Page 51 of Miss Treated

“Don’t be. Your mom is wonderful, and it’s nice to see how close you are with her.”

“Yeah? You have a thing for momma’s boys?”

“It seems I do.” Watching how close they were made me yearn for something I’d never had. “In case I didn’t tell you, breakfast was delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

I loved how he didn’t assume we’d be spending all of our time together. “I know it’s Saturday, but I think I’ll go into the office and put in some hours.”

“Or you’re welcome to take over my office here. I promise not to annoy you and demand your attention.”

It would be nice to stay put. “I won’t be in your space?”

“Not at all.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dominic

As soon as Kelsey sequestered herself in my office, I went into the kitchen and started baking my grandmother’s molasses cookies.

Was I hoping to impress her with my culinary skills? Absolutely.

At first maybe I had been attracted by the challenge of her. The fact she was unlike any other woman I’d ever met. But now it was more. It was a connection. And I wanted to show her I was invested in her and any relationship we might begin.

But I had to remember to go slow. She’d been hurt. I suspected I’d only scratched the surface of the pain she’d suffered.

By lunchtime, I only barely restrained myself from knocking on the office door and asking if Kelsey wanted some food. What could I say? I took after my Italian grandmother the food pusher. But I made myself look at the budget instead of interrupting Kelsey. I’d made some progress, but I needed more ideas for cost-saving measures to present to my father on Monday.

I glanced up from the couch when Kelsey walked into the room. She was fucking adorable with her glasses, but I only saw them briefly before she quickly took them off.

“I like them on.”

She blushed. “They’re blue light glasses. Helps with looking at the computer all day.”

“Oh, yeah? Do they help numbers make better sense?”

She shook her head. “Afraid not. Are you stuck on something? Would you like me to take a look?”

“I’m sure the last thing you want to do after looking at numbers is to look at more.”

Her smile never ceased to garner one of my own. “You sorely underestimate how very much I love numbers.”

“Seriously?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Then, by all means, be my guest. This is the budget for next year. I’ve been asked to cut costs. Aside from the obvious ‘spend less money,’ I don’t have any ingenious ideas.”

She swiveled the laptop to face her and started scanning the lines. “The first part I’d look at are the overtime hours. They seem high. I’m uncertain what kind of process or approvals you have regarding overtime, but I’d start there for cost savings. The next place would be outside services. I say that knowing I’m shooting myself in the foot since I’m an outside contractor. Leaving aside my so-obviously-much-needed services, I’d sort other vendors by price in order to look at each one. Is there room for negotiating on pricing or—” She suddenly stopped.

“Or what?”

“I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re coming up with great ideas, and I couldn’t be more appreciative.” I grabbed my notebook and started jotting down notes.

She smiled. “In that case, I’d see if there is room to bring any of these contracts down. Sometimes if you sign a multi-year contract, there is room for cost savings.”