“What a sweetheart you are.”
She gave them all a wave and disappeared out of sight, leaving a tingling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol in his system.
Eveline
Out of earshot from their table, Jeronimo broke the silence. “So, you two are getting along, huh?”
She shot him a glare. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Be curious? You were clearly having a good conversation. I’ve never seen you smile like that.”
“Because wehada good conversation.”
“So, when is the date?”
“There is no date.” She sighed. “Jeronimo, please stop. I know you mean well, and you want the best for me—”
“But you don’t want me to get your hopes up.”
“That would be very nice of you.”
As she transferred into her car and disassembled her wheelchair, Jeronimo leaned against the car and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let me have a few questions and then I’ll stop pestering you about it.”
“Fine.”
“What if he asked you out, would you agree?”
“Happily.”
“Why don’tyouaskhimout? Maybe he’s just not wanting to take that step because you’re his boss now.”
“He seems pretty old fashioned. He may not appreciate a woman taking charge.” But that wasn’t the real answer, and Eveline wasn’t ready to discussthat.
“Understandable.”
“And that doesn’t mean I want you to push him.”
“Got it.” Once she’d finally disassembled her chair, Jeronimo crouched and took her hand. “I hope you know that the lack of a man in your life doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy. You are an amazing woman and even if it’s not Renley, one day you’ll find that man.”
“Jeronimo, please.”
“Hear me out. I’m not blind. I see how sad you are sometimes, especially when you see us with our families. It’s just not your time. Katrin and I didn’t meet until I was well into my forties. Your time will come too.”
“You need to stop.”
“I will, but only because I don’t want you to drive home crying. I just needed to get that off my chest.” He squeezed her hand and then stepped back. “I’ll see you Monday.”
It was only when Eveline got home and put herself to bed that she let herself bask in Renley’s compliments. After all, drunk people spoke their mind and if she believed that, she also had to believe that he meant what he’d said.
He’d called her “smoking hot.” Even now, lying alone in bed, it made her heart leap. Her hand slipped down and into her panties, fingers finding her clit. This was wrong, but the memories of her night with Renley had only been sweetened by his confession. He truly hadn’t done it for the money, and that had her all hot and bothered. She played with herself, remembering how it had felt when it washisfingers between her legs.
God,he’d spanked her too and she wanted that all over again.
She increased her pace, letting her imagination take her to all the wonderful kinky things she would let him do to her. She imagined her pussy being spanked and fucked roughly like he had before. God, she loved how he hadn’t treated her as if she couldn’t handle it. He’d used her,takenher as he wanted. The raw lust sparkling in the chocolate of his eyes, dark and yet still soft. She came hard, panting for air. When she opened her eyes, the illusion of Renley was gone. Biting down the disappointment of not being in his arms, she reached for her phone and doom-scrolled social media until her eyelids slid shut.
By Monday morning, Jeronimo was back to his usual self. As promised, he didn’t bring up Renley again. He busied himself with the construction sites, leaving her to handle the admin work. She didn’t mind. She even enjoyed the quiet side—or the boring side, as Jeronimo called it. But she knew he’d jump in to help if she asked.
Mira, their secretary, had called in sick, so picking up reception tasks took up quite a bit of her day. Late afternoon came much faster than she’d thought. She was just returning to her own work when a knock on the door caught her attention. She smiled. She just couldn’t help it when she saw Renley’s handsome figure.
