Page 33 of The Butterfly Effect
William sighed. “Julianna, why do you insist on getting on my nerves?”
“You said it was professional, so I was just being professional.” I rolled the last word and tried to stop my smirk from turning into a full smile. Especially when a brief smile flashed across his face.
“You’re something else,” he said, opening the door and gesturing for me to lead the way. I couldn’t help but think this stoic asshole boss of mine was holding back a laugh.
We climbed into his car, and I re-familiarized myself with the soft leather seats. He gripped the wheel as we pulled out onto the road, his hands strong and firm but relaxed. I blushed when he glanced over and caught me staring. Before he could give me any shit, I broke the silence. “So, where are we going?”
“Pizza. It’s a Carlisle tradition.” He took his eyes off the road for just a moment to give me a cheeky smile before turning into the parking lot at Chinos. The last time I’d been here hadn’t been such a fond memory, but I still wanted to try their pizza.
When we walked in, the nice tables were mostly empty. Only a couple of people were in the restaurant, presumably because most would be eating a large turkey dinner around the table with their families. The hostess greeted us with a smile, and a pang of jealousy rolled through my core when she lingered on William for an extra moment. We weren’t dating, and even though he didn’t return her glance, I wanted to be the only one who ran my eyes over him.
“Reservation for two under William Carlisle,” he said, and I laughed. He had made a reservation on the one day a year it was likely unneeded.
The hostess walked us to a slightly hidden table towards the back, setting down menus before walking back to the front. William grabbed a chair and pulled it out for me, and I had to hide my shock at the chivalry. He sat down across from me, but before he said anything, a waiter who was clearly uninterested in being at work walked up.
He introduced himself, mostly to me, lingering on my chest a moment too long. A deep growl rolled from William, and I was satisfied that I wasn’t the only one who might be feeling a little jealous.
“What can I get you folks to drink?” Again, his focus was turned to me.
“Uh, I’ll take a cab sav please. House label is fine.” I ordered without the menu, knowing I could always fall back on my safety wine. A cabernet sauvignon usually hit the spot for me.
“Go ahead and make it a bottle,” William said before asking the waiter to make it a nicer one. I chuckled at his expensive taste and unwillingness to drink the house label.
I turned my attention back to the man across the table. He looked so soft, not remotely as stoic as he normally did, and not like the man who had literally folded me over his desk a few days ago. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I was starting to look forward to a glass of wine that might calm them before they took over my entire core.
“So tell me, Mr. Carlisle… why pizza?” I asked.
His jaw ticked at the way I addressed him, and he glared at me before breaking into a smile. Shock rolled through me again at his easy demeanor. “One year when I was in middle school, my parents both had to go out of town on Thanksgiving. My mom has always been adamant that we be together on the holidays, so they took the three of us with them. There wasn’t anywhere to make a turkey, so we ordered pizzas to the hotel. It was the best Thanksgiving we ever had. Now if we’re anywhere but home, we get pizza. So here we are.” He gestured around him to the restaurant.
I laughed at his childlike excitement when he started to pore over the menu, as if he didn’t already know what he’d order. He seemed like the kind of guy who liked his routines, which made me assume he always ordered the same thing at any restaurant he frequented. “One year when I was a kid, we visited my grandparents in Chicago for Thanksgiving. They didn’t cook for some reason, probably because the small apartment they lived in would be too crammed, so we went to a buffet. All I remember is the place was a hole in the wall, and my papa insisted on having mini corndogs and donuts for his dinner. I used to copy a lot of what he did since I looked up to him, and in that moment, I focused on the donuts. I made myself sick off of them, and my dad was so upset with me.”
I erupted in a fit of giggles at the memory, remembering the way my dad swore we’d never do it again. William watched me for a moment before letting out a small laugh himself. The waiter returned with our wine and poured us each a glass before we placed our order and he walked away.
William held up his glass towards me to clink against mine. “Happy Thanksgiving, Jules.”
My mouth dropped at the use of my name. He’d never called me anything but Julianna. In fact, he had essentially told me it was ridiculous that I didn’t go by my full name.Get it together, Jules.
“Happy Thanksgiving, William.” I smiled and tapped my glass against his before taking a long, satisfying sip of the wine. It was delicious. A lot better than the cheap wine I tended to buy. A small, satisfied moan slipped from my lips after another drink, and William shifted in his seat.
“Do you wish you were at home today?”
He looked at me, pursing his lips in thought. “Not really. My mom isn’t happy about it, but I’ll make it up to her. My younger brother got married this year, and he and his wife are a good distraction for her anyway. I don’t think she’s missing me there as much today as she expected to.”
I laughed and took a long sip of my wine, letting my thoughts wander. I wanted to know more about his family. He talked like they were close, maybe even normal.
“So tell me why you really avoided going home to have Thanksgiving with your family,” he said, focusing back on our conversation. I couldn’t use the working excuse with him since he knew what my workload looked like.
“Honestly?” I sighed. “It’s a lot of pressure going home. My mom wants to know why I’m twenty-eight and still not married. My sister Jenna is a lawyer in Chicago with a successful, rich fiancé. My parents consider her their pride and joy, and while they don’t come out and say it, I’m just not meeting their expectations at this point.”
He furrowed his brow as a look of disappointment flashed across his eyes. “Jenna Thomas is your sister?”
“Yes… you know her?” The wine I took a gulp of didn’t burn my throat, but I hoped it would numb my assumptions.
“She was the corporate lawyer for one of the companies I helped my dad run. She’s good…” He shrugged with the statement.
My stomach sank at his semi praise of my sister, and it suddenly made sense why she knew about him. What had their working relationship been like? I hoped she’d never had the same experiences working with William that I’d had. He must’ve seen my disappointment because a deep scowl crossed his face.
“She’s not as good as you are, Julianna. She knows what she’s doing, but you command a room. You can bring a room of stubborn executives to their knees, and before they know it, they’re eating your plan out of the palm of your hand. She’s good, but you are powerful. It didn’t take me long to learn that.”
