Final Call (Call #2)(53)
Author: Emma Hart

“If you hear the name Mia Lopez, you’re on the right track.”

Dottie scribbles that on her paper and stands, nodding. “All right. I’m on it. I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything out.”

“Thank you. Oh, and, Dottie?”

She pauses by the open door and glances over her shoulder.

“If you get me this information, your next pay will have a considerable bonus in it.”

Her lips twist to one side. “I’m not doing it for money, Mr. Stone. I’m doing it because we’ve all noticed how happy you are now. And, if you’ll excuse my language, Naomi is a raging bitch.”

She closes the door behind her, and I laugh. “I like her. She gets it.”

“Dottie has worked for me for four years, and Naomi spent the majority of that time trying to convince me to fire her.” Aaron perches on his desk and folds his arms across his chest.

“Why?”

“She didn’t like her. Dottie was fresh out of college when we hired her. It was supposed to be for the summer so she could gain a little experience doing admin work. She took to being my assistant like a duck takes to water when my previous one got pregnant, so I kept her on permanently. Naomi was jealous of how closely we work together. And that Dottie has a crush on me.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s a good thing there are no trust issues here, isn’t there?”

He smiles. “Very.”

We stare at each other for a long moment, and he leans in slowly to take my mouth with his.

“Can I…say something?” I ask quietly.

“The amount you talk, I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

I backhand slap his thigh, and he laughs. “No. Have you ever considered that maybe Naomi is in love with you?”

Aaron pauses, his eyes still on mine. “Once or twice. The problem is, Day, I know her better than anyone else. She loves the money and influence I have more than the man inside.”

“I think she’s in love with you,” I say softly, looking away. “And that’s why I think she’s doing this.”

“Hey.” He crouches in front of me and tilts my face into his. “The only person whose feelings matter is the woman I’m looking at right now. I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you all those years ago. I never stopped, not even for a second. You have my heart in a viselike grip, Dayton, and I hope to God you’ll never let it go. Naomi hates that. She knows I never loved her, and yes, she probably is in what she has come to perceive as love. Money, influence, and social standing don’t equal love or a successful relationship. Love is what’s beneath the surface, beyond all of those things, and that’s what you see. You see the man beneath it all. You see me, baby. You look at me and see the way I look at you, not dollar signs. If I have to hurt her to keep you safe, then I will.”

“I know.”

“Nothing is as important to me as you are. When you understand just how much you mean to me, you’ll understand that I’ll walk all over anyone who keeps me from protecting you.”

“I know.”

“I mean it, Day. I’ll walk until I can’t—”

I tug his face to mine and silence him with the touch of my lips to his. “I know,” I murmur. “So please, shut up and kiss me now before you make me cry.”

“No more crying,” he orders, curling his fingers around the back of my neck. His mouth sweeps across mine in a firm way that backs up his words.

I agree. No more crying. No more doubting or worrying or crying.

I have to put my faith in the man kissing me like I’m the air he needs to breathe. I have to believe that he’ll take this mess I escalated and spin it into gold, keeping us both safe in the process.

I have to believe in him, and I have to believe in us.

And I do.

I believe in us.

I believe we can conquer anything thrown our way.

We just have to do it.

***

I sigh and lie back on the sofa, lifting my legs and resting them on the back of it. I’m all for Aaron keeping me safe, but I’d like to be amused. As it is, I’ve run through all my lives on Candy Crush, dropped all my coins on Coin Dozer, and listened to the Spotify top chart five times. Okay, the songs I like on it. That lowers the time consumption considerably.

And now I’m bored. Really, really bored.

I sigh again, this time the breath escaping through pursed lips, and kick my legs. Aaron’s in the meeting he left yesterday because of my mini meltdown that left me on the kitchen floor, and he has some damage control to do.

I think. I could be exaggerating. I have no idea how this business stuff works.

My third sigh leaves as a huff. How long does it take to negotiate a contract? Half an hour?

No, that’s silly. I’ve been here alone for at least two hours.

He really needs to invest in a coffee machine for this office. Stat.

The door opens, and I roll my head to the side. A smirk curves Aaron’s lips as he flicks his eyes over my body and takes me in.

“Comfortable?”

“Comfortable but bored,” I reply, flexing my ankles. “Did you get your contract?”

“Don’t ask me such stupid questions, Dayton. I was in charge of the campaign. Of course I did.”

I swing my legs around and sit up straight. “Even though you ran out halfway through the meeting yesterday?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Every person in that meeting was married. They understood my need to leave.”

“For your girlfriend? Married and girlfriend are different things.”

“For one second, will you stop doubting your importance to me? Fuck, Day, it’s driving me insane. Do you honestly think I wouldn’t walk you down an aisle tomorrow if it wouldn’t freak you the hell out? I love you, and love is love, regardless of a piece of paper declaring forever. My heart has promised you forever and that’s the f**king end of it.”

“I don’t doubt my importance. I was just asking. And I’m bored. So my brain is kind of numb right now.”

“You’re bored? How bored?”

“I-could-claw-my-own-eyes-out bored.”

He crosses his office and leans over me, one hand on the back of the sofa, the other flattened on the cushion by my side, and curves his lips. “Bored enough you can cope with me in here for an hour until my next meeting?”

“Debatable. I might get annoyed. You know what they say about couples that work and play together.”