Erin seemed odd last night when I got home from work, but that’s not a big deal. She didn’t linger and didn’t kiss me, which is something of a surprise. In fact, she seemed like she was in a hurry to get out of there.

I keep thinking about it all morning. She showed up at my apartment just as I was leaving, and part of me thought she wasn’t going to show. I was afraid I scared her away. Instead, she did show up, but she seemed distant again.

I don’t know what changed. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she’s feeling insecure about her job, but she doesn’t need to.

I want to send her something. Maybe some flowers or a gift, maybe something to snap her out of this. I sit back and think about some delicious little gifts I can send her, something to embarrass her a little bit, get her dirty mind working.

But as I’m thinking about it, I realize that I don’t know her address. I dropped her off in front of a building and she went in the other night, but I don’t know which apartment she lives in. I’ve been paying her in cash from the start, and James never gave me her address.

I buzz my secretary and have her get James for me. I have to wait ten minutes but he eventually shows up. He ambles into my office and flops down on the couch as always.

“What’s up, boss?” he asks.

I sigh. “I’m not your boss.”

“Whatever. Want to go over the meeting notes from earlier?”

I shake my head. “I actually just need Erin’s address.”

He hesitates a second, which is odd. “Why do you need that?” he asks.

“I want to send her something. A little bonus.”

He smirks. “I know what kind of bonus you want to give her.”

“Stop. Just give me the address.”

“I don’t have it.”

I frown at him. “Really?”

“Really. I mean, I have it somewhere, but not off the top of my head.”

“Can you get it for me?”

“Probably. But if you want to give her something, I suggest just doing it in person.”

“Why?” I ask, curious. He doesn’t normally try and resist me this hard.

“I don’t know. Women like that.”

Another vague answer. If I didn’t know better, I’d think something was a little fishy about this. But I trust him implicitly, and if he says he has it but not on hand, I believe him.

“I’d rather send it,” I say. “Get me that address if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Okay then, boss,” he says, and heads out of my office.

I wait maybe ten minutes without a reply from James before giving up. I figure he’s too busy and he’ll get back to me eventually, but I can’t wait any longer.

I spend an hour looking through lingerie websites. I want to find the perfect thing, sexy but not over the top. I don’t want to scare her, but I do want to get her thinking about wearing it for me.

I’m going to break through this wall, whatever it is. I know all it’ll take is a little perseverance. Sooner or later, she’s going to be mine.

I call and order two sets of lingerie and have them sent via courier to my apartment. It’s expensive, but that doesn’t matter to me. I just want to set them up and have her find them in the morning.

I’m excited for the rest of the day. James never gets back to me, but I don’t actually notice that. I’m too busy at work and thinking about Erin in this lingerie to realize that James blew me off.

I head home a bit earlier tonight and find Erin in the middle of feeding Lacey.

“Hey, you two,” I say as I walk into the kitchen.

Erin looks up and smile. Lacey makes a noise and I go over and give her a kiss.

“How was she today?” I say.

“Good.” Erin gives Lacey a little piece of fruit. “She’s eating a lot tonight, too.”

“That’s my girl. Going to grow up strong like her daddy.”

Erin laughs a little bit. “Do you want to take over this?”

“I’d be happy to.” I take off my suit jacket and roll up my sleeves before sitting down in Erin’s spot.

As I feed Lacey, Erin gathers her things. I frown at her as she’s about to leave.

“Hold on a second. You can hang around, if you want. I’m cooking dinner tonight.”

She frowns a little bit. “I shouldn’t. I have to get home.”

“Okay then.” There’s a short beat between us. “Listen, if this is about the other night—“

“No,” she says quickly, shaking her head. “No. Not at all. I had a lot of fun. I just have to get home.”

“Okay then,” I say, smirking at her. “Do what you have to do. I’ll see you at the same time tomorrow morning.”

“Good night.”

“Night.” She turns and leaves.

I sigh then finish feeding Lacey. When dinner’s over, I spend more time with her, read to her, and get her to bed. When she’s down, I check for packages outside, and sure enough there’s a brown box waiting just for me.

I bring it inside, smiling to myself. I don’t know what the deal is with Erin, but it doesn’t matter. These little gifts are going to change her mind.

Plus, I ended up buying her one more little gift. It’s in the box, and I grin to myself when I pull it out. I bet she’s never had something like this before. I bet it’s going to make her blush, if she even realizes what it is. She’s so innocent, but I’m going to change that.

I set to wrapping her presents, excitement coursing through me.