As our night came to a close, we headed outside of the restaurant where the valet took his time bringing my car around.
“What are you doing the rest of the week?” I asked her. She looks away, thinking through her schedule, “I have a few contracts I will be wrapping up.”
“I see you’re going to be in high demand. Will you have time for me, Miss Wilkins?”
“Mr. Warner,” she breathed slowly before pushing up onto her tiptoes and kissing me gently. “I will always make time for you.”
“Colt?” A woman’s voice pierced the air, forcing Nina to pull her lips away from mine. I let out a sigh as I turned to see where the intrusion came from. Chelsea strolled toward us with an older man standing a few feet behind her. He refused to approach as comfortably as she did.
“Colt,” Nina mumbled under her breath, with a nod for me to introduce them.
I complied, even though I didn’t want to share my time with Nina with anyone else. “Chelsea Atlas, this is Nina Wilkins. Nina, this is Chelsea Atlas, one of my consultants.”
“The famous Nina! You’re so… so … Nina-y!”
Nina squinted, “No, I’m just Nina.”
“Well, it’s so nice to finally meet you! Colt has told us all about you!” Chelsea gushed. It felt weird. She embellished how much I spoke about Nina, but perhaps she was trying to be nice.
“It’s nice to meet you, Chelsea,” Nina nodded with a face I couldn't quite peg.
“So, you’re a bookkeeper, right?” Chelsea asked her.
“I’m an accountant,” Nina asserted confidently.
“Yes, of course,” Chelsea snickered. “I was, uh, just leaving dinner and thought maybe you’d two like to join us for drinks or something?”
“Join who?” Nina asked.
“Well, Harry and I-” Chelsea pointed over her shoulder, but the man who was there a moment ago disappeared. “Oh no, shoot, and he was my ride home. Don’t you just hate it when they do that?”
“Do what? Run away?” Nina deadpanned, and I choked back laughter.
“I mean, Colt, I’m like on your way home,” Chelsea turned to me with a smile. “I see you two are leaving, so how about-”
I cut her off before she could even finish. “I have plans with Nina, Chelsea. I can have the valet wait with you until a taxi arrives.”
My car finally pulled up to the curb and the valet got out, leaving it running. Perfect timing. I opened the door for Nina to get in and gave the valet instructions to call Chelsea a car service.
Chelsea scrunched her face in disgust. When she realized I was watching her, her expression changed into a forced smile and polite wave. Inside the car, Nina sat there, shaking her head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“Do you understand how much that woman wants to sit on your face?” she asked. Her eyes raked over me from head to toe.
I shrugged. “She’s expressed some interest, but Chelsea is harmless. She keeps it professional at work and she’s exceptional at her job.”
Nina rolled her eyes, “Anyone can be exceptional at their job, but she’s a liar and I don’t like it.”
“How do you know she’s a liar?”
“For one, there’s no way you told her or anyone else all about me because we just met yesterday. And two, I don’t like how she tried to insert herself into your night. It was like she assumed we were done. And what was that shit about me beingNina-y? What the fuck does that even mean?”
“Nina.”
“What?!” She snapped her eyes at me.
“I want you to sit on my face. The only thing you need to decide is if you’re going to do it at your place or mine.”
