Today. Tomorrow. Always (Free Falling, #3.5)(8)
I nodded and walked from the closet where I’d been standing when he came in, easing my hands around his waist, longing to feel his arms around me. “I missed you,” I said softly, pressing my cheek to his chest. His dark, silk tie felt cool against the side of my face. Then I felt those hands of his, firmly pressed to my back.
He kissed the top of my hair and walked me backward into the room without letting go. “I missed you, too,” he said, just before closing the door to our bedroom behind him.
“Are Terrell and Maisha still asleep or something?” he asked, checking the time on his watch.
I frowned again, remembering Terrell’s statement. “Uh, no,” I said with a laugh. “But I’m pretty sure they’re in bed, though.”
He got the hint and laughed, too.
I finally released him so he could change into more comfortable clothes. Retreating to the bed, I sat there and watched him undress—first, undoing his tie, then unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the ribbed-tank beneath.
“So, how were things here today? The boy give you any more trouble?” he asked with a smile. He put his dress shirt in the bag to go to the cleaners and then unzipped his pants while I stared.
“Nope. No trouble at all.”
Tan thighs cloaked halfway down by form-fitting, black boxer-briefs came into view and I kept watching as he slipped his pants off, stuffing them in the bag as well. He didn’t even realize he had an audience.
“Gotta find Kai a new assistant,” he said with a sigh. “Just someone to fill in temporarily while his current assistant is out on leave.”
The tank came off and I stared at the definition of his chest and abdomen when I was supposed to be replying. That’s how conversations go—both people have to speak words.
He chuckled once before asking, “You listening?”
My eyes flickered up from his body to his face. “Uh-huh,” I answered, which was mostly true. It was true that I’d heard his voice, knew he was speaking to me, but I had no earthly idea what he’d said. “Just repeat that last part,” I requested.
AJ shook his head and decided to come over to sit beside me instead of finding new clothes to put on right away. As if I wasn’t already having a hard enough time concentrating, I now had him sitting so close, wearing nothing but briefs, still smelling of soap and cologne even halfway through the day.
“I was just saying that I have to find Kai an assistant to replace the one he has now,” he repeated.
Forcing my eyes to the carpet instead of him, I listened more intently this time.
“Carla, the woman I mentioned, has to go on leave; she’ll be out for at least six months—the rest of her pregnancy, and then her actual maternity leave.”
“Well, what about a temp agency? They should be able to get someone out right away,” I suggested.
AJ shook his head. “Won’t work. Carla was a beast at her job. Won’t be easy to replace her.”
“What about Reese? Doesn’t she know of someone who could fill in?” As soon as I said it, I knew it was a bad idea.
“Uh… I’m pretty sure Reese is the only one in her circle who’s actually employable,” he said, chuckling. He had a point; her circle of friends was pretty rough around the edges. AJ had been extremely skeptical about bringing her onboard the year before, but her father, a business colleague of his, practically begged him to hire her—his ‘out of control, mess of a daughter’ he’d called her. And she was a mess at first, but AJ just had a way with people. He wasn’t the boss anyone loved to hate. His team loved and respected him to no end. Even Reese quickly started putting her best foot forward soon after being hired in.
I thought some more as a troubled look came over his face. “Well, can’t a temp just be trained to do what he needs them to do?”
Another shake of his head. “No, we don’t have that kind of time. Kai’s job is pretty demanding, which means he needs someone who’s already knowledgeable, sharp, and professional. He’d send a temp home crying her first day,” he said with a laugh. “Whoever it is has to have thick skin—someone who doesn’t need a whole lot of direction or coddling, and someone who can deal with his hectic schedule.”
AJ had mentioned before that Kai’s hours were sporadic, but he never said why. “Does he have a second job or something?” I asked. “Why does he have to change up his hours so much?”
He shrugged. “I don’t get all into his business like that. One thing’s for sure, though; I don’t know what the company would do without him now that we’ve seen how much smoother things run with him there. That’s why I have to take care of this quickly. Preferably, before he’s back in the country.”
I stared at the ground some more, then it hit me. As if the idea just fell into my thoughts out of nowhere, I blurted, “What about Angel? She’s been looking to make a change. She’d be perfect!”
He didn’t answer right away.
“Think about it; she’s educated, very professional, his schedule wouldn’t bother her, and… she’d just be perfect,” I added as my enthusiastic tone died down. I grinned at him. “Don’t you agree?”
It looked like he was going over it in his head. “You might be right.”
I perked up a bit, thinking I solved his and Angel’s problem all at once. She’d been thinking about leaving her current employer for a while, so I knew this would interest her even though it was only temporary.