Waking up in a daze, I forgot where I was for a moment when I opened my eyes the next morning. I was comfortably curled up in a mess of pillows and blankets that felt absolutely incredible – I needed to find out what angelic brands the hotel used so I could get some for myself. I hadn't slept so good in months! Or maybe I should credit Jesse for that...

Reaching my hand behind my back to the other side of the bed, I felt nothing but the comforter. I rolled over and I was a little disappointed when I saw that Jesse wasn't lying there, sleeping beside me. I didn't remember coming back to bed. Jesse must have put me in bed after I'd fallen asleep on him.

A glance at the clock sent me flying out of bed and stumbling around in my underwear in search of my phone that I'd apparently forgotten to plug in. Finally locating it on the bathroom counter, I was greeted with a voicemail from Erica saying that she and Jesse would be waiting for me to have brunch downstairs where they planned to talk about the upcoming meeting. They expected me at ten and it was already nine-thirty.

Scrolling through my texts as I fumbled through my suitcase and got dressed, I smiled at the newest message from Jesse.

Good morning, beautiful. Last night was pretty amazing. Hopefully, you'll let me treat you to dinner, just the two of us tonight. I'll see you at ten for a group meeting.

It was sweet, but not too mushy, and he still managed to interject work into one message. That got me thinking. I was absolutely in favor of having dinner alone with Jesse. That sounded heavenly. But before I allowed things to progress any further with him, I needed to discuss us in greater detail.

It had been hard enough for me to take a chance on this obscure type of a relationship, dating my boss; but if I was going to let my heart get any more tangled up in romance with this man, we both needed to have a solid understanding of how each other feels and what we hope will happen going forward. I knew Jesse had good intentions. I believed him when he told me that. But I couldn't turn off the worry in the back of my mind that things could change.

I hated to compare Jesse to Brad. It wasn't fair to him. But I couldn't forget that Brad had assured me that everything would be wonderful for us, and that he would treat me amazing and never hurt me – basically the same promise Jesse was making – and it was hard for me not to think even just a little bit that my relationship with Jesse could turn out the same shitty way as my would've-been engagement with Brad.

I made up my mind. It would be a deep dive out of my comfort zone, but it was time I tell Jesse the whole story about my manipulative ex.

Half-assing my morning routine due to the time constraint, I dashed out the door to meet Jesse and Erica, finding them waiting patiently at a table in the restaurant downstairs. There were about twelve other good looking men in stylish business suits conducting brunch meetings, but none of them could hold a candle to Jesse in his gray Calvin Klein suit – a garment I was already itching to get off of him. When our eyes met, I felt my heart nearly leap into my throat, and I ended up choking on air as I said good morning to my bosses.

Erica looked stunning, as always, in a black pencil skirt with a modest slit up the side and a maroon colored blouse that was buttoned down just enough to tease the men at the tables near us. If she wasn't already married, I would be shocked if Jesse didn't also take a sexual interest in her the way every other man seemed to. She had a habit of wearing what Haley referred to as "the fuck me heels."

"You look like you got some good rest," Erica commented, and I inadvertently locked eyes with Jesse just long enough to catch a glimmer of lust in his.

I smiled, sipping the glass of water that had been waiting on me, and nodded. "I did. I must have really needed it. I think that's the best I've slept in months."

Thanks to Jesse.

Again, he caught my gaze, flashing me one of those sexy half-smiles that men often did. The seductive look conjured a mental fantasy of him bending me over the brunch table in front of everyone.

Good Lord. I needed to stop watching porn...

"It's the sheets, right?" she grinned.

It was more of a statement than a question. She must have been thinking the same thing I was about how wonderful the hotel bedding was. But it definitely wasn't the sheets...

My eyes traveled from Erica's to Jesse's and he smirked something dangerously sexy, bringing his coffee mug to his lips and holding eye contact while taking a drink in a way that made me instantly imagine his mouth between my legs.

I cleared my throat loudly and gestured for the waitress to come over so we could order. Was it me or was it getting way too stuffy in that restaurant?

Jesse ordered an omelet – he seemed to be fond of those – and Erica and I decided the strawberry Belgian waffles sounded divine. Unfortunately, it didn't take the waitress long to take down our orders and scurry off, leaving me to fend off my steamy thoughts without the help of a distraction.

"So what exactly are we going to do here?" I asked Erica.

I'd never been to a brunch meeting. Actually, I'd never been to anything more than the occasional dull staff meeting in which nothing was accomplished and my coworkers were more interested in office gossip than discussing the projects that I had been working much harder than them on. It was refreshing to see two executives so devoted to their company and their employees that they were voluntarily holding a meeting on a Saturday morning when they could be sleeping still or out enjoying summer in southern California. The beach wasn't that far away.

"We're going to go over the major factors in our potential partnership with Integrity, as well as which provisions we're concerned about in their proposal, what we'd like to see changed to better benefit Advantage, and what the risks are if we accept their proposal either as is or altered."

My brows crept up my forehead with each word she said. "I think my head is already starting to hurt."

