The Heart Wants What It Wants

Chapter 6

“Yes, it’s all done.”

“Well, that’s wonderful. We got a few – what, hits on social media, right? About the conference and convention. I think it went quite well. You did an excellent job, Diana.”

Diana managed to keep her smile in place.

“Thank you, Mr. Simons. That’s very kind of you.”

“No, no, kindness doesn’t have anything to do with it. It was brought to my attention that it did mean that you gave up a Saturday to do it, so it’s only fair that we offer you an extra day off to compensate for that.”

Diana blinked.

“Really?”

“Of course, of course. We pride ourselves on being a fair workplace. Of course.”

That was news to her.

On the other hand, for some strange reason, she had been a big hit. She didn’t even remember most of what had happened because she’d been in a bit of a fugue state anticipating that dinner date, but it had apparently gone extremely well.

Whatever she’d done, it had apparently gone quite well.

So far so good.

“Thank you, Mr. Simons. I’ve got everything you asked for, and I’ve sent copies to your email, in case you want it on that. Do you mind if I take off now?”

“Oh, of course. Of course, Diana. Thank you.”

That was very nice of him. He’d been in a very good mood that day. He must have been having a good week. He’d had a few client meetings in the last couple of days. Somebody had probably signed.

Diana was getting her stuff and just leaving when she ran into Liam.

Damn.

She’d been trying to avoid him all week, and she’d managed well until then.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our star!”

“Please don’t.”

“Come on, Diana, lighten up, it’s a compliment. From the talk, it sounds like you put us on the map! There were rumors that a certain George Hemsworth was spotted at our little booth.”

“What?”

“Little birds talk, Diana. If you can bring a client like that to the firm, your stock will rise around here. You might not even need a law degree to make partner if you could pull something like that off!”

“I’m pretty sure that somebody like him has a legion of lawyers, and our firm is probably not big enough to handle all of his stuff.”

“Companies like his usually hire a few law firms. Well, there aren’t that many companies like his, of course. But the ones there are don’t usually stick to one. If they fire one, there’s room for another! You could use those wiles of yours well if you chose to, Diana.”

Diana’s spine stiffened.

“I don’t know if you’re suggesting what it sure sounds like you’re suggesting, Liam, but I think you should stop now.”

“After office hours, babe. Besides, we’re intimately acquainted, aren’t we? We can dispense with such formalities.”

Diana ground her teeth a little bit but it was a losing battle.

“Liam, we went on four dates, and you got to second base. We broke up because you were insulted that you only got to second base. That’s that, it’s over and done with, but the fact that you only got to second base should make it very clear that there is absolutely no point throwing such insinuations around. Either I’m a frigid bitch and a prude, like you called me that evening, or I’m a gold-digging sl*t. I can’t be both, I’m afraid. You’d better make up your mind.”

Liam went an ugly, splotchy red that was very satisfying to Diana. One of the best parts of being dark-skinned was that even when she was overheated and flushed, it wasn’t easily evident. Liam had been a bit drunk that evening, but he had still acted like a complete douchebag. If he felt uncomfortable because she brought it up, then he damn well deserved it.

“I think we’ve concluded our business here. I should be going. Have a good evening, Liam.”

Diana had her head held high as she strode off, grabbed the elevator that came on cue for once, and rode down.

She was feeling pretty good.

It had been a good week. She’d done good work, her studies were going very well, Alex and she had had an excellent Sunday after Alex had agreed to stop grilling her about George.

Everything was great.

So what if George hadn’t called her? She hadn’t expected him to call her. She had known, hadn’t she, that she’d probably just been a welcome distraction for the weekend? That was fine. He’d been a wonderful gentleman, and they had made no promises to each other.

If she’d found it very difficult to stop thinking about that incredibly sizzling kiss they’d shared, well, that was her own fault, wasn’t it? He hadn’t done anything to warrant her being annoyed about that. It wasn’t like she hadn’t wanted the kiss. She’d wanted it.

He was from a different world. An older, sophisticated and very rich man had found her company interesting for at least a couple of days, and that should’ve been a confidence boost in itself.

Of course there hadn’t been more to it than that.

Alex had, just the once, ventured the suggestion that since she had his number, too, she could call him. Or text him. Or something.

But of course, she wouldn’t.

She didn’t want to disturb him.

It had nothing to do with pride. It was just the unspoken agreement they had.

She aimed the kick at her car door just right – it had to be perfectly placed to open the door, as she twisted the key – and got in.

The springs creaked and groaned a little. She really needed to either get the seat fixed, or lose about forty pounds. It might be easier to lose the forty pounds, because she really couldn’t afford to get anything fixed.

She was saving money for when she went to school fulltime. It was her choice. She didn’t mind it, not one bit.

Just like it was her choice to not call George. A weekend – not even a weekend fling, because they hadn’t slept together. They had just shared a kiss. The best kiss she’d ever had.

Diana pulled out of the parking lot and set off home, driving carefully as dusk fell. She wasn’t as early as she’d thought she was, after all.

“Oh no.”

The check engine light, which had been on forever, was blinking.

It wasn’t supposed to blink, was it?

Well, it wasn’t supposed to be on either, but that hadn’t really done any harm, and she’d gotten quite used to it. It was almost like a beacon. But beacons were not supposed to start blinking. Blinking was not a good sign.

The sputtering that came after the blinking was probably a worse sign.