I Won’t Be In On Monday (The Annoying Hot Bosses Club #3)

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

R emington

"I love it when you tell me stories, Juniper," Canyon says, looking up from the bed. "You're such a good storyteller."

"Thanks, Canyon," Juniper says sweetly as she pats down Canyon's hair.

I can't keep my eyes off her. She looks absolutely stunning. I would never tell her this because I don't know if she would believe me, but she looks like the most beautiful woman in the world. Her blue eyes stand out against her creamy skin, and her long hair is dark and silky. She's wearing a tight top, which leaves nothing to the imagination, and her boobs look luscious. Her skirt is whispering to me to be lifted, and it's taking everything in me not to just pull her into my bedroom and rip off her clothes and devour her.

"Daddy, I wish you could tell stories like Juniper," Canyon says, and I just nod.

"So do I. Ready for bed?"

"Yes, Daddy. Thank you for letting me watch the movie. It was really fun."

"I love Home Alone ," Juniper added. "It was one of my favorite movies when I was a child."

"I love it, too. Though, I don't think I want to be home alone. It would be scary," Canyon says.

"Don't worry, darling, I would never leave you home alone." I walk over and give her a kiss on the forehead, and she beams up at me.

"I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too, Canyon." I look over at Juniper, and her eyes look misty, like she wants to cry. I walk towards the door and turn off the light. Juniper follows behind me.

"Night, Canyon."

"Night, Juniper."

We leave Canyon's room, and I close the door. Juniper looks over at me with a warm smile. "You told her you love her."

"I did," I say with a slight nod. "What? Does that surprise you?"

"I mean, the first time she told you that she loved you, you didn't say it back, and I wondered if you just had a hard time saying the words, but you said it."

"I think when you have a child, it's easy to let go of your inhibitions," I say. "It's easy to love freely and with all your heart. Would you like a glass of wine?"

We walk back toward the living room and the kitchen. She looks at me demurely. "So you're not completely cold after all."

"I'm not." I grin at her. I grab her hand and trace my finger across her palm. She gasps slightly. I see her lower lip trembling. "Now it's the adult time," I say softly, wondering if she's going to ask to leave, if she's changed her mind. "I've been waiting for this."

She looks up at me, and this time, her stare is obstinate. Her eyes are determined. Her lips are pouted, but in a way that shows me that she's ready for fun. She's ready for the night to begin.

"You can back out. Maybe things were said in the heat of the moment that you regret." I head over to the kitchen and grab a bottle of red wine and two glasses. "Do you like Merlot?"

"Always." She heads towards me.

I grab the bottle opener, open the bottle, and turn back toward her. "You look like?—"

"Please don't say a supermodel," she says, wrinkling her nose.

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Okay, what were you going to say?"

"I was going to say that you look like a woman in a Renaissance photo."

"In a Renaissance photo?" She makes a face.

"I mean painting." I correct myself. "I guess I was so taken aback by your beauty that..."

"Oh, no, please don't lay it on that thick, Remington. I get it. I got a makeover, and now you see how different I look, and..."

"I think you looked beautiful before you got the makeover," I say quickly. "You do know that, right?"

She blinks at me. "Not as beautiful as I look now, though."

"You look different. Now you look polished. But previously, you looked young and innocent and..."

"So, what are you saying, that now I look old and promiscuous?”

I start chuckling then. “Well, that’s not exactly what I was going to say, but...”

“But what? That’s what you’re thinking?”

“Not at all. I know you’re not promiscuous. You’ve never even had sex.”

“I mean, after tonight, those words won't be true." She licks her lips nervously.

"Perhaps they won't, or perhaps they will," I say, handing her a glass of wine. "Let's not rush into anything."

She blinks slowly as she takes a sip of the wine. "This is really good."

"I'm glad you like it. I picked it up in Napa Valley a couple of years ago, but was saving it for a special occasion.”

“Oh, my gosh," she says, pulling the glass away from her mouth. "This wasn't expensive, was it?"

"I'm not going to tell you how much it cost, but let's just say you're not going to find it at Trader Joe's for twenty dollars."

"You really didn't have to open a bottle of expensive wine for me."

"I opened it for us, and tonight is a special occasion." I take a sip of the wine, close my eyes, and enjoy the tannins and the berry flavors as they go down my throat smoothly. "I am glad you're here. Canyon really likes you."

"I like her, as well. She's a really cool kid."

