Page 6 of The Executive Assistant

“Ah.” A pause. “Who is your business partner? A family member?”

“I don’t have a partner,” I said, careful to keep my voice pleasant. “I founded the firm myself.”

He took a moment to digest that. “Impressive,” he saidafter a long moment. “Small businesses are part of the backbone of the economy. Sure, it’s hard work just starting out, but if you put your mind to it, you’ll be making the big money in a few years.”

I opened my mouth to correct him because Firth Marketing was hardly a small business, but then I stopped myself, because frankly, I couldn’t be bothered. If Russell made assumptions about me and my career just because of how I looked, or the fact I was a woman, that was his problem, not mine.

I picked up my glass of water, deciding to lay off the wine. As soon as I took a sip, I was reminded that it was sparkling, not still, and it bubbled unpleasantly on my tongue. For a moment, I tried to deal with it because I didn’t want to seem picky, especially about something as trivial as water. But I hadn’t asked for sparkling.

“Is there anything else I can get you before bringing the check?” a waitress asked as she picked up our empty plates.

“Some tap water please,” I told her.

“Bottled,” Russell said.

“No, tap is perfectly fine.” My voice remained polite but firm, and I didn’t miss the twitch of Russell’s mouth.

“It must offer you a lot of freedom, being your own boss,” Russell said after the waiter had whisked away. “I’d love to be able to have full control over my timetable. You must be able to take several vacations.”

I gave him a tight smile. “Not as many as you'd think.”

The night was going as brilliantly as I thought it would, and my only consolation was keeping track of every awful detail, so I could report them back to Brooke and Emilia later.

The silence between us stretched out. Russell sipped his red wine while I studied him. While he didn’t take my breath away the way Cameron did, he was objectively handsome, with his thick brown hair and square jaw.

I considered taking him home. It had been forever since I’d had sex, and occasionally I theorized that was why Cameron irritated me so much. If I could just work out my sexual frustration — get some stress relief — then maybe the next time I laid eyes on my executive assistant, he’d be just a man to me. Not an object of desire. Just another, ordinary man.

If I did ask Russell to come home with me, I was certain he’d say yes. Sure, he might think I was loose or “low-value” or whatever people were calling it these days, but I couldn’t care less about the opinions of a random investment banker.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. Besides, if I did sleep with Russell, it wasn’t like I’d have to hear him talk. He could just pin me down and —

My eyes caught on some movement past Russell's head.

Across the restaurant, a couple was sitting down at thetable in the corner. The man was tall and blond, and the woman wore a stunning sky-blue dress, her black hair falling over her shoulders like a waterfall of ink.

It was Cameron, here, on a date, with the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

CHAPTER THREE

Was she a supermodel? Probably. Of course, Cameron was dating a supermodel.

Perhaps they were friends, a desperate part of me wondered, but there was no way that he was bringing a friend who looked likethatto a fancy restaurant like this. They couldn’t be family either, since they looked nothing alike. Cameron was Caucasian, and the beautiful woman was Asian.

The woman shared a warm smile with Cameron. They were in their own little world.

I tore my eyes away, and despite trying to keep calm, my skin started to warm, which was ridiculous. He hadn't even made eye contact with me. He didn't know I was there, but I felt sick at the thought of him noticing me, greeting with a smile. Then he would falter, because with one look, he would be able to read everything on my face.He would see that for the longest time, I had a foolish infatuation with him.

“Are you okay?” Russell's voice was far away.

I blinked and met his eyes. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“You look flushed,” he said, gesturing at his own cheeks.

I pressed a hand to a burning cheek. “Would you excuse me? I need to use the ladies’.”

I rose from my chair and walked in the opposite direction of Cameron and his date, weaving around other patrons and tables until I finally entered the hallway that led to the restrooms.

“This can’t be happening,” I said after I’d hurried into the women’s bathroom. Sure, I’d harboured a crush on Cameron, but I always thought it was silly and small. I hadn’t expected my stomach to twist and churn when seeing him with another woman. It appeared that I cared about him more than I thought.

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