"The restaurant is just across the street. The Duck and Orange. We'll meet you there." He gives us one last smirk and then drags his wife off after him.
"Amelia, why—"
"It sounded important, with the deal and everything." She looks at me nervously. "Should I not have accepted?"
"Honestly I’d much rather take you home and give you another orgasm than sit through a dinner with these people," I whisper and plant a kiss on her lips. Fuck, I think I'm addicted to her. "I also don't think Furball is going to forgive us."
"Oh my god, you do care about Smutty!" she exclaims with a big grin.
"I―well, it will be me he'll bite on the ankle again if we’re late," I argue, but we both know it’s a weak excuse. Yes, that little black shadow has grown on me.
"Sure,” she smirks. “Well we can use Omar waiting for us as an excuse to not stay too long," she shrugs. "But before we go, I'll have to nip to the ladies because this thing needs to come out." An older woman walking pass stares at us curiously causing Amelia to blush again. I wonder if she'll ever get used to her new sexy kitten side, but I sure hope not. I love her pink cheeks.
This feels like the longest dinner ever when in reality only forty-five minutes have passed. Normally I would be all over business partners―anything to make the deal happen―but today I'm bored by the business talk and all I want to do is get Amelia home and bury myself in her.
Maybe Coop is right. Maybe we have done this all-work-and-no-fun thing long enough. It's time to enjoy life a little.
"Would you excuse me, I’ll just head to the bathroom," Amelia says and slides from her chair. She gives me a smile and disappears behind the screen separating our table from the next. It's a weird restaurant. They've got wooden partitions between each table, making it feel like you've got your own little bubble. The menu sounds posh but if you look closely it’s just overpriced chicken.
“Amelia’s nice,” Neil takes a sip of his whiskey, “but definitely not who I would have pictured you with.”
I hold his gaze. “And why’s that?”
“Oh, it’s just that you’re so successful... well, don’t listen to me. I’m an old man,” he chuckles. “My father was very strict and always made it clear we need to choose our partners carefully so they don’t hold us back.”
I glance at his wife, but she’s not listening and instead is clicking away on her phone with her acrylic nails.
"And you think Amelia’s holding me back?” My voice sounds dangerous.
“Oh, don’t listen to me. I just have the old-fashioned notion that a successful man needs to be supported by a beautiful woman. As I said, I’m just a relic from a different time."
He did not just say that to me! I try to calm my breathing before I reply.
"And what you’re saying is that Amelia isn’t beautiful?" My eyes are fixed on him and the mood around the table is shifting.
"Oh... I―” I don’t think he expected me to call him out on his shit. I need to get out of here before I do something wrong.
I drop my napkin on the table and slowly rise from my chair.
"Neil, unfortunately our company is no longer interested in a partnership with you." I pronounce each word clearly and display a calmness I don't feel on the inside.
"Let's not be hasty, Ben. I didn’t mean to offend and I apologise if I have." Neil tries to calm the waters.
"Amelia is a beautiful and amazing woman; she is smart, caring, and makes me happy. I tell you what she isn't: she is not a trophy I drag along with me. You might not have wanted to offend, Neil, but this conversation has shown me your values and they’re not values that match what Coop and I want for our company."
Neil’s face is turning crimson and his smile is slipping off his face. All that’s left now is resentment and anger. I know how desperate his company is for this deal, regardless of the stupid delaying games he’s been playing.
"Think, Ben. You’re giving up the chance of signing a contract with the market leader. We can help you maximise your profits, we can make this project a real success. Are you really throwing it all away over a fat wallflower with no style?" Our eyes are locked and neither of us moves. I have never felt fury quite like this.
"Fuck your company. And fuck your deal," I hiss. The anger burns in my guts like a wildfire and it takes every ounce of strength for me not to punch the shit out of this wanker. "There are many other companies around, and if we can't find a partner in the UK, we'll take our business elsewhere. But I won't be making deals with someone who's got the manners of a chauvinistic arsehole." I snatch Amelia's bag. "Excuse me." I give a nod to Brenda and stride off to find Amelia.
I sidestep the screen guarding our table and nearly collide with her. Her expression is blank, she seems to be frozen on the spot. I'm sure she heard what was said.
"Let's go, darling," I whisper and place a kiss on her lips. She takes the hand I hold out to her and we leave the restaurant without a backwards look.
23
Man On A Mission
Amelia
Neither of us has said a word the whole drive home. Ben held my hand but his attention was elsewhere. He was probably worried about the business. I cost him a massive deal! I should be elated that he defended me but I worry that Neil may have been right.
I mean, open any magazine. Successful men don't have women like me on their arm.
When we got home Smutty demanded our full attention until he had his fill of cuddles. Now he’s lying on his bed, exhausted from all the purring.
"Want a drink?" Ben asks and holds up a glass bottle with a golden liquid in it.
"No, thanks." In the two weeks I’ve stayed at Ben’s I haven’t seen him drink whiskey. Occasionally he'll have a beer with his dinner but he doesn’t seem to be a big drinker.
"Ben, I'm sorry." I whisper. One of us has to bring the situation up, right? "I'm really sorry." I fight back tears. I hate that he lost a deal because of me.
Ben places his glass to the counter.
"What are you sorry for?" There is a deep frown on his face and I’m not sure if he’s upset with me. He takes his suit jacket off and pulls off his tie .
"That you lost the deal because of me. I mean I appreciate that you defended me, but he wasn't that wro—" He pulls me into his arms and stops me from talking with a long kiss. I can taste the smokiness of his drink when his tongue dips into my mouth and I have to fight back a moan. That man can kiss!
