Don't Love Me

Promotion

I'm not sure what to say to Mrs. Losange because I don't want to offend her, but I have a day job, so I say, "I'm sure we can find an interpreter to help you throughout the week. I can't exactly take a week away from work right now. I don't have enough vacation days accrued."

"You North Americans and your pathetic vacation days. What's the point of living if you only have 10 vacation days a year? Don't worry, I'll have my husband arrange it. You'll stay with me for the week and still get paid. My husband never says no when I put up a fuss."

I let it go for now. I'm sure Mr. Losange and Mr. Conti can figure it out. I catch sight of Jessica sending me death stares and decide it's time to get out of here. "Should we go to your scheduled brunch, then to the MET?"

"Yes. After you," she says excitedly. Her energy is infectious and suddenly the idea of a day of exploring the sights sounds amazing.

In the elevator, she turns to me abruptly and says, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Annabelle."

I shake her offered hand and say, "I'm Alexa, or Lex. Whichever you prefer."

We spend the day together shopping and visiting the MET. Annablle has endless energy, so I’m glad when we finally stop for dinner. She’s not sure if her husband will be free to join, so I agree to eat with her even though I’m way past the end of my work day.

She takes a sip of her wine when her eyes light up. "Darling, you're here! Good thing we haven't ordered yet," she says as her husband approaches.

We are sitting in a booth so he slides in beside her. I'm busy watching them, so it takes me a minute to notice Mr. Conti comes up behind Mr. Losange. He looks at the seating arrangement for a moment and I wonder if he feels as awkward as I do. If he does, he doesn't show it on his face, but he hasn't sat down yet.

Annabelle says, "Cassio had good of you to join us. Come, sit beside Alexa."

He nods, smooths his hand over the front of his perfectly fitted suit and slides into the booth next to me. I've never been this close to him and my stomach is not handling it well. I would like to say I have butterflies but it feels more like a cauldron of bats are flying in there. I'm trapped between him and the wall and his presence, which is always so very imposing, is even more so now.

I take a deep breath and focus on the menu. I can feel Annabelle watching me but I can't afford to look up at her right now. I need to focus on breathing and pulling myself together so I can make it through this dinner with my boss sitting inches from me. Couldn't they make the booth any bigger? There's space on his other side. Why is he sitting so close?

Mr. Losange asks in French, "So ladies, how was your day?"

Annabelle jumps into an excited retelling of what we did. I'm watching how the two of them look at each other and I think to myself that they are one of the few lucky couples that find true love and I hope it lasts. Let's face it, most times it doesn't. Most people can't put each other above everything else, and that's what it takes.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Mr. Conti leans in towards me to ask quietly, "Is there anything I should know about what's being said?"

I look towards him and see his eyes shrewdly observing the Losange's speak. This may be a social dinner on the surface, but Mr. Conti's brain never leaves work. It's impressive.

"No. We went to the MET and did some shopping. She had me trying on clothes for her in the store, then we came here," I say in summation.

"Why does she have a shopping bag and you don't?" he asks, now looking at me.

"I couldn't afford a price tag, let alone the actual items they were attached to at the stores we went to," I say sarcastically.

"Come into work tomorrow before you meet with Mrs. Losange. I'll set you up with a company card so you can buy something next time," he says, as if it's not a huge deal.

"Sir, you already pay me to work, I can't use the company card to buy clothes," I say nervously.

"You can and you will. I want this deal to go through and Mrs. Losange likes you. If she wants to spend the week with you as a friend, then you need to be able to partake in the activities she's interested in, and I'm not making you pay for that. Don't fight me on this," he says sternly at the end. I just nod and turn back to my menu, trying to ignore that I just got a little wet from his commanding tone.

"So Cassio, my wife tells me your assistant here is a real gem. She was like a personal tour guide at the MET and she doesn't even work there. Why isn't she your first assistant?" Mr. Losange asks.

"As of today she is. I apologize for this morning, we don't tolerate such incompetence. That assistance no longer works for me," he says with a no-nonsense tone.

Annabelle looks at me and says, "Congratulations!" Then she waves to the waiter and says, "Champagne, s'il vous plait."

I look at Cass in shock. Is he serious, or just saying that for their benefit? He looks at me with a slight nod to confirm the promotion.

"Thank you, sir," I said. Under my breath so only he can hear.

"Call me Cassio when we aren't in the office," he says in his deep baritone. His voice is like velvet, so smooth and sexy. My underwear never stood a chance.

"Okay sir," I say, realizing too late that I called him, sir, again. His angry look only turns me on more and I can't help the nervous giggle that escapes me. The sound seems to thaw his anger, and he turns away when Annabelle gives a small cry of happiness when the champagne arrives.