Blackstone Inc. (Book 1)

Part 11

The lunch went fine from what I could gather. I did notice at one point Dom got kind of tense beside me in the booth while talking to Mr. Prescott, but his tone of voice never changed and he even had a smile for a small part of the conversation.

Dominic had his hands in several different wells, one of which was the construction industry and that was precisely why they were having lunch today.

I took notes as best as I could but from what I could gather, they seemed to be talking about and going back and forth between the price at which Dominic would charge for having his company run the contract for building something for Mr. Prescotts' new business adventure.

There were lots of numbers, addresses, and a few people that I had written down and every once in awhile Dominic would look down at my notepad and smile encouragingly, so I continued doing what I was doing.

Of course, the two men had steaks while I had a salad.

"Is that all you're going to have," Dominic asked in a low voice right next to my ear and it sent chills down my spine.

I swallowed and tried not to think about the fact that if I turned my head, my lips would touch his and focused on his words.

And to be honest, the grilled chicken had sounded amazing, but that price had my credit card crying.

"Yes, it's delicious and very filling," I whispered back, taking a reassuring bite.

He leaned back and arched a brow and gazed at me for a moment more before turning to continue his conversation with Mr. Prescott who had been obliviously cutting his steak across the table.

After we had all finished and the bill came, they had a friendly argument over who would pay until I pulled out my wallet and took out my credit card.

"Genevieve, what do you think you're doing," Dominic asked as he looked down at me curiously.

"I'm paying for my salad," I said, more as a question than a statement.

Had he really thought that I couldn't pay for my own, overpriced if you asked me, meal?

"Put your card away. While you're with me I will always pay for you. I am your boss and it's your job to come with me," he said in a tone that stated that the mere thought of me trying to pay for my own meal was ludicrous.

I had the money. I didn't want him to think that just because he required me to be here that I'd assume he'd take care of my side of things.

"But Sir, really, I can--"

"Gwenivere, is it? If the man wants to pay for you, you should probably let him. Do you know how much this man is worth? He could buy the restaurant if he wanted. A little $14 salad is not going to hurt his pocketbook," the man said with a chuckle.

"Genevieve," Dominic corrected the man, "and thank you, Dennis. My point exactly," he agreed and gave me an expectant look.

I glanced between the two of them for a moment and then put my card away with a sigh.

"And with that being said," Dom grabbed the bill folder from the waiter and placed two hundred-dollar bills and a 20 inside and handed it back to the waiter, "I'm paying. Keep the change."

The waiter smiled brightly, "Thank you so much, Sir," he said before walking away.

We all stood up and made our way towards the exit.

"Have a wonderful day, Mr. Blackstone," the hostess tried to catch his attention as we walked out, but he had engrossed himself in the conversation he was having with Mr. Prescott.

"You too," he mumbled without even looking at her.

He placed his large hand on my lower back absentmindedly while he continued his conversation, ushering us to the car.

The valet, Andrew, quickly came up to us and handed both Mr. Prescott and Dominic their keys.

Dennis handed him a 20 dollar bill, "Buy yourself something nice, kid," he said before saying goodbye to us, getting into his car, and driving off.

Dominic handed Andrew two 20 dollar bills and told him to have a nice day.

And Andrews' face looked like a kid on Christmas as he exclaimed, "Thank you, Sir!"

Now I knew why they were on a first-name basis. Dominic tipped really well for everything.

He opened the passenger door for me and held out his hand to help me inside.

I muttered a, "Thank you, Sir," and tried to gracefully get in, again, without showing my panties.

And I thought I had succeeded, but when I looked up, I saw Dominics pupils dilate before he quickly shifted his gaze from between my legs and coughed into his fist.

The poor valet was flushed, still looking over at us, but when he saw me looking at him he quickly turned away.

I felt my face redden and started pulling down my skirt, ready to give the biggest apology when Dominic got in the driver's seat, but as I went to open my mouth he held his hand up in the space between us and so I sat back and buckled my seatbelt.

Was he going to fire me because I accidentally flashed him? I hadn't meant to...

Not this time, at least.

So I tried again, "Dom--"

He held up his hand again as we sped through the city. His face was in a hard scowl and I wondered what he was thinking. Probably that I had meant to do that.

Probably that I was a slut or something and did this with everyone.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I'll wear longer skirts," I whispered as fast as I could as I kept my eyes on him.

His face relaxed and softened as he turned to me, "That would probably be for the best, Genevieve."

I fidgeted my thumbs and whispered, "Can we just...forget about it?"

His free hand squeezed my knee and he looked into my eyes, "Of course, Genevieve. No harm was done."

To say that I was embarrassed was an understatement. I was horrified and to make matters worse we didn't talk for the rest of the car ride.

I knew this morning I had flashed him my bra but him seeing a little bit of cleavage was vastly different than him seeing my barely clothed sex.

When we got back to the office, he told me to go through my notes and type them up for him so he could have them by the end of the day.

And when I was finally done, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 4:30.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to his desk and set the paper down, "Dominic, I was wondering if it would be ok if I left. I know I'm usually supposed to wait for you, but I'm suddenly not feeling so well."

"That's fine," he replied without even looking up at me.

"Alright, well goodnight, Sir. I'll see you tomorrow."

And without another word, I turned and walked out.