Page 34 of Falling For My Assistant

“Let’s drink some champagne, and then you can all go home,” Donaldson announced, a flood of waiters covering the floor with glasses of champagne on their trays.

Sean and Erin each took a glass, watching as the rest were handed out.

“I hate champagne,” Sean whispered, making a face.

“What? It’s so good! All the bubbles and the fizz,” Erin said, swirling the glass ever so slightly.

“It tastes awful,” he said.

Erin laughed. “You just haven't had the good kind.”

“What good kind? There is none!” he retorted, looking down at the ground when a couple looked their way.

Erin poked him in the shoulder. “There is a good kind. The good kind is hundreds of dollars per bottle; the bad kind is the cheap kind you buy from the liquor store down your block.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but she shushed him when Donaldson spoke.

“Thank you all for being here tonight,” he started. Taking a glass from his wife, he continued, “I appreciate all the hard work you do during the year, and with everything that you’ve accomplished, the company has grown in many ways. Congratulations, and here’s to another prosperous year for us!”

He held up his glass, and everyone cheered, then took a drink.

“See? I told you it was good,” Erin whispered, nudging him with her elbow. Heat lingered in her eyes from their kiss, the icy blue depths warm and inviting.

“Have a wonderful rest of your night, and be careful going home,” Donaldson’s wife called out.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked, downing the rest of his champagne.

“Of course,” she replied. A waiter held out a tray for their empty glass, and hers joined his, the waiter quickly disappearing.

“What’s your favorite color?” he asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

“What?”

“What’s your favorite color? Mine is green, personally. But not a lime green, more of a forest or olive green.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “And you?”

Her mouth worked for a moment before she replied, “Blue. Why?”

“Well,” he said, sidling closer to her, his lips only a breath away from hers, “I’d like to get to know you better, since I am very,veryattracted to you, and I thought that’d be a great place to start.”

“Oh.” She smiled at him. “My favorite color is blue, and my favorite flower is the peony. I live in New York, but I’ve always wanted to see Seattle, Paris, and Italy.”

“Seattle?” he asked, curiosity rising. “What’s in Seattle?”

“My friend Emerson works at this beautiful art gallery in the city. She always sends me the most wonderful pictures, and I’d love to go visit her someday.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Sean said, taking her hand and following the group of people as they filed toward the door.

“She sent me a picture from the Space Needle last year, and it was gorgeous,” Erin said, waiting for the doorman to place her stole around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said.

He assisted Sean with his coat, and he thanked him before they went to stand by the banks of elevators, watching people get on.

“Since we’re doing twenty questions,” Erin said as they got on the elevator, “What is one food you could eat for the rest of your life and never get sick of?”

“That one is hard,” Sean replied, a bunch of different things coming to mind.

“I would say pasta,” Erin replied, “I love pasta. There are so many different types of pasta you can eat, and there’s so much you can do with it.”