She'd tried to avoid him for as long as she possibly could, but she was unsuccessful.
Why'd she think she'd be able to avoid her own assistant anyway?
They were in her office, staring at each other silently the moment she walked in. She couldn't read exactly what he was thinking, but she could at least tell that he found her amusing.
His eyes were as usual, bright and his smile widened each step she took closer.
She didn't know exactly what to say, so she said the first thing that came to mind.
"Get out of my chair."
Lamont let out a little laugh as he twirled in her chair, hands placed on her desk. "No. Unless you tell me the truth."
She internally sighed. She shouldn't be surprised this is happening. It's what she gets for having her friend work for her. She should've gotten a stranger. But at the same time, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him from questioning her even if he worked somewhere else.
She took in a deep breath as she spoke. "Listen carefully."
He looked at her, interested in what her next words were going to be. "Okay..."
"I went on a date with Trevor Samuels."
His smile left his face. Then he gasped as he stood up.
"The chef? Are you kidding me?!" he asked.
"I'm serious."
Watching him move away from her desk, she used the opportunity to sit down on her chair, feeling relieved. She wasn't a fan of being at the other side of the table.
"I knew you thought he's hot! And that you liked him!" he exclaimed, sitting on the chair in front of her. "To think you were denying it then."
She rolled her eyes, her face hot. "It doesn't matter. It was a onetime thing. Now that you know, let's move on and do our jobs. One of them being the business dinner we're planning with Mr. Thompson."
"Wait, wait, wait. How was it? Was he a gentleman?" Lamont asked, totally ignoring what she said, hands on his chin as he leaned forward, interested.
She really didn't want to talk too much about this. She was going to die from embarrassment, and she wanted to avoid every confrontation there was.
"If I tell you, will you get out?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
Then she did. Even the fact that they knew each other from the past. But refused to explain more than a 'we used to date.'
"You know, this isn't fair," Lamont whined.
"The past is my business. His and mine. You don't need to know more than this," she said. "Until I'm ready," she added.
Which she didn't know when.
Realizing that it was probably a serious thing, he leaned back, letting silence settle in the room. He watched her for a bit before speaking again. This time in a calm voice.
"As long as he's not a bad guy... He's not one, right?"
She shook her head. She was the bad guy.
"Alright. Whenever you're ready then," he said, still watching her.
Lamont never knew much about Tina even till this day. He didn't even know much about her family and how the winery came to be. However, he'd never questioned her. She'd been slowly opening up and he didn't want to push her. He didn't want her to shut out.
They knew each other before she even opened the winery and he'd always wanted to know more about her. Of course, their relationship was purely professional back then. When he was working at another company. They'd met one day and had a heart-to-heart, and everything changed for him.
She wasn't always strong and powerful. She had feelings. She had secrets. Sometimes he'd watch her and noticed that she's in pain. But she'd never opened her mouth to explain.
He wished she would. Like she did that day.
Years ago...
He'd walked into the bar, exhausted and just about ready to quit his job. Gosh, he was wasting his talent being an accountant AND personal assistant to that lazy boss of his.
The bar was usually the place to find some hot guy to admire or find a stranger to talk to. It's his sanctuary, because he's friendless for some damn reason. Maybe he'd get a cat or dog to keep him company.
He sat down after waving at the bartender and asking for a beer.
He closed his eyes for a bit, and it didn't take long for him to take in a beautiful scent. It was definitely someone's perfume. It scented like flowers and he just had to open his eyes to take in who it belonged to.
It was a woman. A really beautiful one, too. But she didn't notice him, and didn't have a smile on her face. She looked deep in thought, a soft frown on her face.
He watched discreetly as she sat down a seat away from him. Usually he wouldn't approach a woman in a bar. From what his sisters explained to him, women didn't really like that. Not all the time, at least. And this woman looked like she wouldn't like that at all. Another reason he could tell was because he knew her.
Tina Reuben.
The bartender brought his drink and he decided to try to make conversation.
"Hi!"
She snapped her head towards his direction in confusion.
"Hello..."
She didn't look like she recognized him. That was fine.
"I'm Lamont Larkin."
She looked uncomfortable. "Okay... I'm-"
"I know who you are," he said. "You work for the Samuels."
He'd honestly always thought the surname was too tame for the kind of money those people had.
"How do you know that?" she asked, still looking uncomfortable. Moreso.
"I work for CEO Xavier Cavil," he spilled as he moved closer to her, eager to make her comfortable. He really, really didn't want her to think he's some creep.
She finally relaxed. "Oh. That guy."
They were able to introduce themselves briefly and then after her drink came, he went right to it.
"So what happened?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, you don't look really happy. People don't really go to bars for fun. Well, during the work days especially from what I know."
Seeing how unwilling she was to speak, he decided to say something. And rattled off more than he should, because he's always been a talkative of course.
He told her about how bored and lonely he felt without friends, and that's why he was here. Then he told her his sexuality, and added how trash his boss was and how much he wanted to quit.
She let out a laugh at the end, and looked visibly relaxed from the moment he told her his sexuality, also from the alcohol. "I might quit, too."
"Why?" he asked, curious. And internally excited that she was speaking to him.
"My parents own a winery. And I want to open a winery company. I've been planning a few things for a while and... I'm just thinking about who would help me out."
He was surprised and very interested in her plans. "Wow. You're so cool, planning for a company and all."
She laughed again. "I guess that's kinda cool."
"Want me to help?"
She looked at him in surprise. "Help?"
He grinned as he nodded. "Sure. I'll be your assistant if you want."