Chapter 9

Quinn had opted to meet Michael at the restaurant instead of coming to pick her up. She didn't know why, but the idea of him knowing where she lived made her nervous. It seemed too intimate. He was her boss after all, never mind that she was sleeping with him.

He'd chosen a fancy place, not that she expected anything less. He was fancy. After this afternoon, she discovered that even the way he fucked was fancy. And she didn't even want to think about how shocking the realization that she was gradually developing feelings for him. She thought about ending it, everything between them but there was a lot at stake here. She'd walked into it with her eyes wide open and she'd accepted his offer to be his sexual partner. Her job was at stake too. At the same time, it might just be her mind playing tricks on her. She'd never had a man shower her with such attention before much less someone like Michael Rhett, someone rich and handsome.

Though it hadn't sat well with him that she would have to ride two buses to get to the restaurant, he'd gone along with it. So it wasn't much of a shock when she arrived at the restaurant, that he was waiting outside for her.

It made her chuckle, knowing that she'd kept a billionaire waiting.

"I hope you haven't been waiting too long. There were a lot of stops on the bus." She said in amusement. There hadn't been any stops. She'd intentionally left her house ten minutes late.

"Which wouldn't have a problem if you'd just let me pick up you. Why are you so stubborn?" He kissed her cheek, then her forehead.

She froze for a second, wondering what had inspired that little action. She'd read on Craigslist one time that a kiss on the forehead was a sheer sign of love. Her heart was beating at an alarming rate, and she forced it to calm down. It didn't mean anything.

"I had it handled." She insisted, hooking her arm through his.

"Sure you did." He said dryly, leading her into the front doors of the restaurant.

She threw a small greeting to the men at the door, wondering why they were so physically buff.

Michael probably read the question in her eyes as he said, "Oh, they're guards. They keep the paparazzi from coming in. It's a private restaurant and is strictly by invitation."

Quinn gasped. It was the fanciest place she'd ever been to. "Oh, God." The ceiling was high, and row and rows of beautiful crystal chandelier adorned the ceiling. The lights were a dim color, almost gold and tables littered with candles lined up in four rows. To one side was a bar, which was the biggest bar Quinn had ever seen in her entire life. And it was in a freaking restaurant. How much do these people have for God's sakes?

"It's beautiful, isn't it? My sister and I come here all the time with my niece, Esme."

Quinn felt like a foreigner. What was she doing in a place like this? She much preferred taco trucks and coffee houses. She looked and felt out of place. Her dress was way below the occasion, and it was the best dress she owned. Since she'd only borrowed clothes from Trish and Cassie for work, she hadn't seen the point in wearing them to dinner. "Why did you bring me here?"

He looked down at her. "Why, you don't like it?"

Before she could answer, a middle-aged man approached them. "Reservation, Sir?"

"Michael Rhett, thank you."

The man checked the small board in his hand then nodded. "This way, Sir."

They followed behind him and Quinn took the opportunity to look around. There were a few couples around. They all looked so indifferent. There were no laughs or chuckles, just a few words here and there.

"It's not that." She said to him. "It's just that I would've liked a much informal place."

"Are you uncomfortable? I thought you'd like it."

He held out a chair for her, waiting till she sat before sitting himself. The perfect gentleman. When he wasn't tearing her clothes off, of course.

"Just a little. I've never been anywhere this fancy." She said, then added, "Or fancy, at all."

He chuckled. "We could leave if you want. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

She thought about it. "But you already went through this trouble."

"It was no trouble at all. As I said, strictly by invitation. The owner is a friend of the family."

Of course, she thought. It's not like she was under the impression that he'd requested for an invitation because he wanted to impress her or anything.

"It's no bother. I'd love to stay."

He stared at her before laughing deeply. "No, you wouldn't."

She laughed along with him, just because she couldn't not. "Alright, I wouldn't. I feel very insecure because this is a celebrity restaurant and not only am I under-dressed, but I am also completely normal."

He raised a brow. "Normal? What does that mean? Am I abnormal?"

She laughed at his tone. "That's not what I mean. I meant rich."

"So being rich makes me abnormal?"

He was teasing her now, she could tell. "Don't mess with me, Michael."

"I'm sorry you feel uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention. I'm also sorry about yesterday. I was out of line."

"It's alright. You couldn't have known."

At that moment, a waiter in impeccable clothing appeared with two menus. Michael collected them with a thank you, handing one to her.

Quinn opened the menu and immediately closed it.

"What?" Michael asked urgently. "Is something wrong?"

She looked up at him, embarrassed. "I have no idea what it says." She didn't even think it was English.

He folded his lips in, holding in a laugh. She sighed, looking away. She'd never wanted to go home as much as she did now.

"You know what? Come on." His chair scraped against the floor as he stood up. "Let's go somewhere else."

Surprised, she stared at him. "But—"

"But nothing. I want you to actually enjoy this dinner. Let's go wherever you want."

He didn't wait for a response as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. Quinn followed quietly as he marched them out of the restaurant amidst stares and whispers.

Outside, he signaled to a valet to bring his car around. While they were waiting, she rubbed her arms with her palms as the chill of the night hit her.

"Cold?" He asked before taking off his jacket and wearing it on her shoulders. He was a big man, so it swallowed her up. It smelled so good, so masculine and it felt even better.

She didn't want to focus on the fact that he'd just abandoned his comfort to put up with hers. She didn't want to think about how sweet he was being or how this felt more like a date than an apology dinner.

