“Why? I’m enjoying my time with you here, and you don’t seem like a man who would want to sneak around. So, the ball’s in your court. After all, you’re the one with the media always on his heels, as well as the CEO of the company where I happen to work. And that means you have the most at stake. So how do you want to play this?”
He nodded, obviously pleased at her reaction. “I guess I don’t have to tell you there will be office gossip.”
“Not to mention the newspapers getting in our business,” she added.
“That won’t bother you?”
Rylee rolled her eyes. “Of course, it will bother me. I’ve been the subject of gossip before.”
He lifted a brow. “You have?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” She then proceeded to tell him about Boris’s affairs being the talk of the neighborhood, and how she’d been pegged as the weak, pathetic wife who couldn’t hold her husband’s interest at home. “At the time, I swore I would never give anyone a reason to gossip about me again.”
He took a sip of his wine. “But now you don’t care?”
She chuckled. “It’s because of Ireland. I raised my daughter to be independent and not worry about what people thought. As long as she was true to herself, that was all that mattered. People who live in glass houses are usually the ones throwing stones. Over the years, I’ve learned how to throw them back.”
He liked her attitude. “You’re tough.”
She tilted her head and winked at him. “I’m me.” She paused a moment, then gave him a sly look. “The ladies atwork think you’re a hottie. I have a feeling that the only talk will center around what a lucky woman I am.”
He threw his head back and laughed. She liked the sound--it was deep, throaty and sexy. Then on a more serious note, she added, “Of course there will be some who’ll consider me to be nothing more than your flavor of the month.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to prove them wrong.”
She smiled. “Okay, so now you’ve heard my take on office gossip. What’s yours, Frazier?”
He smiled back at her. “We’re both single, professional adults. Although I can’t see us making out in the elevator, I won’t complain about sharing a kiss or two if the opportunity presents itself. But unless someone wants to compliment me on recognizing what an intelligent and beautiful woman you are, they’d better keep their thoughts to themselves. I don’t have time to deal with bullshit.”
She believed him. “I think most of the employees see you as a serious kind of guy, who doesn’t tolerate bullshit. In fact, rumor is that you rarely smile, although I’ve seen you smile a lot with me.” She leaned in close and added, “As far as being alone with you in an elevator, I agree it’s no place to make out. But I’d be all in for a passionate kiss or two.”
He chuckled. “I’ll remember that.”
“What about the media, Frazier?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Nothing to worry about there. The reporters like you.”
She grinned. Though she hated to admit it, she liked them too. Most of the reporters at the gala that night hadslipped her a check payable to the American Heart Association. “They’re nice guys whose job is getting a story.”
“I know.”
“Once they discover there’s no story with us, they will leave us alone.”
He chuckled. “You are so optimistic.”
She gave him a cheeky smile. “I can’t help it. Together, we just solved two major problems. Now, let’s apply for jobs at the White House.”
He shook his head. “I’ll pass.”
Rylee watched as he went over to take the steaks off the grill. It was probably a good time to tell him about her plans to resign from the company at the first of the year. However, that might open up a discussion about what she’ll be doing after leaving Connelly Enterprises. And for some reason, she wasn’t quite ready to reveal that yet.
• • •
“I had a wonderful time this weekend, Frazier.”
He smiled over at Rylee as she snapped on her seatbelt. She looked adorable in her blue shorts and flower-print blouse with a baseball cap on her head. They were in the cockpit of his plane, ready to return to Charlottesville. The weekend hadn’t been long enough.
They were returning Sunday evening, a little earlier than normal, because he had a business trip to Toronto in the morning. Even though he’d be taking the company jet, he still had to pack.