“It is great. He's great,” I admit, smiling when she turns excitedly towards me.
“That's amazing.”
I think about Mitch and the rapport we've established over the past month. Even though I have always been able to tell from the moment I fell through the hedge that Mitch found me somewhat attractive, I couldn't be certain about his feelings toward me. Looking up at Cynthia, whose eyes are still trained on me, I tell her, “I think it's just physical.”
Cynthia's smile fades slightly this time, “I completely understand. That was the case with the last relationship I ended. The sex was incredible, but what about outside of the bedroom? We were as dissimilar as night and day, and we didn't seem to connect on anything else. We were arguing and fighting when we weren't having sex.”
Now, it's Cynthia's turn to swing back to her system.
“I ended things, even though I knew I'd miss the great sex.”
My stomach bottoms out at Cynthia's words. Was that the sort of relationship I had with Mitch? My mind goes back to the first day at the hedge and the time at the restaurant where we'd bickered, never agreeing on a common thing. How about the time in the office when he'd kissed? Was it purely physical?
Before I can allow myself to sink further into darker thoughts, Sam drops into the office.
“Miss Potter, Mitchell would like to see you in his office.”
Speak of the devil.
I graciously nod and stand to my feet, moving towards the door, but not before giving Cynthia a few tasks to get started on. I struggle not to think about Cynthia's story, something that sounds a lot similar to mine. But what I have with Mitch is something I've always wanted, isn't it? A careful distraction from the bad breakup I experienced a little over two months ago. So, why am I feeling a little heavy at heart?
“You asked for me.” I say, trying to maintain an air of professionalism as I stand in front of Mitch, expectant eyes fixed on his.
Mitch's eyes do that careful perusal of my body that has my skin flush with desire.
“Yes, I did,” he says, “I'd like you to go over the design outlook from Rob.”
I nod, feeling good that Mitch deliberately seeks me out to know my opinion on issues that surround the project.
“I can do that, Mitch.”
I wait a second longer, watching him watch me, a thoughtful look on his face.
“Will that be all?” I question.
He gestures at me to sit. When I do, I watch his eyes dip to my lips and back to my eyes.
“There's something else.”
“Okay.”
“I have invited your brother to dinner. We need to go over the final design outlook for All4One and discuss other legal steps to be taken. I have gotten in touch with my attorney, but I very much doubt we will need him at dinner.”
“Dinner with my brother?” I question, wondering how in the hell I'm going to be able to pull that off. Aaron isn't dumb and he knows of my crush on his friend. It won't take a lot for him to figure out that something has transpired between Mitch and me, especially if Mitch is going to continue to look at me the way he is doing now.
“Is that going to be a problem?” he questions, eyebrow raised.
“You know it won't be,” I lie, feeling the sudden urge to get the hell away from Mitch.
“Good. So, I've arranged to have dinner delivered to my place at 7 pm, sharp. Make sure you are done here before then?”
“I will,” I say, getting up and moving towards the door.
* * *
Pushing my little walk-in closet open, I begin to browse through the dresses on my rack.
As my hands land on a short, sequined dress I bought after dating Smith, I pause. Brushing my fingers over the glitters on the thigh-length dress with long sleeves, I pull it out, flattening it against my front and examining myself in the mirror. The dress compliments my slightly tanned skin and brings out the color of my eyes.