Erica laughed softly, flicking some of her curls off of her shoulder. "I understand. It can be quite a hassle and a bit intimidating until you get the hang of it."

I hoped I would get the hang of it soon. I thought I'd conducted myself very well the day I'd had breakfast with Jesse, discussing the proposal. That meeting had restored some confidence in me that I hadn't realized I was lacking until then. I'd assumed that confidence would stay with me throughout the process of the potential partnership, but it seemed like the pressure was getting to me a bit.

I was putting so much pressure on myself to do a stellar job to impress Jesse and Erica, and I had thought that I was fully prepared for the meeting with Integrity, but now that I was actually there in Los Angeles, going over pre-meeting details, I was feeling less sure of myself. Maybe my mind was too cluttered, or maybe the unusual relationship I had with one of my bosses was to blame. Whatever the reason, I hoped it would work itself out before the day I'd be shaking hands with Integrity's board of directors. The last thing I needed was to screw up during the negotiations.

"No time like the present to get the hang of it." I faked a grin and retrieved a notepad from my folder, preparing to take notes.

"Hopefully, you'll still be that enthusiastic when you meet Michael Roth," Jesse grumbled with an eye roll.

I frowned. "Who is Michael Roth?"

"He's the chairman of Integrity's board of directors," Erica explained. "And a real ass wipe, quite frankly. We probably would've already entered into a final agreement a month ago, had he not thrown a few wild demands into the mix. Everything was perfectly on track until he decided he didn't like the way negotiations were going, and he wanted Advantage to do a lot more work than necessary to seal the deal. He also lowered their offering price dramatically, just to be a jerk."

Jesse continued where Erica stopped. "Yeah. That's why we're having this meeting in the first place. I couldn't get Roth to talk options with me, so I'm pushing the envelope, stepping onto their turf to get a deal made. Roth is a brilliant businessman. He's great at what he does. But he's not going to walk over me. I still own this company and I'll be damned if I'm going to have an acquirer tell me I don't have a right to a fair contract and price."

Jesse looked pissed talking about Michael Roth. I found the way he was exuding resilience and determination to be a turn on. There was something very attractive about a man who was confident in himself and committed to achieving a satisfactory end result. That was a great quality in any man, but Jesse had the charm and charisma that made it sexy.

How the hell wasn't he married already?

We spent the majority of brunch time rehashing what had transpired between Advantage and Integrity so far. We went over the joint venture details, Integrity's term sheet, the list of due diligence requests, and Advantage Republic's audit statements. I found it interesting and also surprising that Integrity had not forced a non-disclosure agreement on Advantage while they were negotiating. Jesse later explained to me that he had made it clear to them that he wouldn't enter into an N.D.A. because that would prevent him from shopping around to other potential buyers in search of a better financial offer. What surprised me the most was that Jesse was leading this potential acquisition without an attorney representing Advantage in meetings and talks with Integrity. That fact made me a little uneasy, but he seemed to know what he was doing. It wasn't my place to question his strategies anyway.

Before we departed the restaurant to spend the remainder of the day relaxing, I again went over the main points I'd made to Jesse at our breakfast meeting regarding the draft purchase agreement. This was my first opportunity to discuss it in detail with Erica present, and she seemed pretty impressed with my ideas. My confidence was gradually increasing the longer we talked – mostly due to seeing how sure my bosses were of my business skills.

One of the last things we discussed was the price Integrity was offering. Initially, the numbers had been considerably higher, but it seemed that Michael Roth had voiced some concerns about acquiring Advantage, which resulted in the decrease in the price offered. It was too large of a decrease, in my opinion, and I had a damn good idea of what was a reasonable price, having worked in finance for a while. Jesse didn't mention the amount he planned to counter request in the meeting, but I had a pretty good guess as to how many zeroes would be involved.

The three of us disbanded on a high note, smiling about the opportunity to get in some much needed relaxation for the rest of the weekend before the big final negotiation. Erica had an old friend from college who lived in San Clemente. She told us they were going to go catch up and her friend was going to give her a tour of the town. Jesse's plans were more centered on work, which was apparently typical for him, but at least he planned to do his work on an iPad in lazy increments while lounging on the beach.

Jesse's arm snaked around my waist once Erica had rounded the corner out of sight. I placed my hand on his chest, smiling up at him, and he leaned down to kiss me. It was soft and slow – the kind of kiss that makes you lightheaded.

"I think that went quite well," I commented, pushing my chair in.

He nodded and breathed out a heavy sigh – a sign that he was stressing over the situation. "We've got a long way to go, but we're getting there. Vanessa, I wouldn't be able to do this without you. You've been such an incredible asset to us already. You're amazing."

I knew he wasn't just saying that. The sincerity in his eyes told me every word was true, and that made my heart swell with pride.

"What should we do the rest of the day?" I asked, leaning into his side as we walked out of the restaurant.

A sexy smirk played across his lips. "How 'bout I show you around L.A.?"

I grinned and kissed him again. "You have a deal, Mr. Reese."