The car came quickly and after helping her into the front seat, he went around to the driver's seat. Turning on the engine and pressing down on the accelerator, he turned to her.

"Where to?"

She couldn't help the laugh that burst from her lips. "Uncle Jack's."

————

"It's nice. Warm." Michael said as his eyes darted around the small diner.

Quinn loved this place. The food was great and cheap, and the place was friendly. She was a bit concerned about him being okay with being here. Maybe it was too cheap for him. She didn't know how rich people thought; she'd never been one.

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" She asked warily.

"What, are you stealing my lines now?" He teased, plopping a French fry into his mouth.

They'd ordered burgers with chips on the side and two glasses of lemonade. In Quinn's opinion, Michael hadn't done any wrong. This was the perfect apology dinner.

She chortled. "I know this isn't what you're used to."

"Because I'm rich?" She heard the slight emphasis on rich.

"Because this is different."

"You think I'm a snob, don't you?" He asked.

"What?" She said too quickly, scoffing. "No, I don't."

Did she?

"This is actually the best burger I've had." He took another bite even though his mouth was full, and she laughed at how ridiculous he looked with cheese on his mouth.

"You have some..." She gestured to a side of his lips.

"Thanks," Taking a tissue from the table, he wiped around his mouth.

"You don't eat a lot of burgers?" She asked, taking a bite herself.

He shook his head. "No. It wasn't exactly the ideal food in the Rhett household. Now that I live alone, my housekeeper comes in twice a week to fix up some things for me. Never burgers though."

"You have a housekeeper?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Mrs. Pratt. Lovely old lady."

She raised a brow. He had a housekeeper. Of course she shouldn't have been surprised. He was a freaking billionaire. She didn't expect him to do laundry or mop the floors.

"Tell me something," He suddenly said, wiping his sticky fingers on a napkin before leaning back against the seat of the booth. "Why won't you take anything from me?"

She didn't answer immediately. Watching him now, she could see the question in his eyes. Her mother had always said she was too independent, and it would be her downfall. Letting people help you was not a sign of weakness, she'd always said. It just meant that you didn't have to carry your problems all by yourself. But that was one advice Quinn never thought to adhere to. She liked being on her own, doing her things herself. She didn't relish being indebted to anyone. The only people she'd ever opened up to were her best friends, Trish and Cassie and it still wasn't easy.

"Because I don't want to, and you don't have to do anything for me. I don't want to be indebted to you."

"And how does that work exactly? Being indebted to me?"

Saying it out loud wasn't the same as saying it in her mind. She felt silly. "If you're constantly buying me things, I'm going to want to repay you somehow. And we both know I'm nowhere near you financially and I wouldn't want to do anything I'm not comfortable with."

"But I'm not asking you to repay me, Quinn. As long as we're in our little arrangement, I'm going to take care of you."

"As your mistress, you mean?" The defiance in her tone was unmistakable.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're over-thinking it."

"Probably. But you can't deny that I'm right."

"I'm already fucking you, Quinn. What more could I possibly want from you?"

Well, that was true. They'd already had sex. It wasn't like he was buying her off or anything. She had been the one to agree to it.

"Look, just keep your money. With the money I’ll make from being your secretary and the company's data analyst, I'll have enough to take care of myself." She finally said.

"In three weeks. What will you do until then?"

Her rent was due by the week's end. She supposed she could borrow some money from Cassie but considering she'd already borrowed a few clothes from her, Quinn figured it would be overkill.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter." He countered. "Stop being so stubborn and let me spoil you. I promise, you won't wreck me."

She smiled at his joke, knowing he was slowing breaking down her walls. She strengthened her resolve. She wasn't taking his money.

"You know, I've never done this for any woman. Except my family, of course. My niece, Esme, loves it when I buy her gifts. I swear she has me wrapped around her little fingers."

Quinn remembered the little girl she'd seen run into his office that day. She hadn't really taken a closer look at her because she'd been too busy focusing on her grandmother, but she did remember the color of her hair.

"Thank you." She said in a small voice. Nobody had ever wanted to spoil her before, but she guessed that was what happened when one got involved with a billionaire with an ego large enough to fill a small village.

"So tell me about you." She said, changing the subject. If he noticed, he didn't argue.

"What would you like to know?" He smiled then and the image melted her knees. Thank God she was seated.

"What do you do for fun?"

He tore his gaze away from her to look outside the window. "I love to travel, explore the world. Now that I'm in charge of the company, I can't do that as often as I'd like. But I did travel when I was much younger. I miss those days."

"Yeah? Where did you go?" She asked, sipping from her glass of lemonade.

He looked at her and Quinn didn't think she'd ever seen him look as happy as he did at that moment. "A lot of places. Paris, Rome. Italy is a beautiful place especially this time of year. I was in Africa for about two weeks, Cape Town to be precise. Lovely people. Then I visited Egypt to see the Pyramids. I've been to the Maldives, Bora Bora to mention but a few."

"Wow. I'm impressed. You must really love travelling. You've been everywhere. What's the culture like?"

"Different. It opened my eyes to how different people are, especially in Africa. They have such wonderful and colorful people, and the food is marvelous. I made a few friends there actually. They live a peculiar lifestyle, simple and easy. Americas are all wired the same. It was good for a change."

She laughed, agreeing with him. "Sounds awesome. The only places I've visited are companies hiring secretaries. My life is pretty much boring."

"It doesn’t have to be.” He stared at her. “Travel with me then."