Read Love Therapy (Stanton Falls #2) for Free Online Page B

from
her desk, excited to have her first chance to help one of the people on staff
there.  She guessed word was finally getting around that she was there for
them.  She got to her door, already greeting her client.

 
    “Hi….”

 
    She lost a little of her
energy when she saw that it was Nick on the other side of the door.

 
    “Um… hi.  That’s a
first for me here.  Most people that work for me are happy when I come
around.  Or at least they pretend to be.”

 
    “I’m sorry Mr.
Dellinger.  I was a little excited when I thought you were going to be my
first counseling session.  I guess I might have let my disappointment
show.  Of course I am assuming that you are here for some other reason
than counseling today.”

 
    Nick smiled again and
she couldn’t help but stare at him.  

 
    “Not at all.  Not
today at least.  And don’t worry, I wasn’t offended at all.”

 
    “Good.  Well come
on into my office then.”

 
    “Thank you.”

 
    “So if you’re not here
for a session, what’s the reason for the head of the company stopping in on
me?”

 
    “Ah, yes that.  I
wanted to know what you would like for lunch today.”

 
    “Excuse me?  Oh I
can’t let you buy me lunch Mr.…”

 
    She watched her boss
visibly cringe as he put a hand up to interrupt her.

 
    “Please.  Do not call me Mr. Dellinger again.  I know you want to keep a professional
atmosphere and I respect that but I have worked almost everyone here in the
office out of calling me that and I won’t let you ruin all my hard work in one
afternoon.”

 
    “Ok, Nick it is then.”

 
    “Now back to what I was
saying.  I want to buy you lunch today.”

 
    “Right.  You don’t
have to do that Nick.’’

 
    “I know that.  That
is why I said I want to buy you lunch rather than I have to.”  

 
    “Either way I can’t let
you buy me lunch.”

 
    “And why is that?”

 
    “Because I won’t accept
any special treatment.”

 
    “Special treatment?
 Believe me there is nothing special about me buying you a meal.  I
do it all the time.”

 
    Donna was surprised.
 What kind of womanizer was he that he would openly profess his actions
like that?  He must have mistaken her for any other woman that would be
captivated by his money and his cute looks. Well he had another thing coming if
he thought he was just going to have his way with her.   

 
    “I don’t know if I
should be more upset that you just said that I’m nothing special or that you
buy women meals all the time and God knows what else you are trying to do.”

 
    “Huh?   Hold
on for a second.  I didn’t say you weren’t special.  I said buying
you lunch wasn’t.  I don’t know you well enough yet to tell you how
special you are.  Only time will tell that.  What I meant was that I
buy one meal for all of my new employees Donna, both male and female.  This
is a welcome lunch.  You know I have over one hundred employees here and
since I started this company, every person that is hired on, I buy them lunch
within their first week.  Just a small welcome.”

 
    “Oh my.  That’s
certainly embarrassing of me.”

 
    “Yeah it was.  But
that’s no biggie.  I can see how you thought that.  I imagine you
have had your fair share of men with inappropriate pick up attempts.”

 
    “To say the least.
 I could tell you horror stories.  I guess I wasn’t expecting it to
be like it is here.”

 
    “What do you mean by
that?”

 
    “How you run the
company.  It’s very...family like.  You take that kind of close
atmosphere very seriously don’t you?”

 
    She saw him pause to
consider her question as if he’d never really thought of it like that before.

 
    “Now that you mention
it, I guess I do.”

 
    “I see.”

 
    “What?”

 
    Donna looked at him,
studying him for a moment before he intruded on her thoughts, a slight smile on
his face.