Page 36 of The Executive Assistant

I served two bowls and we walked into the living room, sitting on the sectional together.

I put on the new thriller TV show and sat back, our arms brushing as we got settled side by side. As the show started playing, I tore my attention away from it for a second just to take in the moment. I didn’t realize how much I wanted something like this until actually experiencing it.

The peace. The naturalness. The comfort.

I could see this becoming my new normal, but then uncertainty clouded my mind. How long would this last? Maybe soon, I’d crave having my own space — being alone again.

I fell deeper and deeper into my worries until I felt a gentle kiss on my cheek. Cameron shot me a warm look before turning his attention back to the television as intense music started playing.

If I didn’t get out of my own head, I was going to miss the good part. And that didn’t only apply to the television show.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

As the end credits rolled at the end of the first episode, I stretched my legs out in front of me, nuzzling my cheek against Cameron’s chest as I leaned into his side. “I liked it. What about you?”

“Yeah, it’s good,” Cameron said, stretching an arm around my shoulders. “Frank’s suspicious, though.”

“Frank? No, I’m sure Kane’s the culprit. He won’t let anyone in his house.”

“Well, we’ll just have to see which one of us is right. Want to watch another episode?”

I glanced at the time on my phone, and was shocked to see it was already seven o’clock. “You get started,” I said, standing up and taking our finished bowls to the kitchen. I popped them into the dishwasher, then pointed down the hallway in the direction of my office. “I’m just going to check a few emails.”

I always checked emails in the evening. Hell, I usually checked my emails every hour. It was almost a compulsion at this point.

Cameron frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re going to do some work.”

I shook my head. “I’ll only check emails. I’ll be half an hour, tops.”

He nodded slowly. “This explains why you’re always up to date with everything. You never take a break, do you?”

I shrugged. Admittedly, I felt guilty, because I did have a guest over. But Cameron should have understood. He worked with me, after all. “It’s not a big deal. It’ll make me feel better if I check, and I won’t be long.”

If we were at the office, Cameron would’ve nodded and let me go. But instead, he stood up and walked over to me. “You should rest. You worked all day today, and there is a whole eight-hour workday waiting for you tomorrow when you can check as many emails as you like.”

“Work doesn’t exhaust me like you think it does. I love what I do.”

“Fine,” Cameron said, reaching out to rub my shoulders. “But tonight, give it a skip. For me.”

How could I refuse when he looked at me like that?

“I can’t start the next episode without you. You won’t understand what’s going on.”

“I can fill in the blanks,” I countered.

He shook his head. “I came over to spend time withyou, Alison. Not sit on a couch by myself.”

As much as my fingers itched for the familiar keyboard of my home computer, I knew he was right. If my mother was here, she’d admonish me for being a bad host. And to the tell the truth, I did want to watch the TV show with Cameron. I wanted to sit on the couch together, with his arms around me.

“Alright,” I said, defeated. I told myself that I had been silly — my company wasn’t going to be destroyed just because I took one night off. Besides, how was I supposed to figure out if things were going to work between us if I didn’t actually invest my attention and time into this relationship?“Let’s go watch that episode.”

Cameron grinned, and it was adorable. It was unfair how he could go from hot and assertive to cute, with that big, gorgeous smile.

“Do you want dessert?” I asked, pulling away from Cameron’s arms to check the fridge.

“I don’t have a big sweet tooth,” Cameron said, following me. “This body doesn’t maintain itself.” He shot me a smile to show he was half-joking.

I hummed, checking the freezer. “I don’t have ice-cream or anything, but I have frozen berries if you want that?”

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