“No. Now.” He hung up.
I rolled my eyes and picked up my needle again, sticking it through the bottom. I’d accidentally used the wrong fabric earlier and I needed to finish it for a customer pick-up tomorrow.
I’ll explain it to him later...
When I was halfway done, there was a light knock at my door.
“Come in,” I said, still focused on my project.
“Miss Gracen.” Greg’s deep voice made me look up. “Mr. Statham is adamant about me bringing you home right now.”
“Is something wrong?”
“He just wants you home.” He held the door open and gestured for me to stand up. “Non-negotiable.”
Sighing, I called Rita to thank her for staying so late. Then I grabbed my blazer and walked out front—tossing the store’s keys to her on my way out.
Greg opened the backdoor of the town car and waited until I was comfortable before pulling off.
“Greg?” I cleared my throat.
“Yes, Miss Gracen?” He looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“How long have you been working for Jonathan?”
“Since he first started his company.”
“Did he treat all his girlfriends like this? Make them drop whatever they were doing just because he wanted to see them?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“But you chauffeured them around too, right? Those few serious girlfriends that he had?”
“Miss Gracen...”
“I’m just trying to make conversation to get my mind off the fact that he just demanded that I come home. That’s all.”
“Of course.” He pulled the car onto the highway ramp and turned the music up a notch.
“Are you going to answer my question, Greg?”
He sighed. “Mr. Statham has never asked me to chauffeur any of his other girlfriends.”
What? “How did they get around when they went on dates?”
“He drove his own car to pick them up.”
“Did he take them on his yachts?”
“Miss Gracen...” He kept his voice firm. “I can remember a few random dates on his yacht from years past, but to the best of my knowledge you are the only woman who has been on all of his yachts. With the exception of his sister and your daughters, you are the only woman who has flown on his private plane and you are, without a doubt, the only woman who I have personally chauffeured around. You are also the only woman he’s ever shown his real home. Now, if you don’t mind, I would prefer not to talk about my employer.”
I nodded and sat back in the seat, completely speechless.
All this time that we’d been together I’d always thought he’d shown his softer side to someone else. Knowing that he hadn’t made me feel even more special.
As the town car rolled past the right exit to take me home, I tapped Greg on the shoulder. “I thought you were taking me home?”
“Mr. Statham called me a few minutes ago. He wants me to bring you to the airstrip instead.”
“He’s flying me somewhere? On short notice?”
“He didn’t say anything further, Miss Gracen.”
Half an hour later, the town car cruised into the private jetport and stopped a few hundred feet in front of Jonathan and his plane.
There were twenty people standing around him—his crew, a few of his top accountants, and a couple of people I’d never seen before. He was pacing in front of them, shaking his head in anger, giving orders of some type.
Greg opened my door and reached for my hand, whispering a warning. “Something’s been bothering him all day...”
I nodded and watched as Jonathan continued to yell at his employees, something about “This is unacceptable,” and “Why am I just now finding out about this today?!”
I tried to step backwards and slip back inside the town car, but he looked over his shoulder and his blue eyes met mine.
He immediately stopped talking and stared at me, looking me up and down. He strolled over to where I was standing and pulled me into his arms.
Before I could say ‘Hello,’ he pressed his lips against mine and slipped his tongue into my mouth—kissing me until I couldn’t breathe.
“Why do you have such a hard time coming home at six?” he whispered harshly. “We’ve discussed this too many times...”
“I guess I keep forgetting that I have a curfew.”
“It’s an agreement.”
“You should’ve gotten it in writing.”
A faint smile played on his lips and he leaned forward and kissed me again—more passionately this time. He caressed my back with his hands and slipped his tongue deeper and deeper into my mouth.
I opened my eyes and realized that the twenty or so people that were behind us were now staring in our direction, whispering to one another.
I pulled away from him, blushing. “You can’t kiss me like that in front of your staff...”