Be a Doll(96)

I stared at Mathis then and found his eyes still on me. He took my hand in his and rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. “It’s more obvious to me every day.’’

How could I not get my heart involved when a man like him said something like that while staring deep into my eyes as if reaching in the deepest parts of me?

***





MATHIS


I stared at Lila as she walked away from our table after excusing herself for the bathroom, but I knew the reason why she left was because she got a phone call. I heard her clutch buzzing against her chair next to me and I knew she was expecting a call from my sister.

The way Lila’s hips moved had me burning to follow her, but soon enough Tober called for my attention again.

“She’s a beautiful woman and smart with that,’’ he observed as he finished his glass of water. His thick fingers took a hold of his tie as if to make sure it was still sitting straight on his prominent stomach.

“She’s also independent and a pain,’’ I said in a chuckle, sipping my red wine. “I think she particularly enjoys playing with my nerves and patience.’’

“And you seem to enjoy that very much.’’

“How can I not?’’ I nodded in the direction Lila disappeared to. “She keeps me on my toes and forces me to be the man I had forgotten I am. It takes a strong woman to manage to pry someone open.’’

“My wife Camilla was made of a similar cloth,’’ he said, his voice more flat as his eyes turned wistful. “It took me losing her a few years ago to realize how much she was every part of my life, of me. Don’t forget it, Mathis. If there’s one thing I can assure you, it’s that business means nothing when you get old and your health is degrading. Only family is of importance.’’

“I’m afraid I’m too young to completely discard business, Tober,’’ I said with a smirk and a brow arched. “But I get your point. Lila has been changing my life ever since I met her.’’

“You know,’’ he started and sat back in his chair, making no effort in hiding his stomach, “before I saw you walking in with your lovely wife I was sure I wouldn’t see your feelings for her. In fact, I’ll admit that I had my doubts about this marriage.’’

My hands in my lap under the table clenched, but I made sure to keep my smirk on my face even though annoyance rose. “I’m sure you had someone whispering in your ear to make you doubt it.’’

“Ah, Mr. Hartmann,’’ Tober nodded and frowned. “You can’t blame him for being envious of your success. You’re a decade younger and more successful than he will ever be.’’ He checked the time on his watch before staring at me again. “But I shouldn’t have let him feed my doubts regarding your private life. I’m glad you proved me wrong.’’

Our waiter put down the bill hidden in a leather sleeve. I didn’t wait and snatched it to slide my credit card inside and gave our waiter the sleeve before he could leave.

“I believe that the more people that meet my wife, the more my reputation will take a nosedive,’’ I said, forcing a chuckle when on the inside I didn’t find going for small talk and laid-back behavior easy. It went against everything I had grown up to be. Tonight, I had envisioned it as a dinner during which Lila and I would have perfectly staged our romance and union, but it appeared that I didn’t have to play act. She made it easy to let out feelings I had never thought I’d feel and never thought I would ever deserve to feel.

“On the contrary. You have a wife to make you proud. Everybody will know that you’ll want to give her the world.’’

“Here you go, sir. I hope your evening went well,’’ our waiter said, giving back my credit card with a slight bow as his eyes scanned me waiting for his tip.

“You can compliment the Chef,’’ Tober said as he meaningfully rubbed his large stomach just as I threw a bill for the waiter. The young man rubbed me the wrong way since I had caught him leering at Lila when we were waiting for the ma?tre d’ to direct her to our table.

“I will. Thank you.’’ He then disappeared from view with his fat tip in hand.

“I’m surprised you didn’t broach the subject of my company,’’ Tober said after a few beats of silence.

“I was waiting for your opening.’’ I traced my lower lip with a finger, my eyes watching Tober who didn’t seem the least bit defensive contrary to the last time we had dinner together. Interesting. “Are you getting any closer to making a decision? I remember you saying you wanted to retire before the end of the year. We’re already in November.’’

“Always the good memory,’’ he said in a deep sigh as his eyes fixed me a little longer before he nodded. “I’m leaving for a few days, but let’s plan a meeting next Thursday morning. We’ll… fine tune a few things.’’

My heart didn’t skip a beat, my body didn’t buzz. I didn’t feel anything at the new development when I would have thought that after spending almost seven months courting Tober for his company that I would feel some excitement and pride at finally getting his company and getting ahead of Hartmann after all the lengths I went through, but I was calm.

“Does it mean that your company will be a part of GM Enterprises?’’