“You go to dinner with your roommate at his house?”
Shit! I wanted to avoid this for a while. But she needs to know the truth.
“Erica is his daughter.” I wait for her to cuss me out, but she doesn’t. She surprises me by smiling and handing me a binder.
“Well, I guess we should prove to him I’m not just a pair of tits and loose pussy, huh? Let’s get to work.”
Jesus Christ! Hearing the word pussy from her mouth makes me want to jump her. But I refrain and we continue our outline from last night. Eventually, she slides off my lap and sits next to me, pointing out different scenarios. Dana only interrupts with lunch and hourly check in’s. She winks at me several times because she knows how much all this means to me.
Seven hours later, we’re done. Somewhere during the day, Stella took off her sky-high pumps and locked her hair in some sort of a clip. She paced the office and then called Dana in for a break. Well, a break for them. I had to do a read through of the press release for the morning show tomorrow. She and Dana instructed me on how to be sensitive, yet stern and talk straight to the camera. I was washed out and tired, but I kept going because of Stella’s energy. Dana mentioned dinner being delivered but I gave her a crooked look and she nodded, then left for the night.
“Stella, we’re going out to dinner.” I make my way to the bar and pour a scotch.
“Once again, Mr. McCoy, you didn’t ask. And don’t worry, I can’t go out to dinner, so don’t ask.”
I spin around to see her packing her bag, not looking at me. “Why not?”
“It’s taco night at my house. Laci and I do taco night and watch TV. I do the cooking and she heats the—well she doesn’t do much.”
“Is this a girls’ night?” Please say no.
“I guess not, sometimes our friend Ryan comes, and he’s not a girl.”
Jealousy stirs inside me. Who the fuck is Ryan?
“Who’s Ryan?” I ask gruffly.
“A friend from college.”
“Well, if he comes, he can enjoy the world class Margarita’s I make. I learned from the best.” I start to gather my things and mentally make a list of items to pick up.
“I don’t recall inviting you.” Stella looks at me with humor in her eyes.
It takes two strides to get to her and my hands cup her face. I lean in and gently kiss her, tasting only vanilla this time.
“Can I come to taco night?”
“That, Mr. McCoy, is the way to ask for something. Be at my place at seven.” She looks nervous but lifts and pecks my lips lightly.
When she leaves, there’s one more thing to do before I hit the store and go by my place.
I call Dana’s cell. When she hears what I need she laughs her ass off and agrees. She’ll handle the details and prepare the announcement. After tomorrow, I hope it’s clear, don’t ever second-guess me, and don’t fuck with Stella Sullivan.
“You may be a fucking tool, but you make a great Margarita!” Laci shouts across the table. She’s on her third and evidently feeling the effects.
“Lace!” Stella’s face blushes as she looks at her friend. “I told you it was a misunderstanding.”
Reaching over, I drape my arm around her and pull her closer.
Laci and their friend Ryan stare at us. Ryan is a large guy. Taller than me with a muscular build, and I consider myself pretty big. As soon as he walked in, I wanted to claim Stella. Laci and she ran up to him and clung tight. I didn’t like the way his arms wrapped around them, specifically Stella. It was all I could do to push down my jealousy and continue making drinks.
“Tell me again what that idiot said,” Laci asks Stella, referring to Edward’s outburst.
Stella replays the scene in my office. Hearing how badly he disrespected her, still angers me. She laughs about it, but Ryan glares at me. I try to think of something to talk to him about and the only thing that comes to mind is sports. He finally opens up when he talks about his fantasy drafts in a few weeks and the key players he’s going after. I sigh in relief because, fantasy football is my specialty.
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket and Erica’s name pops up on the screen. Stella raises an eyebrow at me when I silence it.
“Come on, let’s finish cleaning the kitchen. I need to get into my bed. These margaritas taste great now, but I’ll regret this third in the morning,” Laci says to no one in particular.