Page 130 of Protecting Love

“Does it matter?”

“Does it to you?”

“Does it seem like it?” he asked.

“I can’t get much of a read on you half the time. I’m not sure. That’s why I’m asking.”

She prided herself on being able to read people well, but Fletcher always threw her off.

“If it bothered me, you’d be the first to know,” he said.

The two of them moved out of that wing and closer to his office.

“Fletcher,” Mary said. She was watching the desk before anyone could enter the suite. “Security just called and said your son is in the lobby and on his way up. They verified and passed him through to the top. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a son. I had to bother Vanessa.”

He pulled his phone out to see if he missed a text, but there was nothing.

“Thanks.”

“See,” Paris whispered. “You didn’t even let people know you had a child and you’re saying it’s not a big deal for them to know we are dating?”

None of this made sense.

“People know I have a son. You didn’t know because it’s not something that West or Braylon would have said. But I don’t expect every employee to know it.”

Considering that there was a rotation of people at that desk all the time, what he said made sense.

The elevator dinged and a teenager came off of it.

She didn’t know how to play it.

“Hey, Dad,” Ian said. “Hope it was okay to stop over.”

“It is,” he said. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just... I wanted to ask you something and didn’t want to call or text.”

Paris moved away from Fletcher when she realized he might not introduce her. She wouldn’t be hurt over that.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” he said.

She turned as she passed Ian. “Sure.”

“You smell like flowers.”

“What?” she asked.

Fletcher let out a soft groan. She heard it. She didn’t think Ian did.

“Sorry,” Ian said. “That was rude of me. It’s just that you smelled like flowers when you walked by. I tend to catch scents. I do a lot of cooking and go by the scents of things when adding seasonings more than the taste.”

“I love that,” she said. “That you enjoy cooking and found what works for you.”

She grinned and pointed her finger at Fletcher behind his son’s back.

Oh man, he got caught and it was nice to know she wasn’t the only one who might ride in the hot seat.

She rode the elevator down to her floor, got off and went into her office.