The Billionaire’s Girlfriend Bet - Leslie North Page 0,28
had to want the change for himself for anything to happen. She couldn’t will it into existence.
Blake pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Fuck, Michelle. Don’t tell me this. I want to hunt this man down now and beat some sense into him.”
“I won’t say anything else,” she started.
“No. That’s not what I meant.” Blake shook his head. “Tell me everything. As much as you want, at least. But if I feel tense, you know why.”
It was hard not to let his words warm her, all the way down to her bones. She hadn’t dared get serious or try anything with a man since her ex. Partly for logistical reasons—dating with a toddler was not the easiest—and partly out of fear. What if she chose wrong all over again? What if she found just a newer version of her ex?
What if she’d never find a good, trustworthy man?
The answer to that last question was easy enough. Oh well if she never found a trustworthy man. She’d cultivated a life that she was proud of. She had a beautiful, brilliant daughter, a cozy home, a great job, and she was happier than she’d ever dreamed possible. Sure, a good boyfriend would only make things better. But if she didn’t find him? So be it.
Except Blake was proving to be this man she didn’t need but still desperately wanted.
Michelle tentatively began the executive summary of her last relationship. The dreamy, exciting start at the end of college, to the long period of dating, all the way to the surprise pregnancy and quick courthouse marriage. But even when she’d been caught up in love and romance, the signs had been there from the start. Subtle at first, and becoming more apparent the longer they stayed together. The flashes of temper. The sullen, grating jealousy. The way he’d pick a fight and then frame it to be her fault, leaving her always feeling like she needed to earn his forgiveness. The few times he crossed a line, never actually harming her but still breaking things or yelling threats. The way he’d try to buy forgiveness with expensive presents and then act as if that meant the issue was fully resolved. She’d made excuses for him, attributing it all to a million different things—family stress, school stress, job stress. Eventually, she’d been forced to realize that it was just him. That it wasn’t going to change—and that she needed to get out of there before she tried to raise a baby in that toxic environment.
Blake kissed the knuckles on her hand as she spoke, like little reminders that he was listening and he supported her. When she was done, Blake wrapped her in a tight hug.
“You’re a badass, Michelle. Don’t you forget that.”
“Thanks. I might be a badass, but I’m not a smart one,” she teased.
“Why not?”
“Because apparently, somewhere along the way, I started dating my boss.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted saying them. His face became unreadable, and for a moment she wondered if she’d overstepped some invisible boundary, or broken an unstated law. Was she allowed to mention this thing between them? Could it be called dating, or were they still in some in-between stage? She’d been out of the dating scene for so long that she didn’t know what the rules were anymore.
“But I’m not like, your boss,” he said.
Relief started a hesitant trickle through her. If that was his main objection to what she had said, then possibly the dating term was okay. “Sure, I don’t report to you, but you’re still my superior. You could call my direct report boss and have him fire me!”
“Right, but you could convince the baseball players to stage a coup and throw me under the bus,” he countered.
She laughed. “True. I do have some ins.”
“See? We’re fine.”
She wasn’t entirely sure that it was simple as all that, but that wasn’t the big question she had. “But are we dating?”
Blake didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. What else would you call it?”
“So is it a good idea for me to date the guy who basically signs my paychecks? Even if I don’t report to you, it still feels a little questionable. I just don’t want there to be any issues down the road.”
“As long as things stay professional at work, I think we’ll be fine,” Blake said. “We can be discreet.”
She wasn’t sure what to be more excited about first—the fact that they were officially dating, or the fact that he talked about it