Page 142 of Hale Damage
As we’re leaving hand in hand, I toss the towels in the trash bin near the door, but before I can reach for the door handle, Mindy stops me with a tug.
“Can I ask you a serious question?” she asks when I turn to face her.
“Of course.”
Her hazel eyes search mine. “Was there really an Employee Housing Program?”
I drag my tongue over my top teeth before a wry smile wrenches my lips upward. “There is now.”
Her eyebrows pinch together. “I really wanted to be financially independent.”
Cupping her face with both hands, I dip my head to hold her gaze with my own. “You are. You’re paying your own bills. You buy your own things. You are absolutely kicking life’s ass. I just provided you anopportunity to get out of a bad place.” I kiss her forehead. “However, I am calling boyfriend privilege. If I want to buy you a dress or a gift, you should let me. Just like if you see something you think I’d like, you can pick it up for me. Because we’re in love and it’s normal to do nice things for each other.”
She gnaws on the inside of her cheek for a moment, thinking. “Would you help another employee with housing issues?”
I contemplate the question seriously before answering. “If I had an employee who was being abused, financially or otherwise, by their partner, yes. I would absolutely do the same.”
Mindy nods slowly before rising onto her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “And that’s why I love you.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
The goddess dress
Mindy
“So you’re fucking your boss,”Gianna states as soon as she’s raised the privacy window in the back of the SUV limousine.
I splutter on the excellent champagne I’d just tried to swallow. Grabbing a linen napkin—no wimpy paper cocktail napkins for the Bouviers, apparently—I dab at my chin.
“Oh, I, uhhh…”
She laughs and clinks her glass with mine. “Hey, no judgment here. I fucked my dad’s boss.”
My eyes widen. “Really? How did that turn out?”
She pushes her long, dark hair back over one shoulder. “I married him, and now we have three kids.”
“Wait,” I say, waving a hand at her. “Auburn was your dad’s boss?”
She nods. “Yep, my father was the assistant to the CEO of the Bouvier fashion empire. I grew up in Texas but moved to New York after my Nana died and left me her apartment so I could be closer to Dad.”
“And you just saw him and decided to bag the hottest billionaire in New York?” I ask before quickly adding, “Though I don’t doubt you could have any man you wanted because you look like a damn supermodel.”
“Awww, thanks,” she says, her drawl more apparent now. “Actually, I hated Auburn at first sight, but he insisted I go on a date to some gala with him. The only reason I agreed was so he wouldn’t be mad at my dad. He was a bit of a tyrant, and I was a self-proclaimed people pleaser.” She lifts a brow. “I’m over that now.”
I chuckle. “Glad to hear it. I’ve been known to go along just to keep the peace myself. But I realize now you can’t set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.”
“Fucking-A. To women with backbones,” she chirps, and we tap our champagne flutes together.
I’m curious about their obvious age gap. Gianna appears to be about my age, though her handsome husband is definitely at least ten years older. But it would be rude to pry like that with someone I just met, so I ask, “How long have you been married?”
“Four years. We have twins, Jane and Jaxon, who are ten—we adopted them—and our little one, Eliana, is two.” She smiles slyly. “My husband is fifteen years older than me, in case you were wondering.”
Heat creeps onto the apples of my cheeks. “Maybe a little. You make a beautiful couple though.”
“Thanks. You’re sure you don’t mind if we stop at our hotel?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s next door to ours, and I’d like to change clothes and rinse off my sweat before I try on clothes.”And change my wet panties, I don’t say aloud.
