Page 48 of Kneeling for Them

I risk a look back at them and see the laughing woman give me a thumb’s up.I smile at her, and Kingston chuckles.

“Making new friends?”he asks.

“I doubt it,” I say, pecking his cheek.“A second ago, they were hoping you were a new professor for them to lust over.”

He takes my hand and leads me down the path.I have no idea why he’s here or where we’re going, but when I’m with him, I know I don’t need to worry.

Kingston

Ella looks happy, young.She looks like she belongs on this campus.At times like this, I really wonder whether she’d be happier dating a guy or guys closer to her age.But she’s too fucking wonderful, and I’m too fucking selfish to let her go.

She has to work at the pub tonight, so I can’t whisk her to my penthouse and ravish her like I want to do.Instead, I take her out for an early dinner.We call Bash to join us, and the bastard actually shows up, surprising me.

We talk and eat and have a great time.When it’s time to go, Sebastian leaves in his own car.He’s avoiding being alone with me, because he knows once I drop off Ella, I’m going to want to talk to him.Tricky little asshole.I’ll get him soon, though.

In the back of the car on the way to Bartleby’s, I give Ella a long kiss.

“I wish I didn’t have to go to work,” she says when the car stops.

Garth knows better than to open the door for us right now.Good man.

I don’t tell Ella that shedoesn’thave to go to work.I don’t tell her that I’ll pay for a better apartment for her, that I’ll support her while she goes to university full-time, that I’ll give her the world.

It’s too early to make these proclamations.I know this.I hate it, but it’s the truth.We’re less than two months into our relationship.

But… “Maybe we could get away for a long weekend,” I suggest.“You, me, Bash.We could stay at the beach, collect seashells, stay in bed.”

“That’s very tempting,” she says.

“Well, give it some thought.You can name the weekend, little girl.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange with my bosses.”

I hate saying goodbye to Ella, but I have to get back to work, too.After another long kiss, I let her out of the car, and Garth speeds me to the office.I check my email on the way, and grin when I see an email waiting for me from Kristin Wayfield.

She’s accepting the job offer.Fuck yeah.It’s been hard, scrambling to cover Joel’s old responsibilities and delegating them to others.Filling his position is going to give me the extra time I need to start weaning myself off of work.

I set up a meeting with Kristin for Tuesday, to show her the ropes and get her started.

Kingston

“And this is the Senior Analyst office,” I say, shoving open the door so Kristin can go inside.This is the last part of our Tuesday meeting.

She steps in, her high heels sinking into the rug.She looks the part—sensible suit, tidy, professional appearance.She looks like she’ll fit right in here.

The place is tidy, just like Kristin.It’s clear of Joel’s personal belongings.I had his stuff shipped to his apartment as soon as I cut him off, and I’ve just been waiting to move someone else in here, to the top floor with me and the other higher-ranking employees.

“Wow,” Kristin says, her eyes wide.“I had no idea this was such a step up.I mean, it’s no corner office, but it’s huge.”

“So it’ll work for you?”I ask.“The afternoon sun gets really bright, but you can control the blinds.”

“It’s great,” she says, running her hand along the side of Joel’s old desk.

“You said you’re familiar with the Ruberetta accounts,” I say, referring to one of the topics we covered earlier in our meeting.“Just how comfortable are you with the man himself?”

She lifts a shoulder.“He’s an asshat, but I can handle him.”

“Joel dealt with him by not dealing with him, for the most part.But if Ruberetta is going to remain one of our clients, we need to up our game.Honestly, I don’t care if he walks, but I don’t want it to be due to a half-assed job on our part.”