Chapter 8

Lark and I were heading to Ava's house after Marco had approved our playdate. Not only did he like the idea of Lark making a new friends, but he apparently also was a fan of the idea of me making a friend as well.

I checked the address before heading up the front steps, knocking on the door. Ava opened it after a few moments with a large smile on her face.

"Glad you could make it!" She motioned me inside. I didn't know what job either she or her partner had, but their place sure was nice, so they had to be making bank.

"Thanks for having us." I smiled back at her.

"Is Dean here?" Lark peeked into the house, around Ava.

"Yep, he's in the playroom. We can go join him if you'd like, Lark." Ava offered.

"Yeah!" He looked up at her hopefully.

"Come on." She led us through the hallway and into a large playroom filled with toys. If I was a kid, this would be paradise. "Dean, your friend Lark is here to play."

"Hi, Lark." Dean got up from where he was playing to greet Lark. Instantly they smiled at each other and communicated which toy they were going to play with first. Ava and I took a seat on the couch to watch them.

"I know it's still reasonably early, but do you want some wine?"

"I'm alright." I shook my head. "I try not to drink much anymore.

"I used to be one helluva partier before I had the little one." She laughed.

"I…can relate." I admitted timidly. "I was before I got this job. With my ex."

"Oh really?" Her eyes lit up. "Seems we've got a lot in common. What kind of partier were you? Coke and hard liquor."

"Anything and everything." I smiled slightly. "Anything anyone would give me, mostly anyone being my ex. We smoked weed more than anything, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't done more, though." I rubbed my arm nervously, not exactly proud of my time with Alder. So much of it was just me being numb and just trying to find something to make me feel alright. Towards the end, I stopped doing all the drugs and drinking and turned to medication instead. It was helping, but I admittedly sort of missed the party life.

"Well, I think a little partying is good for you."

"Maybe a little, but not as much as I used to do." I nodded along with her. "If you ever…get free enough to do something one of these weekends, I'd love to go out. I haven't had…sex," I spoke the word quietly, "in more than a month now."

"I know the exact bars to go to for that." She winked at me.

"Then I think we'll be good friends." I laughed.

----

"You really didn't have to do this, Marco." I looked across the table at him. He had gotten Kendall to watch Lark while we went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant. I wasn't sure why he had brought me of anyone, but I wasn't going to turn down free food.

He turned his attention away from the amazing view to look at me. "I know." He shrugged.

I shifted in my chair, moving to cross my ankles. "This place is very nice, Marco. I'm not sure I fit in at a place like this." I tucked my hair behind my ear, feeling nervous. I felt like people were watching, just knowing I didn't belong here.

"Trust me; no one is paying any attention to you. They're all caught up in their own worlds." I cringed slightly at his bluntness. Not that I hadn't expected it, though.

A waiter came and took our order, before returning with a bottle of wine. He poured us both a glass and returned to his duties. I took a sip of the wine, savoring it. "Thank you for inviting me, nonetheless. I do appreciate it."

"So, have you had genuine Italian food before?" Mr. Wolfe asked, taking his own large sip.

"I have only once. On my ex and I's anniversary." I shrugged weakly. "I enjoyed it better than Olive Garden, for what that's worth."

"Well that's not a very hard bar to clear." He laughed.

I smiled slightly. "Yeah, well I'm not really a fancy person and nor was Alder. He was rather…frugal." I stopped, realizing I was talking about my ex again. Somehow I just could never keep him out of a conversation. To be fair he had been such a large part of my life for quite sometime. Not that anyone really wants to hear about him though.

I cleared my throat, looking back down at the empty plate in front of me. "Why…did you invite me?"

"Well, who wants to eat alone?" He smiled at me.

I rubbed my arm, underwhelmed by his answer, but quickly shut myself down. Why would I even want him to say he wanted to take me out on a date? He was my boss, after all. "I understand." I nodded, smiling slightly. "I don't much enjoy it myself."

