Page 60 of Lying to the Boss

“What’s to get stressed about?” he says in that same calm tone.

“I don’t know. Most CEOs are dicks.”

“I don’t think that has anything to do with stress. If their job is stressful, then their business isn’t running properly and their staff suck.”

I breathe out a laugh. “Why are you such a good person?”

The words come out so soft that I don’t know if he heard me over the pump. But he pulls me closer and starts to speak.

“My father was very tough on me, but I spent most of my time with my mother, and she was the kindest, most humble woman you could have ever met, despite my father being quite arrogant. Likely the typical CEO you have in your head.”

“They sound like very different people.” He nods in agreement. “How did they end up together?”

“Arranged marriage.”

“Ah,” I mutter. “Crazy that people still do that.”

“Yeah, it is. My mother did her best, but I know she wasn’t happy. Not with him. With me? She loved me.” I hear the smile in his voice, and I know he truly means that. He still feels the love from his mother. “How about your parents?”

He’s never asked about personal stuff before. He said he knows he needs to let me open up to him, but if we’re talking about future plans and our lives together, shouldn’t he know? It just feels so… I don’t know. It’s something I want to talk about, that much I know. Because how do I explain it? It makes me sound like a spoiled brat, but that’s far from what I am.

“They’re both assholes,” is what I say.

The finality in my tone is enough to have him change directions.

Thankfully.

“I guess that’s why you don’t talk about them and are so stuck on wanting your own children.”

“Has anyone ever told you that maybe you should have been a therapist?”

He laughs. “No, actually. Haven’t heard that one before. But that’s probably because I talk to you the most.”

“What about other partners?”

“No other partners,” he says with a shake of his head.

“None?”

“Dated, yes. But this is… more than that, and I’ve never done this with anyone else before.”

“Yeah,” I say, leaning closer to him. “It is.”

He doesn’t ask any more questions, and I can’t tell if it’s because he knows I don’t want to talk about it or if he’s just taking it easy on me and saving it for another day. This conversation is inevitable if we’re going to be together. Maybe I should start preparing what I’m going to say.

When we finally decide to go inside to get ready for bed, it’s nearly three am. There’s no doubt he’ll still wake up with the sun and not let his lack of sleep affect his mood. It’s some kind of super power he has. Always positive. I wonder if anything could make him angry?

Chapter Twenty-Five

Lane

The weekend goes by too fast, and before I know it, we’re on the plane back home. Tage doesn’t put up a fight when I ask him to spend the night at my place. He says it’s because it’s closer to the airport and he’s tired, but I think that’s just an excuse to make himself feel better about spending so many nights with me. Whatever. I’ll take it. If he wants excuses, I can give him plenty.

I bring our bags in, but there is no plan to unpack anything tonight. Tage puts on a pair of my pajama pants, and we crawl into bed together, so easily like we do it every night. We’re getting there. And if it were up to me, it would be every night. But Tage is hesitant, and I’m okay with that. For now.

He’s cautious about opening up, but he never gets angry when I press him. That’s a good sign. Tage will get there when he’s ready; I just need to be patient.

He slides over to me, and I hold him while we sleep. When I wake in the morning, his back is to me, the sheets tangled around his legs, hugging his pillow tightly. He moves a lot when he sleeps, but thankfully I have a big bed, and I sleep like the dead, so it doesn’t bother me. I actually think it’s kind of adorable the way he sleeps like a rabid animal, always getting mixed up with the sheets and dropping his pillows to the floor then trying to steal mine.