Page 91 of Miss Understanding

She gave him a smile not reflected in her eyes. “You’re in good hands, Mr. Walsh. There’s nothing more important to him than his job or his clients.”

A month ago, I would’ve taken her words for a compliment. But now I knew better. It was a bitter pill to swallow knowing she was right. I certainly hadn’t prioritized her feelings but had instead treated her as if her invitation to this event had upset me.

“You must call me Stephen. Now then, let’s get you a fresh glass of champagne. And go have you meet John Klein, the creator of the study you’d read about.”

His hand was on her bare back, and he was leading her through the crowd before I could say another word. The jealousy hit me hard and unexpectedly. I had to tamp down on the urge to pull her back to me. To do what? Insist she stay with me? Make sure Stephen knew she was off-limits? What the hell was happening to me?

Unfortunately, all I could do over the next hour was watch for any signal she was uncomfortable and try not to appear like I was stalking her.

Chapter Forty-Three

Kendall

Stephen was charming and nothing but a gentleman. A strange guy with a number of quirks, but in all, he seemed harmless as I learned more about him over the next hour. Considering he was giving me more attention and compliments than my date—who wasn’t actually my date but my lover, oh, and also my boss—I was hard pressed to leave his company for Liam’s.

“Tell me, how do you like working for the law firm?” he asked while handing me a fresh glass of champagne.

“I enjoy it.”

He chuckled. “I don’t entirely believe you. But the moment you want to search for other employment, I’d have a place for you.”

My spidey sense told me this could get awkward. “Doing what, exactly?”

He smiled. “I don’t know you, Kendall, but something tells me you wouldn’t leave for another assistant job. As you said in that conference room, your passion is food. And I own a number of restaurants around the city. So you tell me.”

“I’m not sure.” My indecisive answer was like a broken record. One even I’d tired of. I knew what I wanted, but it seemed I was afraid to announce it to the world. Plus this man was a client. Surely, I couldn’t confess that I’d quit in a heartbeat if I could do what I loved and still make enough money to help support my nan.

“Relax, my dear. I can assure you this is a legitimate offer. You’re a stunning girl but not my type.”

He motioned over my shoulder toward my boss, who wasn’t doing a very good job of looking as though he wasn’t watching us. “Liam is much more my type, to be honest. Although I doubt he’d appreciate knowing it. Anyhow, I’m serious about the job offer. Keep it in mind.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it over discreetly. “This has my cell phone on it as well as my personal email address. I like to hire people who are passionate and aren’t defined by their title or content to be treated as less than others because of it. Hell, if I had been content with settling, I never would’ve gone from working as a janitor while taking college courses to where I am today. Some may think I’m strange, but I have an innate ability to read people. You, my dear, deserve good things. You deserve to follow your dreams. Don’t ever settle for less.”

I had to keep myself from tearing up. His words resonated so very much. It was as if he could see I wasn’t following my true desires. That I was settling. Not only with my job, but also with my non-boyfriend. I tucked his card into my clutch so very impressed with how he’d gone from being a janitor to achieving his dreams. “Thank you. I’ll keep your words in mind.”

Liam came up fifteen minutes later, glancing between the two of us with a strained smile. “You ready to take our seats for dinner?”

“Yes.”

“What did you talk to Stephen about?” he asked once we’d put some distance between us and our new client.

“He introduced me to John Klein. We had a great conversation about the study he’d done.” And we had. Stephen had treated me as if it was normal to introduce me to any of the famous people attending. He hadn’t acted like I was nothing more than an assistant or a secret lover, not worthy of meeting anyone.

Shit. I was being unfair. I found myself having to tamp down on my kernel of resentment. This wasn’t the place. And I’d signed up for exactly the way Liam was treating me. I’d known it going in, but the question now, of course, was if it was enough for me.

Shortly after dinner, Liam asked if I was ready to leave. Considering it was after ten, and I’d had enough of socializing, I was happy to depart. We said our goodbyes and stepped out into the chilly evening.

I pulled out my phone with the intent of calling our driver, but Liam surprised me. “I sent the driver home. I figured we could take an Uber instead.” He took out his phone. “The car should be here in two minutes.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because I want to take you back to my place without one of the regular firm drivers knowing where we’re going.”

That stung. “I thought the driver was taking us back to the office. Isn’t your car there?”

He was studying my face. “No. I took a taxi in today. I thought we’d leave from here to my place. Unless you’d rather not come over?”

“No. I want to.” As I admitted to him, and also to myself, that I wanted him despite my warring emotions, I realized I had to let the rest go. He’d been very clear about what it was he wanted, which didn’t include a relationship. Either I was on board or I wasn’t.

Judging by my choice to go over to his place, I’d made up my mind.