"When I first met her, I thought she was shy," I say. "And then when her mom left, she tried to hit me up for a hundred bucks, and I was panicking thinking I had some psychopath as a child, but I think she was just testing me to see what I would do and how I would react. And now it's almost like she's always been in my life. I can't even imagine a time without her. Does that make sense?"

She nods slowly. "It does. She's a part of you. I mean, she's literally half you."

"Which is crazy," I say. "I never wanted a kid, but I couldn't imagine not having Canyon."

"Canyon's lucky to have you as a father."

"Do you really think so?" I say the words lightly, but her answer matters to me. I don't know why I am so concerned by what she thinks about me, but I want her to have a good opinion. I want her to think that I'm the sort of man that... I pause from my thoughts. I don't know why I'm thinking this way.

"I think you're an amazing father, and you're an amazing boss, and I hope you'll be an amazing lover."

"Are you just here because you want me to take your flower?"

"I don't have a flower." She grins. "But I do have my virginity. And don’t worry, I’m not going to make you marry me.” She grins.

“I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of men who take women’s virginities having to marry them?”

“No. Normally it’s men who knock a lady up, and well, unknowingly, I knocked up Karen, and I’m definitely not marrying her.”

“So, if you knocked me up, you wouldn't marry me?"

She gives me a small smile, but I can't help but wonder if she's being serious.

"I think if you became pregnant with my child, I would propose," I say in all seriousness, and she gasps.

"What? Why?"

"Because I know you, and I know a life with you would be"—I lick my lips as I step forward—"quite enjoyable." I watch as she swallows hard. She doesn't say anything in response, and I'm glad she doesn't. There's a magnetism between us, something in the air that feels otherworldly, and I don't want to break it. I grab her hand and take the wineglass and place it on the countertop. "Would you like to dance?" I ask her softly.

"Sure," she says.

I spin her around, and we chassed into the living room. "Hey, Google," I say. "Play Frank Sinatra." Within seconds, “Strangers in the Night,” one of my favorite Frank Sinatra songs, starts playing, and I sing along in her ear as I press her body towards mine, and we dance. She doesn't say a word, and neither do I, aside from the lyrics to the song. The next song starts playing, and I grab her hands and pull her closer to me. I stare into her azure eyes, and then I kiss her lightly. Her lashes brush against my cheeks, and I feel the delicate touch of her skin against mine.

"This feels like magic," she says, and I nod because I agree. I grab the back of her head and kiss her hard. She kisses me passionately, and I can feel her heart racing. I spin her around so that her back is pressed into me. My hands go around her waist and up so that they're cupping the underbelly of her breasts. Her hands come up and hold mine, and I kiss the side of her neck. She's breathing rapidly now. I'm hard, and I want her to know just how much she affects me. I push myself into her so that she can feel my rigid length behind her, and she gasps.

"Someone's excited to see me," she says, and the words make me laugh. I can see her smiling. "Are you sure that we shouldn't go into your bedroom?" she whispers. "I don't want to wake Canyon."

"I'm sure," I say softly. "Once she goes to bed, she's normally fast asleep."

"Oh, that's good," she says idly. And I know that she's just trying to play for time. We're both trying to play for time.

"I don't want this moment to end," I say.

"Me either," she whispers back. I run my fingers across her stomach, and she squeezes my hands.

"Tell me a story," she says, standing there as an Ella Fitzgerald song starts playing.

"What do you want me to tell you a story about?"

"I don't know... any story."

I stand there for a couple of moments, trying to encapsulate what I'm feeling. "There was once a man," I say, "looking around my luxurious living room, staring out at the tall buildings with the glittering lights, staring at the wine bottle and the wineglasses, my leather couch, my Persian rug, all the small things that made up my home but didn't make it homey.

"There was a man," I say again. "He lived in a big city and thought he had everything. He had the job of his dreams, the apartment of everyone's dreams. He had enough money in the bank to feed a small country for several years. He had beautiful women who hung on to his every word and who he could take to dinner, lunch, breakfast, whatever, yet he wasn't happy. He wasn't sad, but he wasn't living. And then one day, along came this woman, sweet, innocent, beguiling, quiet, and she crept into his life unnoticed at first. She was like a butterfly fluttering around, beautiful to see, but never standing still long enough for him to truly appreciate everything that she was.

