Page 29 of Yes to The Holidays
“Are you serious right now?” I scoffed. “We can’t. We just can’t. That’s not appropriate.”
“I am not accepting of this.” His gaze was steady but intense.
“Odin, you can’t be serious. We can’t be sleeping together if you own the company.” I wonder if the deal was done. Maybe we could have one last hurrah if not. As a goodbye.
He slid closer to me, grabbing my hand when I tried to move. “I am very serious. You said it yourself; the company has no rules for this. And you promised me the holidays.”
My breath caught. “Odin,” I whispered. I was trying to conjure an excellent rebuttal, but his lips pressed to mine as his warm hand cupped my cheek. Whatever I could have thought up was gone.
“Your face is so cold.” He put both hands to my cheeks, so I wrapped my fingers around his wrists. His blue eyes sparkled from the can lights above us. “We will have to discuss some things, yes. And I have to decide how much of a role I intend to play with the company. But I’m not giving you up.”
He leaned in again, his lips thawing out mine as he moved his warm palms over my ears then down to my neck.
“Odin, this has disaster written all over it.”
The server came back with the nachos, and he moved his hands but stayed close to me. “I do not see this as a disaster. Just a little bump.”
I downed my beer, held the bottle up for the server, and ate some nachos. We sat quietly and ate and drank until the nachos were gone.
We both got another beer. I sipped it a few times, then spoke up. “Odin. I hoped the drinks would help, but honestly, I am really not sure we can do this. I still have to see Donald at work, and it’s hard. You’re amazing, and I can be professional, but I don’t know if I can take another workplace breakup. And with him, it was different.” I sipped. “He’s not my boss.” Was I seriously about to end this? A lump formed in my throat, so I took a long draw from the bottle.
“Who says we’re going to break up?” His eyes searched my face.
Ugh, why was he so damn perfect?“We barely know each other,” I said, throwing my hands up. “Throw some work stuff in and it could totally ruin our happy vibes.”
“So, I do make you happy?”
Why was pressure building behind my eyes?I nodded but looked down at the table.
He slid closer to me again and threaded his fingers into mine. “Janie, I am not giving you up. I don’t need this business. If I have to, I will walk away.”
My head spun toward him. “What? You’ve been working on this for months. And Eddie, he’s right. He deserves to retire. You can’t shatter his dreams.” Imagining the look on Eddie’s face if the deal crumbled brought the pressure back behind my eyes. “The easiest thing would be to walk away from me.” My lip trembled at the last word.
He cupped my cheek again, running his thumb over my lip before brushing over my skin. “I can’t walk away from you, Janie. I prepared for this conversation while I waited on you, and everything I considered, every option, led to menotgiving you up. I can’t. And I won’t.”
I blinked, sending a lone tear down my cheek. He swept it away with his thumb.
“I know you feel it, too, Janie. You wouldn’t be crying if you didn’t. You promised the holidays. I’ll show you. We can make this work.”
He kissed me again, more tears running down my face. I clung to his shirt and got lost in the kiss, lost with him. I’d think about the rest tomorrow.
Chapter 16
Odin
The next week was full of staff meetings, long days, and me wooing Janie. Trying to anyway. She was nothing but professional at work. Though, she finally did make eye contact during meetings.
Donald was a weasel, and I couldn’t see why Edward thought so highly of him. Jack was professional and knew his role and department well. Janie was not just a smart woman, she was fierce, a hard worker, and a born leader. She was in charge of notifying the staff of the plans, and while some had questions, we had answers, and she put all their minds at ease.
Her team especially followed blindly, but it was clear that was because she could be trusted and knew her stuff. She also worked just as hard, if not harder, than everyone else. The whole company was a well-oiled machine with most of the employees having been there nearly the ten years it was operational. The only new people seemed to accommodate growth.
Overall, it appeared to be a very solid investment and with the staff in place, one I could run with very little management. But, with everything that was going on, it was difficult to find time to show Janie just how simple it could all be.
She did allow me to take her to dinner Wednesday night but declined my invitation to come back to the hotel with me.
After wrapping up a morning meeting with Edward Friday, I headed down the hall back to Janie’s office. I gently knocked and entered when she announced for me to come in, turning the lock as I pushed the door closed.
She smiled up at me, sending a jolt to my chest. “That’s the first time I’ve seen a relaxed smile from you all week,” I said as I walked to her desk, taking a seat across from her.
