Thirty
Jenner
When the waitress had taken our drink orders, I’d been tempted to ask for the entire bottle of scotch rather than just a tumbler with a few fingers poured neatly. But getting shit-faced at a dinner where I was about to tell my largest, most important client that I was dating his daughter didn’t sound like the appropriate thing to do.
I needed to be aware.
Conscious.
I had to be on more than ever before.
So, I’d asked for a double instead, and I held the glass in my hand while the three of us sat in LA’s finest steak house.
I’d taken Walter here before, so I knew how much he enjoyed the food. I’d hoped the dim lighting, which was far more forgiving than sunlight, and the dark wood accents would create a relaxing vibe for him.
Except he didn’t appear relaxed at all.
In fact, for the last five minutes, he’d been on the phone, dealing with what sounded like an emergency at one of the properties.
Jo kept looking at me, gaining my attention each time her eyes widened, each time her head turned toward me. Without speaking, I knew she was wondering if we should postpone the talk to a later date.
But if we didn’t do it now, we would continue to put it off.
I didn’t want that.
I was ready to face this head-on, regardless of the outcome.
Walter’s opinion wouldn’t affect anything between Jo and me.
But what if he forbids us from being together?
What if he tells me to never get near his daughter again?
What if he fires her for this? Or forces her to resign?
What if he tells me he’s going to ruin my reputation?
I couldn’t think about that.
I couldn’t think about the problems this could cause.
I could only think about the relief I would feel when I finally told him the news, and that was what I concentrated on during the silence and when the waitress approached our table again.
“Can I get you any appetizers?” she asked. “Or are you ready to order your main courses?”
Food was the perfect distraction.
“Can we get a couple Caesar salads to share?” I asked. “We’ll also have the calamari and the beef carpaccio. I think that’s enough for now.”
“I’ll get those started,” she replied and left our table.
Jo had been holding her menu and placed it down in front of her. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room,” she said, rising from her seat.
I tried to keep my eyes off her as she walked away from the table, but I couldn’t.
Not when she had on that dress.
One that was red and short, only reaching the top of her knees, hugging her ass the way I would if my hands were on her cheeks.
She was so incredibly sexy.
And she was mine.
“Just handle it, do you hear me?” Walter said.
The sound of his voice pulled my eyes away from Jo, and I instantly connected with his stare.
He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “The fire alarms are going off at my hotel in Manhattan. No fire, but they can’t seem to find the cause. Total fucking shitshow.”
I reached for my drink, needing it much closer.
And before I was able to respond, he said, “What were we talking about before my phone rang?”
I tried to remember the conversation.
Utah?
Marketing?
The Napa renovation?
Jesus, Jenner.
My brain was so busy that I couldn’t even remember five minutes ago.
“Ah,” he said, “to be young and handsome again.”
He had glanced away, and I was so lost in my thoughts that I had no idea what he was referring to.
“I’m sorry?”
“Every woman who walks by stares at you.” He nodded in the direction where Jo had disappeared.
I held my breath as I looked that way.
The woman he was referencing was tall and blonde, her dress putting her tits on full display.
She held my eyes until she turned the corner.