usual style was to go after what he wanted, when he wanted it.
But if he was going to get her to see him as a man she could be with, he knew his attitude would need to change. After the situation with Peter on her first day, he thought she’d run the other way. That she didn’t take off in the other direction and never return, told him more about her than she realized.
Plus, as long as she worked here with him, he could feel as though he was helping her situation the best way he could.
When Hyacinth told him she needed money to pay off her student loan and move to a new place, he wanted to offer help. Although he knew she would never ask him, he would pay off her student loans with one swipe of his pen. Hell, he had an apartment that was basically sitting empty that he would allow her to use, for as long as she needed. No rent payment required.
But he also knew she would never accept such a gift. One thing he learned about Cin after being around her so much these past few weeks is that she was a prideful woman. Nothing was wrong with that, of course. Unless he wanted her to depend on him. To just ask him for something. Anything.
“Rhys? I thought we were going out to dinner. This is your job. Can we go to dinner in New York tonight?”
His eyes turned to Lisa, then to Hyacinth, who was watching the encounter, before shifting to Lisa again. “No, we’re not going to dinner in New York. My chef is top-notch and we’re a 3-star Michelin rated restaurant. What else do you want?”
The woman pouted, poking her bottom lip out like a child. Hyacinth wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. More patrons entered the front and came up to the podium.
Everything in her wanted to avoid looking at Rhys and his date, but even as she tried to not look at him, she could hear them.
“I’m not doing this with you. We can eat here, or I can have my driver take you home. You pick.”
When the floor manager came up to grab the guests, she showed him where to seat them and he guided the couple to their table. By the time she looked up, Rhys and Lisa were no longer in the front area. She turned to watch as they walked to his office, but she didn’t see them. She noted the disappointment that coursed through her at the thought of what Rhys and his date would be doing. Just then, Rhys surprised her by walking back through the front door.
“Mr. Mannetti. Did your date have a change of mind?”
“Don’t start that shit with me tonight, Cin.”
She stopped him as he made his way to the back. “Why do you call me that?”
“What?” he asked, turning around.
“Cin. Everyone else calls me Hyacinth. Even my roommate calls me Hy.”
“Does it bother you?” In only a few steps, he was standing in front of her. “It takes too long to say Hyacinth. I like Cin better.” He looked her up and down. “It suits you.”
“As long as you spell it with a C and not an S, I’m all good.”
His gaze got hotter the longer they stood there. Another couple broke the moment when they entered the restaurant.
“I’ll be in my office.”
“Sure, but what about dinner? You came here to eat. I can have something delivered to your office.” Just because his vapid date didn’t appreciate the amazing food at this place, she knew he did. This restaurant was his life. His family’s legacy. He spent so much time here at the restaurant that she was surprised that he even had time to date at all.