Part 26

As soon as they were done with breakfast, Damon dropped her back to her place. Mia went inside, picked her mail and changed into work clothes. She didn't have enough time to open the package, so the assistant thought of opening it later.

Back in the office, everyone's busy with their thing, so she slid into her desk quickly. Mia had lunchtime with Jane to discuss what happened the previous night. As she was arranging and marking the emails to top priority to least significant, there's a knock on the door.

"Hey, Mia! How's the day going?" Kelly asked.

She's one of the employees. They only interacted during gatherings, so the assistant offered her a polite smile. "Can't complain. Do you need anything?"

"Yeah. I have an important meeting today so can you help me with something?"

"Sure!"

"Great! Thank you so much. Can you go through this report and make the necessary corrections and leave it on our boss's table?"

"Will do" Mia nodded her head.

***

When she handed Damon her finished work, he's impressed but didn't let that show on his face. Typical.

"Mia hope you have packed your bags. We will leave for LA in two days."

She gasped. "What? Why?"

"For business meeting of course. Did you forget?"

Oh, shoot. It's in two days. Mia cursed under her breath for not being able to keep up. They both had to meet the CEO of Cromwell and show the presentation. It's a three days trip. She had to take care of the reservation right now.

"I did not. I just have to finalise the hotel reservation today."

Damon raised his brow but chose to say nothing. That was enough for her. He didn't suspect a thing then. Or so she thought as she quickly exited his office. She had to find a suitable room in such a short notice and a luxurious one at that.

***

When she got home, Mia plopped her body on the bed, staring at her phone. She was able to find a suite in one of the top hotels in LA on such short notice. Only one room, though. It's alright. Damon won't argue with her over that. After all, they slept together already. The next three days won't matter at all.

Just then, her phone buzzed.

From: Damon Rossi

Mr Cromwell's assistant just emailed us; the meeting is set for Tuesday. You can have Monday off to explore the city if you like.

Mia silently cheered, pumping her fists in the air and hurried to the study table, grabbing the guidebook she'd picked up on a whim earlier. She used the post-it notes she'd stuck on the relevant pages to flick through, eyes widening at the sights. Mia had also withdrawn some money from her savings account to make sure she had enough to travel around the city, not wanting to take advantage of the company's hospitality.

Few minutes passed when she realised that Damon's message was still not answered.

That would be awesome! Thank you so much xx

"Shit-" Mia said out loud, as soon as she pressed the button. She slapped her forehead, the slap sound reverberating around the room. Her phone pinged again, and the assistant honestly wanted to throw it out the window rather than see Damon no doubt annoyed reply, probably fed up at her over-enthusiastic response.

From Damon Rossi:

Good night Mia, sleep well. See you bright and early.

She let out a breath of relief at his simple message, ignoring the pounding of her heart. Mia reached over and grabbed her charger cable, pushing it into the slot at the bottom of the phone and setting it down, before double checking she'd set the alarm. The assistant settled back into her feather pillow, keen to let sleep take over him, knowing the sooner it did, the sooner she'd finally be in LA.

***

They didn't have to worry about flight tickets because Mr Rossi Sr was kind enough to lend them a private jet. After what felt like hours, they finally reached the glitz and glamours city, Los Angeles.

"Are you okay?" She was startled to hear his voice. Her stomach turned over again with the intensity behind his gaze. Mia dumbly nodded her head.

"We arrived," Her boss pointed to the hotel.

Mia took charge and talked to the woman on the other side of the desk. All the while, she felt his intense gaze behind her back. Her cheeks flushed when she had to confirm it's only one room.

"I thought you didn't forget about the trip" He raised his brow.

The assistant looked over her shoulder. "Do we have to talk about it now? I had a very very long day."

"Fine" The CEO muttered, taking her place.

The receptionist beamed at him nodded and handed over a sleek black credit card style key. He accepted it with a shake of his head. What was going on? Did she ask him something? The assistant was simply too tired to notice anything. She turned and looked at Damon, nodding her head in the direction of the elevators, pressing a button on the wall and stepping into the first set of doors that opened.

The assistant shuffled in, head low and didn't say a word as the lift sent them hurtling up to the twentieth floor. They stepped out together, Mia a step behind her boss and watched as Damon slid the card into the slot, swinging the door open, holding it open for her to follow him inside.

***

"This place is so cool" Mia grinned at her boss across the table, picking up a few more fries from the basket laid between them. She coated them in the ketchup puddled on her plate and ate hungrily, eyes still raking over the walls, littered in all manner of posters, baseball team memorabilia and more. "Have you been here before?"

The CEO swallowed his bite of hamburger down before answering.

Meanwhile, Mia couldn't help but notice how nice her boss looked. He'd changed out of his plane clothes before they'd headed out, and was now dressed in a shirt which he'd paired with sneakers. "Yeah with Nolan. He has some friends here."

He looked so stunning in his outfit. The shirt pulled taut across his biceps, making her mouth water, and the dark denims complimented it so well. Also, he let his messy hair fall over his face, not bothering to slick them up like he usually did. The loose strands kissed his forehead, spilling everywhere, and Mia wanted so badly to touch, push at them and tug. Being in such proximity to such a gorgeous man was driving her crazy.

"Nolan?"

Damon licked his greasy lips. "Yeah, my cousin. You've met him before, remember?"

Oh yeah, that one. She nodded her head. He was in the same elevator as hers.

"So, which tourist hotspots are you going to drag me to then?" Her boss said with a grin, pushing the last few fries in the basket towards Mia, who smiled gratefully.

"You're coming with me?" She asked, a little stunned at the fact he wanted to spend their free time together as well as their working hours.

"Well, yeah. Thought I might show you a few hidden gems that might not be in your guidebook. Oh, unless you'd rather be alone, sorry, I just assumed-" Damon cringed, ducking his head.

"No, no. I'm just surprised that's all, that you wanna go around with me," She said, swallowing down the last of his fantastic burger. It was endearing that he wanted to come along with her. "I planned on usual places though, I guess. Hollywood sign, Universal Studios, Santa Monica."

Her boss nodded along, already pulling out his phone to make some notes himself.

"Okay. I've got a few ideas, but I think I'll keep them as a surprise. Ready to go?"

Mia nodded, wiping off his mouth with a napkin and she stood, following him to the counter, pulling out her purse to pay, frowning when Damon waved his cash away.

"Please let me handle it."

"But—"

"We are getting late, Mia. Let's not argue" She sighed and tucked the bills away, following him out of the door and back to the hotel.

***

After their lunch, Mia was sitting on the bed and texting her friends with the TV blaring lowly in the background. She was dressed in a comfy old t-shirt and some sports shorts; legs crossed when Damon emerged shirtless from the bathroom. He wandered over his bag, rifling around for something while Mia tried to slow his heart rate. Its nothing she hadn't seen before still, it affected her.

"See something you like?" Her boss smirked, turning around.

"N-No" She mumbled, cheeks feeling like they were on fire as her gaze focused back on the television screen. Just then, the bed dipped beside her, and she felt his presence.

"Are you sure?"

Mia nodded her head.

"Then maybe I should change your mind."

***