Page 3 of Past and Present

He wrinkled his nose. Jill wasn’t his favorite person either, but he was professional enough to not say that out loud. Kimberly, his long-time assistant, was taking a temporary leave of absence for a family situation and had brought Jill in to train as a substitute for her while she was gone. Lance wasn’t exactly sure where Kimberly found her, but he trusted her judgment and was doing his best to give Jill a shot.

“I’ll talk to her. But I think we need to agree that you aren’t our middle man, OK Daph? I know you mean well, but Riss and I are building something here and we need to work out our issues on our own.”

Daphne sighed. “I know. But she’s my sister and I don’t enjoy seeing her unhappy. She’s crazy about you. Like bonkers. Even after everything that’s happened, she’s mad about you, and I want to see you two married with a houseful of babies.”

Lance grimaced. He didn’t have the heart to tell Daphne or her mother that he and Marissa had decided that kids were not something they were all that thrilled about and would only do it if the time seemed right.

“Hey. I’m not trying to scare you off with the houseful of babies thing. I’m sure you guys are going to have a houseful of robots or something creepy like that instead.”

Lance laughed. “You’re ridiculous. I appreciate the call and how much you love your sister. I do. But how about you let us worry about when we get married? I’m at a party in your sister’s honor right now, so I should really get off the phone and go find her.”

Lance had wandered out on to the patio while he talked, and now he stepped into the doorway and watched Marissa laughing with a group of her employees and waited for the right time to approach her.

“Looks like you owe me a kiss,” a sultry voice from behind him said.

Lance tried not to roll his eyes.

“Excuse me?” he said, fixing a stern glare on Jill Chester.

The woman pointed at the entry way above them and he glanced up. A sprig of mistletoe hung between them.

He scowled. “Who on earth put that there? Marissa and I both hate mistletoe.”

“Oops,” Jill said, putting a hand to her mouth. “I just assumed the decorators forgot it. I’ve never been to a Christmas party without it, so I had one of the catering staff put some up for me.”

Lance hummed and gripped his whiskey glass tighter. “Get it taken down. We find it inappropriate for a coworker setting and would hate for anyone to feel coerced into physical contact with someone they were uncomfortable with.”

Jill seemed shocked by his brusque instructions, but Lance didn’t wait around for any more conversation or objections from the girl. He simply pushed away from the door frame and headed for Marissa who was staring at him.

When he reached her, he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, pressing a kiss to her neck. “Have I mentioned how hot you look tonight?”

She sighed as he nuzzled her neck again.

“How much longer do we have to stay at our own party?” she asked, sounding a little breathless.

He chuckled and lifted his head so he could kiss her lips. “You’re doing great. Have you talked with Lawrence Sinclair yet?”

Marissa nodded and turned to face him. “I wanted to like him, but he kept staring at my neckline and I’m not sure he fully understood that you have nothing to do with this new venture other than I’m in the Moss Tech building.”

Lance smiled and trailed a finger down her cheek. “While I too enjoy staring at your neckline, I can kick his ass if you want me to. But I think it’s probably better if I let you fight your own battles. He’s a smart developer but don’t feel obligated to work with him just because I suggested it.”

Marissa nodded. “I don’t. But I appreciate the reassurance. What did Jill want over there just now?”

“Hey. You know you have nothing to worry about with her, right? I think I dislike her almost as much as you do, but I’m trying to humor Kimberly.”

Marissa wrinkled her nose. “I know. But I swear to god if she doesn’t stop shaking her tits at you every chance she gets I’m going hack into her computer and…”

Lance pressed a finger to her lips to stop the empty threat. “Let’s not make threats of doing illegal things in front of our guests, kitten.”

Marissa laughed and nipped at his finger with her teeth. “Fine. But only because I could tell you were being surly with her and it made me kind of happy.”

He laughed and kissed her cheek one more time. “I won’t monopolize your time anymore. I just wanted to come and tell you I’m proud of you. Also, your sister called me to scold me for not marrying you already.”

Marissa winced. “Sorry about that. I might have had a little too much wine with her at Thanksgiving.”

He squeezed her hand. “It’s OK. We have a lot to talk about when this party is over. Though I intend to have at least part of that conversation with my cock in your mouth.”

She bit her lip and gave him a wink. “I look forward to it, Sir.”

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