Chapter Fifty-Four
Sierra
“So we finally get to meet the Midnight God, the man who inspired this entire line,” Saori from marketing says as she takes a seat in one of our bigger meeting rooms.
Barbara nods. “Isn’t it exciting?”
“Seeing His Hotness in the flesh is likely to inspire us to do better,” Ellie says.
I laugh softly over their excitement.
Griffin’s class is coming soon, and I pulled Ellie, Barbara, Saori and Jennifer from finance. Of course, I’m here too, to see what his students came up with.
Griffin asked me to keep my expectations low, saying that these are just kids who have no life experience. What they’re going to say will probably be great on paper, but might not be practical.
But I don’t care if the next forty minutes turn out to be a bust. I’ll get to see him, which is what matters.
While waiting for them to show up, I finish filling out the report on the products I tested with Griffin. Now that I’ve recovered from my rosy postcoital haze, I can be more objective. They worked okay, but they could be better. The nipple cups were a bit hard to attach to the bra, and the bottom part didn’t stay in place as well as it should have and needed some adjusting.
Our products should not only be easy to use, but comfortable. It’s hard to have fun if you’re worried about something sliding the wrong way.
As I submit the eval, Heather brings the students into the room. Everyone is wearing a visitor’s pass. Griffin brings up the rear, giving feedback to a girl who’s showing him a few sheets of papers. He’s easily the tallest in the group, and he draws my eye like the sun draws flowers.
He lifts his head and shoots me a faint smile that warms my heart. Then he goes back to answering the student.
“Ooh, hot,” Saori says, leaning closer. “No wonder he’s your muse.”
I make a pleased sound in my throat. He’s also the father of my babies, but I haven’t made an official announcement about my pregnancy yet. I plan to do that in our company-wide newsletter that goes out bimonthly.
“Told you,” Ellie says to Saori.
“I want to touch him. It’ll make me work better,” Jennifer says teasingly.
I arch an eyebrow in her direction. “No touching, girl. Viewing pleasure only.”
“Will was crushed to learn that the Midnight God is a real person. He was telling everyone that the dildo was based on his dick,” Barbara says, shaking her head. Will is a junior accountant and has more neck than a giraffe.
“I wonder what’s in that boy’s head,” Saori says.
“A flower field,” Ellie says. “Full of red poppies.”
I laugh softly. That’s Ellie-speak for crazy.
Griffin takes the empty seat next to me. I resist the urge to run my hand along his arm underneath the suit and link hands. We’re both professionals here.
But wait until I get him home again.With a soft sigh, I turn my attention to the students starting their presentation.
Like he said, these kids don’t have any experience, so their insight is limited. However, the mathematical analysis is quite good. Even Jennifer and Barbara don’t nitpick, although Griffin presses his mouth together like he wants to say something, but is doing his best to control himself.
Since I’m feeling generous and the students seem to have put in a good deal of effort, I decide to give every group an A. I have no idea what the others are handing out, but I figure a good grade can help make up for the fact that the students had to do a case that wasn’t on their syllabus, thanks to my meddling stepmom.
Jennifer and Saori whisper to each other. Some of the kids sitting behind them lean forward, probably hoping to catch a hint about their grades.
When the last presentation is over, the kids get up and murmur to each other, throwing questioning glances at Griffin. Bet they’re dying to know how they did. Although our feedback matters, he’s the one ultimately deciding what each group gets.
I lean toward Griffin and whisper, “Smile. Make them think that you are going to give them a good grade.”
“Why?”