Page 40 of The Don’s Virgin Obsession

He just kept texting me.

Not all day. Not doing too much. Just enough to stay present.

A check-in here.

A joke there.

A “you ate yet?” that didn’t feel like small talk.

He never moved like he was trying to convince me. He moved like he already knew I was going to circle back.

And I did.

I don’t know when I decided to give him another chance. Maybe it was how consistent he was without being annoying. Maybe it was how easy it felt to talk to him when I wasn’t trying to figure him out.

Or maybe I just liked that he didn’t need me to like him right away.

Either way, I told him to pull up to my office.

He said he had something planned, so I told Laila to let him in.

I pulled up to my office expecting him to already be there, and he was. He had the table set up with steak dinners, candles low, nothing over the top, just enough to show he planned it. Laila wasn’t there, which I already knew she wouldn’t be. This was my space right now.

He stood when I walked in, eyes going straight to the flowers in my hand before they came back to me.

“I guess I’m too late,” he said, holding up the bouquet he had brought.

I set mine down on the desk. “You not late. These ain’t what you think.”

He glanced at them again. “So what are they?”

“Congratulations,” I said simply. “Business.”

He nodded once, not dragging it out, not making it weird. “A’ight… I can respect that.”

That’s what I liked about him. He didn’t press.

I set the champagne down and walked over to the table. “You did all this?”

“I said I was pulling up on you. I meant that.”

I sat down, smoothing my dress before picking up my fork. “You consistent. I’ll give you that.”

“I don’t play about what I say,” he replied, taking his seat across from me.

We started eating, talking about regular things at first. His day. My meeting. He listened when I spoke, not interrupting, not trying to outtalk me.

“Tell me something about you that I should respect,” he said after a moment, cutting into his steak like he meant the question.

I looked at him, thinking for a second.

“That I’m a virgin.”

He choked on his drink with a low laugh, shaking his head. “What?”

“I said I’m a virgin,” I repeated it without changing my tone.

He leaned back in his chair, studying me now. “Wow… I wasn’t expecting that. So is it a religious thing? You waiting till marriage?”