CHAPTER 24
Emma
I glanced at the clock and realized that it was almost seven. I had just finished pinning my hair to the side, allowing my light curls to cascade over my shoulder. I smiled at them, thinking of Mia’s ringlets. I sincerely hoped she kept those tight curls as she grew older.
I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled brightly. I was in my favorite black dress that cinched in at the waist, accenting my curves in the best possible way. I loved this dress because it could be seen as both sexy and professional. I knew I had to look professional at this dinner with Mason, but I also knew that a part of me wanted his eyes to take in my curves.
I finished putting on my lipstick and left the bathroom in our small bungalow. I walked the short distance across the lawn to the main house, and pulled the sliding doors that entered the kitchen. I glanced around the darkened kitchen and was momentarily confused. Did I get the time with Mason wrong? A staff member of the mansion walked into the kitchen and greeted me.
“Hello Ms. Jackson. Please follow me to the dining room. Mason is waiting for you in there.”
I slowly followed behind the staff and tried as discreetly as possible to take in the mansion around me. I looked into the other rooms, thinking that I would see Mia and Liam, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“Do you know if Liam and Mia have eaten?”
“Yes, we served them an hour ago, and they are now upstairs in the play room, being watched by another staff member.”
Well, that was unexpected. I guessed the Johnsons had other staff to watch the children when I was off the clock. I followed the staff member into a large dining room and almost stopped in my tracks when I saw Mason’s large frame standing over at the bar, along the wall, with his back faced to me. The staff member nodded and then disappeared back into the kitchen. I let my eyes trail over Mason’s frame and then linger on his shoulders and his butt. Damn, he looked good in a suit. I cleared my throat, and Mason turned around and smiled brightly.
“Emma.” He walked up and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “Thank you for joining me for dinner. Can I get you a drink?”
I looked over at the expansive bar behind him. There was so much to choose from.
“I’ll take a dirty martini, please.”
Mason smiled and turned back toward the bar. “Please sit while I make us some drinks.”
I walked over to the end of the large dining table, where two place settings were set up. I pulled out the heavy chair from under the table and sat down. A moment later, Mason set my martini in front of me and sat down at the head of the table.
I grabbed my glass as Mason held his up.
“I wanted to make you a special dinner to officially welcome you to your new position.” We clinked glasses and I brought the glass to my lips. Part of me wanted to down the drink as quickly as I could to help ease my nerves from being around Mason, but instead, I took a respectable sip and placed the drink in front of me.
I looked at Mason and tried to figure out what exactly was going on here. Did he invite me to dinner to celebrate for work? Or was this his big gesture after kissing me passionately on my mom’s patio? I hated that my hopes were slowly rising for the latter, because I knew exactly what was at stake if this ended badly. I grabbed my drink again and took a small sip.
“So how are you finding things so far?” Mason asked. I stifled a cough. Was he really trying to initiate small talk with me? Was our kiss truly that unimportant to him? Anger slowly started to fill my stomach. I placed my drink down and folded my arms across my chest.
“Everything is fine. Your sister has filled me in on all of the tasks that I am expected to complete, and I look forward to working more with your son. He really is quite fantastic.”
A small smile spread across his lips. “He is pretty wonderful. I know with you that he is in good hands.”
Anger continued to bubble inside my stomach. With each passing moment, it looked as though Mason was going to ignore what happened the other night. My frustration started to build as I realized that he probably did this with a lot of women. He was a shifter billionaire after all. He had so much power that I was sure that women threw themselves at him all the time. I let out a loud huff and looked away from Mason. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Is there something wrong, Emma?”
I debated in my mind to tell him how I truly felt. The anger boiled harshly and I opened my mouth to say something, but suddenly, several large dishes of food appeared at our table. I watched the wait staff as they brought out plate after plate. My anger subsided a bit at the sight of food and my stomach slowly started to growl instead.
“Forgive me for all of the different plates and kinds of food. I just didn’t know which was your favorite, so I had our chef create all of his specialties.”
A small smile spread across my lips as I dove into the food. There was Italian, French, and even Asian fusion. I practically inhaled the food that was on my plate, and all of a sudden, heat rose inside of me when I realized that Mason was staring at me while I ate. He had a small smirk on his lips and I had to stop what I was doing.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I can’t help it,” Mason said. “I love it when a woman isn’t afraid to eat in front of a man. It’s such a turn on.”
With those two words, the anger bubbled up inside of me again and I couldn’t stop my lips from shouting out.
“Are we just going to ignore what happened and move on?” I seethed.
Mason stopped eating and slowly smiled at me. “Well, it depends on what you believe happened.”
What I believe happened? Why was he being an asshole all of a sudden?
“You know exactly what happened, Mason, because you kissed me. And now we are stuck in this strange situation because you are supposed to be my boss. I can’t lose this job, Mason. I won’t do that to Mia.”
Sadness clouded Mason’s eyes. “No matter what happens between us, I would never let it affect that. I understand how important this job is to you.”
I slowly nodded, and he continued. “I can’t deny that there is something about you that draws me to you. I don’t know if it is seeing how well you are with Liam, or something else entirely. But I do know that I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I first saw you.”
I felt my anger melt as he said those words. So, Mason Johnson actually did have some sort of feelings for me. A huge smile spread across my face. I reached for my glass again when the sound of heels clicking down the marble hallway made me jump in my chair. Shit, I hope that isn’t who I think it is.
“Mason? You here? I stopped by to go over to some items for the clan meeting tomorrow.” The devil herself, Ms. Johnson, walked around the corner and found us in the dining room. Her eyes narrowed when she saw us.
“What is going on here? Emma, I thought I made myself very clear…”
“Margaret,” Mason growled. Ms. Johnson immediately closed her mouth shut. “I was the one that invited her to dinner. I wanted to welcome her into the family.”
Margaret let out a loud laugh. “Welcome her into the family. She will never be truly a part of the family, because she is beneath us. She’s the help.”
I gripped the table hard in my hands. How dare she say those things while I am right here? I would not sit here and listen to this. I knew I couldn’t say anything to Ms. Johnson, but I sure as hell could leave and not listen to her rant about how I was inferior to her.
I pushed myself away from the table and the chair made a loud squeal on the floor. Margaret and Mason seemed to be in a heated argument and neither of them seemed to notice when I left. I was going to find Mia, and I would bring her back to our secluded bungalow on the property and lock the doors.
As I was leaving the kitchen, I overheard Ms. Johnson’s words, which sent chills down my spine. “She’s the nanny and because of that, she is not worth your time.”