He looked over at me for a few seconds before speaking. "I do enjoy your company."

"I--I enjoy yours too." Most of the time. I bit back my words, keeping my smile plastered.

A couple of waiters walked out with our food, filling the table with assortments of food. He had ordered nearly everything on the menu so we could sample everything, but seeing it all was overwhelming.

"Thank you." I smiled at them as they walked away. Mr. Wolfe took my plate and began filling it up with a variety of foods. A spoonful of this, a bit of that, before finally finishing it and setting it back down in front of me. I began to eat through it. Liking some things more than others, but being sure not to tell him even if I disliked something, not wanting to be rude. We chatted through dinner, mostly me asking him about his work and him venting about some of the more difficult ones.

After some time, we finished our meal and were both full. Marco asked for takeout containers, to my surprise. Alder would've been too embarrassed to ask and wasted the entirety of the leftover food. We got our things and headed out of the restaurant and back to the car. I put the boxes in the backseat, before crawling into the car, looking over at Mr. Wolfe, to see he was smiling in my direction.

"You're beautiful, Lilian."

"Lili…" I let the correction slip past my lips.

"You're a beautiful woman, Lili." He corrected himself, the smile never leaving.

"Thank--thank you." I tucked my hair behind my ear once more, looking away from him for a moment before looking back up at him. He placed his hand on my cheek and leaned forward, closing his eyes slowly. I looked at him in surprise, before closing my eyes and pressing my lips against his.

Breathlessly, he pulled back, dropping his hand. "Any man would be lucky to have you as theirs."

"I…" I trailed off, chewing my lip. I couldn't deny the connection I felt towards him, but I knew it was a bad idea. A dangerous idea. Everything in me just wanted to say fuck it and jump into bed with him, but I knew if I wanted to keep my job, I couldn't just wantonly fuck around with him.

He hushed me, placing his warm finger over my lips. "Don't say anything. Just think about what you want, Lili. And when you've figured it out. Let me know."

----

I ran the brush through my hair, took a seat on my bed, and let out a sigh. I didn't know how to feel about everything. The more I thought about it, the less I felt like there was a 'right' answer to all of this. I looked up as Mr. Wolfe entered my room.

"Do you have an answer yet?" He asked as he closed the door behind him.

"I didn't think I'd have to come up with one right now." I nervously admitted.

"You don't have to tell me it." He smiled, continuing to walk over to me until he was stopped in front of me.

Looking up at him, all my doubts ran through my head. So many pros and cons to the situation. So many unknowns. He leaned down and softly kissed me, pulling me up to my feet. His tongue dipped inside of my mouth, dancing against mine as my insides ached for his touch.

His fingertips ran down my arm, causing goosebumps. He pulled back with a smile. "I already know your answer."

"I--I'm not sure though, Marco." I finally admitted. "What about…?" I trailed off.

"About what?"

"Everything? My job? Lark? A future? A lack of one?" I rambled, looking away before finally looking back up at him as I stopped.

"It can be anything, and it can be nothing, Lili." He grabbed my hand, holding it in his. "Just tell me you want me."

"I--I do." I nodded.

He smiled once more, leaning in for another passionate kiss. His hands ran under my shirt, gliding over my skin before finding my breast, which he caressed tenderly. After a few moments, he moved back and pulled my shirt off over my head, admiring the lacy bra for a few moments before tugging it away aggressively as if he just wanted our clothes to be gone. Not that I didn't feel the same way.

I started at his buttons, pulling his shirt off of his body and admiring his toned chest. "Lili." He cooed my name.

"Marco. I--I can't." I grabbed his arm to stop him. I knew myself well enough to know I couldn't let it just be nothing and I knew no matter his reassurance, it would affect my work. How could it not?

"Lili." He sighed angrily, running his fingers through his hair. He stood there for a few moments before stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

"Jesus…" I swore to myself quietly, slowly lowering myself back onto the bed. I took a deep breath, finally letting it out and laying back onto the bed. Too tired to try to figure this out.