With an opportunity of a lifetime to make her entrepreneurial dreams come true, Thea finds it getting increasingly harder to hide her attraction to her boss, Aiden Steele - not knowing that the man under all the cold layers has a secret worth millio...
I forgot I had to update because I was binge-watching Dance Moms Season 4. My bad.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Three days later, I had managed to work up the courage to ask Aiden for a leave on my birthday. I figured he was in a good mood in the morning as we drove to work. He even let me play the radio, tuning into a pop station. He made no comments at my off-key singing or strange dance moves. I could ask for a leave. It wouldn't be so bad.
Settling my things at the desk, I checked in with Lydia when Aiden would be free for me to have a word with him. "Preferably before something spoils his mood," I added.
"What would you want that for?" She laughed, "And that's a rare thing to happen these days, so I'd say get yourself in his office and ask now."
"It's my birthday on the 19th. But there's a concert in Cleveland on the 18th, and I really want to go. Like I would die if I don't go. I looked up the tickets and everything and this would be the first time I'd be able to afford to go. I'd be so, so heartbroken, you have no idea."
Lydia's face full of sympathy should have been an indication enough that I wouldn't get the response I would hope for. Naively, I still walked into his office, taking a seat and waiting for him to give me the go-ahead to speak. He looked up from his files after a few minutes, raising an eyebrow at my shifting demeanour.
Well, this is as good as his mood gets.
"Well, I wanted to ask you for something."
"I don't have all day, Thea." Aiden rolled his eyes. "You could have asked me in the car."
"Uh, I was- I was hoping you wouldn't drop me off on the side of the road."
"That bad?"
"Your attitude or what I'm about to ask?"
He grinned, and my feelings rose, hope surging in my body.
"Both, I suppose." He sat back in his chair, relaxed and at ease. This is as good as it was going to get.
"I don't have to tell you about your attitude," I spoke carefully, "But what I have to ask is a little unusual."
"Ask, Thea. We all have things to do and you're not doing anything to make me favour your request by delaying it."
Fine. Here goes nothing.
"There's a concert on the 18th in Cleveland and I want to take a day off for it."
"No," he said, with finality in his tone that left little space for argument.
"But it's my-"
"Thea, I said no. We don't take leaves from work for frivolous activities." He sat up straighter, getting back to his work as if the conversation was over.
"It's not frivolous." I protested, "It's on a weekend, and it's just going to be one day. It won't hamper my work at all, because I'll be back in the office on Monday morning, so I won't miss anything. I'm even seeing all possible flight schedules to see-"