"And then one day, the butterfly stopped on a leaf, and the man was walking in the garden and stopped to look at the leaf. He studied her wings and beautiful colors, then she started fluttering around again, going further into the garden. And this time he didn't just watch her fly away. He followed her until he came to a waterfall and Eden. And there she stopped again, and he realized that the life he'd been living was not the life that he wanted or the life he craved. He wasn't fulfilled. And yet, he didn't know how to tell the butterfly that he wanted more because he was scared that she would just fly away."

My heart races as I pause. Juniper turns around to look at me. She grasps my face. "Am I the butterfly?" she asks softly.

I stare at her, knowing in that moment that this is so much more than just a story. This is so much more than a passionate love affair or clandestine lovemaking session. This is a story for the ages, something that fairy tales are made of, and I am scared. I’m scared that I’m going to fuck it up because I’m not made for fairy tales and have never believed in them before.

"Are you okay, Remington?" She licks her lips nervously. "I mean, if it was just a story, that's okay."

"You're the butterfly," I say, "and I'm the man."

She nods slowly, a wide, beautiful smile crossing her face. "I'm the butterfly, huh? You're not just saying this because..."

"You know I don't just say things, Juniper. And I would never say this for any reason other than the truth. But you know I'm just an infallible man, who's never been in a situation like this, has never felt things like this. And I can't promise you the world because I don't know if I have it to give you. And I can't promise you a happily ever after because I don't know if I truly believe they exist."

"I don't need you to promise me the world," she says. "And I love your honesty. None of us ever know if we're going to have a happily ever after, but..." She blinks and looks away.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I don't just want this to be a one-night-wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am thing. I don't want to go into the office on Monday and feel dirty and ashamed. I won't want to keep sending flowers to..."

"Don't you get it, Juniper? There are no more flowers for you to send." I grin. "Unless you want to send flowers to yourself from me. But I think I'd rather pick them up for you myself."

She stares at me in shock. "What?"

"I'm saying that I more than like you, Juniper. I'm falling in love with you. I don't know what this will be, but I know I don't want to see anyone else while I'm trying to figure it out. And I just hope that you like me enough to give me a chance."

"Like you enough? I'm freaking falling in love with you, Remington Parker. How could you not know that? I've had the biggest crush on you forever."

I stare at her in shock. "You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not." She giggles. "You didn't know?"

"How was I supposed to know? You never told me."

"How was I going to tell you? You never even noticed me."

"I never noticed you? Are you kidding me? Why'd you think you got the job?"

"Because I was a plain Jane, and you didn't have to worry that I was going to come on to you."

I stare at her and shake my head. "You really think that?"

She frowns. "I mean, you always told everyone that you're glad that you had me as an assistant because I would never come on to you, and I would never expect anything.”

“But that had nothing to do with how much I was attracted to you, how much I wanted you. Yes, you are absolutely stunning and gorgeous now. But you were always beautiful to me. I mean, maybe I didn’t notice just how beautiful and funny you were at first, but it became apparent to me very quickly.”

“Really?” She grasps my face. “You mean that?”

“I mean it, Juniper. I love you.” My mouth presses together quickly as her eyes widen.

“You mean you think you love me? You’re falling for me, perhaps?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I think I was saying that I was falling for you because I don't even know how to process the fact that I've already fallen. I love you, Juniper Hardman. I want you. I need you. And I will wait for you for however long it takes."

"You mean for sex?" She grins. "So if I said I changed my mind about tonight..."

"If you change your mind, then I'm okay with that. I mean, I'd be slightly disappointed, but..."

"I haven't changed my mind." She giggles. "I love you, too. And now, take me, you handsome stud. Because I'm ready and waiting. This has already been the best night of my life, and I want it to become even better."

"You don't have to tell me again," I say as I pick her up and carry her toward the bedroom.

My heart races with love for her, even though there's uncertainty in my stomach. I'm nervous, maybe even more nervous than when I took the LSAT or when we started the law firm. More nervous than when I realized I had a child. I'm scared, but not because I love her, but because I don't know what I would do if I ever lost her. And I don't know how to process that. I've never loved another person romantically before, so I’ve never had to worry that the love would fade, but I know that I would do whatever it takes to keep Juniper in my life.

As I lay her down on my bed and look down into her sweet smile and beguiling eyes, I know that I don't want to let this woman go. I don't want her to just be my assistant, my friend, or my girlfriend. I know that I want this woman to be my wife. I want her to be mine forever. And I’m going to let her know in no uncertain terms that what we have is forever.