me into a feral, hungry beast.
“Send the call to me. And will you ask Ryan to come see me as well?”
She nods. “Sure thing, Mr. Foster.”
I pick up the receiver on my desk. “Hello, Mason.”
“He does know how to use a phone,” Mason says with a chuckle. “Asshole. Why have you been avoiding my calls?”
“Busy,” I lie. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Chelsea.”
The line goes quiet. Guilt claws up my throat, choking me. I’m unable to find words to reply back to him with. How the fuck does he know?
“I, uh, Mason let me—”
“That bad, huh? Fuck.” He huffs out a breath of air making the line crackle. “She’s been tightlipped about the job. I’d really hoped she’d work out.”
The job.
Oh.
That.
“I’m sorry,” I say, composing myself and finding my voice. “I’m a little distracted with another employee at the moment, who I’m about to send packing. Chelsea, though, is working out great. She was made for this job. It becomes clearer each day. In fact, she’s saved this company from crumbling right in the palm of my hand.”
Ryan lingers outside my door, chatting it up to my secretary, not at all onto the fact I’m about to hand his ass to him.
“No shit?” Mason says with a chuckle. “She’s always been a go-getter and we’re proud of her, but I know you’re harder to please.”
Your daughter pleases me endlessly.
“I…Mason, she’s a great employee. Truly.” Grow some fucking balls, man, and tell him what you did. “Chelsea is an incredible woman. Smart, sassy, beautiful.”
“Young,” he adds in a gruff tone, quickly interpreting the direction of my words. “She’s young, Foster.”
“I understand that.”
“Tell me you aren’t…” he trails off.
“Mase, I need to ask you something.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
I can almost imagine him on the other line, frowning much like his daughter does when she’s unhappy. A bloom of warmth swells inside my chest. “Do you trust me?”
He sighs. “Unfortunately.”
“Have I ever purposefully hurt you or done anything without regard to your feelings?”
“No.”
I pause, wondering if I want to take this step. This past weekend was filled with great sex. It was also filled with laughter, long conversations into the night, and affection, all of which I’ve never wanted or been a part of in my miserable existence. Chelsea breathes life into the husk that I was, reanimating the man I always craved to be but never knew how to. She makes me yearn for a life where she remains in it. For a man who has only ever truly loved his best friend, Chelsea makes me believe I have room in my heart for more.
“Foster,” Mason urges. “Just say it already.”
I thought I could stay away from her. And, while at work, that may be true. However, once I tasted of her forbidden fruit on Friday, it became impossible to ignore her any longer.
I want her.
Plain and simple.
For how long?
It’ll have to be more than just a weekend fling. She’s too sweet and unique and a fucking catch for anything other than something serious. I’m not sure I’m even capable of giving a girl like Chelsea Parker what she deserves. But I sure plan to try.
“I’d like for you and Helen to have dinner with me this week. To meet my…girlfriend.”
Though it sounds foreign on my tongue, it feels right, growing teeth and latching onto my heart. My girlfriend. Mine. Yeah, mine sounds a helluva lot better.
“For fuck’s sake, man. Girlfriend? The William Foster I know doesn’t seriously date.”
“This is the William Foster you don’t know. Turns out, I think you’ll like this guy.”
“That remains to be seen,” he grumbles and then curses again. “Fine. You want to go this route, then we’ll go this route. Friday night let’s meet up for dinner. If I haven’t punched you in the face by the end of the meal, then I guess I’ll let it go.” A sigh of resignation. “She’s not my little girl anymore.”
No, indeed she is not.
“You know I love you, Mason,” I say with fierceness. “I always have. You’ve saved me from every low point in my life. Every time I lost sight of who I was, you were there to put me back on track.”
“And now?”
“She has your strength and loyalty. Your fire.”
“I’ll teach her my right hook too. Just in case.”
“I won’t fuck up,” I vow, my words threading through me in a binding way I feel down to my marrow. “I swear to God I won’t.”
“You can’t.” His voice cracks. “You can’t fuck up.