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I stood up from my desk too quickly, seeing Mrs. Sander, and almost spilled my coffee. Carefully, I set it back on my desk.
"Mrs. Sander, what brings you to my office today?" I asked as I motioned to the chair her son had just sat in. What was she doing on my floor? If we ever had to meet, she always summoned me to her office. A panicky flutter filled my chest. She didn’t appear upset and if anyone knew anything about Mrs. Sander, she wasn’t a person who minced words or coddled your ego. At least you always knew where you stood with her.
"No, Mr. Asher, I won't be here long, and please call me Clora. You worked here when my husband was still sitting in the president's office, so you’re allowed a bit more familiarity than a new hire. I was informed that my son has been hanging around… I hope he hasn't been bothering you."
"No, of course not, he's been very—"
She held up her hand with a smile. "You don't have to defend him. That son of mine is a menace on a good day, but he's a sweet young man. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't being a nuisance."
"He isn’t."
She didn’t seem convinced. "Why aren't you at lunch with the rest of your team?"
"I was distracted this morning and needed to get some work out of the way. I'll order something later."
"We set up lunch and break times for a reason, Mr. Asher. Making yourself sick won't help with your productivity. My late husband, Lucifer, rest his soul, didn't have the same belief, but he's no longer at the helm as they say. Take your break, files can wait. Yet if you wait about ten minutes my son will probably be back with lunch for you. He's… tenacious if I do say so myself." She smiled and winked at me as she backed up, and gracefully turned to make her way to the elevator.
The whole exchange had been so unexpected and strange that it took a minute to hit me. Had Stanton told his mother, my damn boss, that he was coming to talk to me? What else had he told her? Had he mentioned that I'd been hiding outside her home crying like a fool in the dark? Had he mentioned the kiss we’d shared, or how I’d gotten scared and run off afterward? That wouldn't be embarrassing at all. I rolled my eyes as I decided to take Mrs. Sander's advice and left my office with coffee in hand. Crossing through the rows of cubicles, I stopped and pushed the elevator button. There was a small cafe in the building next door where I could quickly get something to eat.
I was forgetting to take care of myself recently; not eating enough and lacking on sleep. Most nights I didn't fall into bed until a few drinks made me relaxed enough to drift into a restless sleep. The elevator doors slowly slid open and I started to step inside but froze as the lean and gorgeous young man was reclined against the back of the elevator car.
"I was disappointed in you for not believing me when I said you were beautiful, not mad. We’ll just have to work on your confidence issue." He stepped forward and held out a bag to me. "Eat, baby boy," he whispered as he lifted onto his toes and pressed his mouth to mine. My heart picked up pace. "Be a good boy for me and I'll reward you later."
I unconsciously grabbed the bag and he backed up, he winked at me and then he was out of sight as the doors closed. Mentally shaking myself, I tried to move forward, but I seemed rooted to the floor. What the hell was Stanton doing to me and was I ready for it?
Chapter 3
Stanton
I went from room to room to check in with the bartenders and caterers to make sure everyone had what they needed. The extravagant twenty-first birthday party was in full swing and going smoothly. Through high school and college classmates told me I threw one hell of a party, so what had I done with my business degree? I'd started an event planning company because finance had always bored me. Some people thought I'd lived off my trust fund, but nope. I'd used some of it to start my business, but other than that, the rest was in a very lucrative investment portfolio.
I organized events that ranged from whimsical birthday parties to black-tie political fundraisers, and I loved every second of what I did. Wasn't that the point of life? Enjoyment. Finding people and things that you loved. That was what I was doing. All parts of my life were going to plan except for one. Romance turned out to be an elusive pursuit. Brian still hadn't used the number I'd left for him and that had been a week previous.
Honestly, I hadn't assumed that seducing the older man into being a Daddy's boy would be easy, but, damn, he was more stubborn than I had anticipated.
There were rumors that he'd just gone through a horrific divorce. That meant I needed to be more delicate in my pursuit of him. Who knew what type of damage his former husband had done? And yet, this little juicy tidbit hadn’t dissuaded me in the least. If anything, it had made me more determined. I wanted to give him all the cuddles and kisses he needed to see if I could heal the pain and earn his trust. I just knew that he was more than worth the effort.
I didn't know what the hell was going on with me. The second I'd seen him, tears glittering as they'd shown his pain, all I could think about was taking him into my arms. Praising and kissing him, until he gave me a smile I knew would be shy. I'd bet everything I had on the certainty that Brian Asher would be the perfect boy for me. How sweet would he sound as he called me Daddy?
Shit, I had to stop getting ahead of myself. I didn't even know if he would actually be interested in giving me a chance to prove I could be what he needed.
My phone vibrated where I'd slid it into my inside pocket earlier and I quickly drew it out as I tried to find a quiet place to answer. Checking the display, I noticed an unknown number and hope built in my chest that it was actually my boy calling me.
"Stanton."
"H-hi, Stanton." His gruff voice was strangely sweet and slightly insecure. The sweetness I didn't mind, but the insecure tone wasn't acceptable to me. Brian had nothing to be uncertain about, the powerful man should have the world at his feet. He especially should never doubt that I wanted every second of time he trusted me with.
"Hi, baby. I was hoping it was you." I let the heavy door close as I slipped into an empty event room at the country club where the twenty-first-birthday blowout was taking place.
" I hope I'm not interrupting? You sound like you're at a party."
"You could never interrupt me. I am at a party, though."
"Oh, I'll let you—"
"It's not my party, I just planned it. I'm an event planner. For a few minutes of quiet and the chance to talk to you, I'll hide out."
" A party planner?” He seemed taken aback by this information and I realized then that he wasn’t one to pay much attention to office gossip. “Is that something you've done long?"
