Chapter 4
Preston
I’d been so careful around him for so long, loosening the reins on my dominant side felt odd. Casey had always been someone I needed to watch myself around, and changing that mindset was more difficult than I’d expected.
I wanted him, but he’d been put in thedon’t touchbox and I had a feeling I was coming across as a bit of a wishy-washy Dom. Not that he seemed to be having an issue with how our date was going. No, he was still shy and careful, but everything he’d said gave the impression he wasverypleased with the direction things were heading.
As we walked back to the office, I tugged Casey closer so his shoulder was pressed against mine. “I think we got a bit distracted back there. You never did tell me why you were getting ready to quit.”
Casey sighed but leaned his head into my shoulder, so I knew he wasn’t frustrated with me. “I’m not sure if telling you all the details would be a conflict of interest or not, but let’s just say I’m expecting the company to start downsizing any day. They don’t seem to think very highly of its accounting department anyway, so I have a feeling some of us will be cut first.”
I felt bad for him, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing there have been more quality control issues than just the stuff we’ve been getting.” While I hated that his job was in jeopardy, it was good to know that it hadn’t been only us getting inferior goods.
“I cannot tell a lie.” Then Casey chuckled. “But I cannot tell the truth…sooo.”
I laughed. “Okay, I get it.”
He squeezed my hand and instead of pulling away, kept his head on my shoulder. The area was still filled with people heading toward the bars and restaurants farther down the street, so since I had to be careful with our conversation, I kept focusing on work.
“What are your plans?” He was great at his job, so I knew he had to have a lot of options.
“Well.” He paused for a moment like he was worried about what I’d think. “I’m actually going to open my own business.” He pushed the words out like he was telling me his darkest secret. “I’m going to be focusing on small business accounting. I’ve already started building up a sizeable client base of people who have strictly online companies.”
“That’s a good idea.” I wasn’t sure if he’d been expecting me to scoff at his plan, but as soon as I responded favorably, he started to relax. “You do a great job with the people side of things, so I can see how a small business would be really comfortable with you.”
Happiness radiated from Casey, and even though he was pressed close next to me, I could see the smile on his face. “Thanks. So far it’s going great. I was hoping to have more time to build it up, but that’s probably just me being too cautious. Realistically, I’m right at the point where I can’t take on any more clients without quitting my day job.”
“It sounds like you’ve got this all planned out.” Knowing Casey, he had it all planned out for the next year as well.
“I hope so.” There was a bit of hesitation in his voice that made me want to pull him into my arms.
“I bet you have at least six months of living expenses set up just in case.”
He chuckled quietly. “Um…nine months.”
“Plus your actual emergency fund?”
He glanced up, looking a little sheepish. “That’s another year.”
I laughed. “And I bet you had a business plan written up before you even started.”
“Of course.” He didn’t seem to understand how cute that was.
“How about a waiting list for people who are looking to use your services?”
He blushed faintly and focused on the sidewalk. “Just a small one.”
I squeezed his hand. “You are going to do great. My only concern is that you’re going to overwork yourself. Remember last week when I emailed you in the evening about that discrepancy and you got back to me right away? You should have been at home.”
He laughed. “Am I supposed to ignore the fact that you were working too?”
I grinned. “Caught. But in my defense, I’d stayed late to get a few things done and then crashed at one of the apartments on the third floor. I was almost asleep when I remembered the note I wanted to send you, so I went down and did it before I could forget.”
“That sounds like an excuse, and you still just confessed to working too much.” He gave me a cheeky grin. “So you still can’t say anything about my hours.”
“How about I’ll be more conscious about how many hours I put in if you will too?” That was a deal I’d gladly make with him.
