"Here you are ladies. Your server will be right with you," the hostess at Noble Crust said while leading us to a little table on their outside patio. Zee sat right next to me, so it was easy to reach over and hold her hand if that was in the cards today. Grace and Jashanna may love Grillsmith, but I always preferred the Italian food over at Noble Crust, and their pizza was to die for. Hell, even the girls were happy to know that we'd bring pizza back for them to have as lunch. Hollie and Raquel may have thought we were going to discuss Zee's portfolio, and we were, but the younger pair was all giggles and winks at the sight of us going out alone.

And they probably had a good reason to be excited about it.

"I'd like to go over your portfolio before we do anything else," I told Zee. "Otherwise, there may be too many distractions."

"Business before pleasure," she nodded with a smile. "I get it." She passed me over a folder with a partial resume that she'd printed from her email that morning in my office, so I could check out her qualifications.

Actually, I was the one that got it, because every time I shifted in my seat, I had the delightful soreness in my lower half that was from what she'd done to me with the 8 inch dildo. I know I was normally the one to top her, but she let me see the other side of her with that, and it didn't disappoint. It would be a long time before I forgot her whispering "Cum for me, mommy," into my ear, while she pounded the toy into me and ground her own pussy into my thigh so we each hit our highs together once more. Hell, just thinking about it made me want her again!

"Okay, let me see what we have here," I opened the folder and started reading. She was impressive, I could tell right away. I belatedly learned that her last name was Reyes, that she'd done two years at tiny Miami Dade College, and then a year at Florida International University. The previous year she'd been part time, which explained why she still needed this semester to graduate, much to Raquel's amusement. To me, it looked like someone who had worked their way through college and needed to make money to finish, which she was doing up at Florida State. According to her transcripts, her grades were excellent, and she had worked for over two years at a place called Ray's Bar and Grill, so that was where she'd made her money. Any place like that would be hard work, so I had to give her props for that too. I glanced over at her every once in a while, and she was looking nervous, with her hands fidgeting in her lap. I quickly reached over, holding her hands in mine as I kept reading. "Relax, baby. This looks great. You don't need to be nervous with me."

"I do if you're gonna use that big toy on me," she muttered.

I couldn't help but snicker while she blushed. "Zee, I would never do that unless you asked me to, okay? You liked the smaller one last night, and we could keep using that as long as you liked, without getting anything bigger if that was what you were comfortable with."

"But last night you said next time we could try one of the bigger ones," she pointed out.

"No, I asked if you'd like to try one. You also said yes when I asked if you wanted to try."

She snorted, looking away in embarrassment. "As good as I was feeling with you on top of me, I would have agreed to selling a kidney at that point."

I squeezed her hands a little tighter. "I get that. But if we do anything else we'll discuss it when we're in our right minds. No making decisions we might regret. Okay, sweet girl?"

"That sounds like you're open to us making decisions together," she commented as a smile flitted over her lips.

"Hello ladies, my name is Sandra, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with anything to drink?" I hadn't even heard Sandra appear, and I jumped a little before turning to her.

"Can we get a pitcher of the red sangria please?" I quickly asked. That wouldn't be much alcohol, and we could pace ourselves.

"Of course! I'll have it right out to you." Sandra turned and walked away, and I quickly turned and looked back at Zee to continue the conversation.

"I think the first decision is the easy one. I want to take you into our internship program if that is what you want. We can go over the particulars later, but I think you're a good fit. You said you like computers and merging that with a business degree, and that is a lot of what we do. We try to find innovative solutions for businesses, in many cases using software in a way they haven't tried. I can help train you in different business verticals so you can see how different solutions can apply to them, and work on getting you some software certifications too. We're hoping to land a new European project starting in the new year, and you can work with me on it. But we have to make sure that you understand that work is work, and anything else doesn't get in the way of that."

She was beaming now and nodding happily. "Absolutely! No, I get it. Letting the boss do whatever she wants to me, over and over while I scream out in pleasure, is not going to change my job performance at all. But I'll still fantasize about it a lot." She just had to add a wink at the end.

She had me laughing now, and I swatted at her shoulder in mock indignation. "I'm serious! We're not having sex in the office, we're not making out on extended lunches in the back seat, or any of that. We're going to have a lot to do, and I want you to learn as much as you can. No matter what happens, I want you to have good things to put on your resume."

"I really appreciate that," she replied earnestly. "I promise not to flirt too much. Honestly, I've applied for a lot of internships, but most have been for things I wouldn't have wanted anyway. I already have a Java certification, and I'm working on my SQL too, so I'd be willing to learn whatever you think will help."

"And do you have a passport?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"A passport, yeah. I have one, why?"

"I told you, we might be getting an international client. If we land it, you're going to go to Norway with me to meet them and get the project launched."

"Are you fucking serious?" I thought she was going to end up in my lap, but she controlled herself, and just kept smiling wider and wider.

"Yeah, I am. We should know before Thanksgiving if we land it. If we do, we'll probably get all the contracts signed before Christmas, and then we'd fly over to make sure we have a good kick off and then start work."

"And you'd really take me with you?"

"I would, yes, if you want to go. Again, I wouldn't force you. Would you like to go? It would be damn cold."

"Absolutely! I got my passport for a class trip to Canada that I never got to go on, so I'd love to finally use it." She just shook her head as though unable to comprehend what was happening. "This visit keeps getting better and better. No, you do. Demi, this is incredible, it really is. And I know I don't bring a lot to the table, but I really like you so much, even without the internship. Do I have any chance here? With you?"

I didn't have a chance to reply before Sandra was back yet again. "Here you go, one pitcher of Sangria! Do you know what you want to eat?"

"Did you have a chance to look over the menu?" I asked Zee, who was looking a bit dazed.

"No, not yet."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes. Get what you think we'll like." She didn't even hesitate, and I knew right away that I was going to try to find a way to make this work.

I turned to Sandra. "Can we get some of the avocado toast with egg, and an order of the lemon ricotta pancakes please? oh, and an extra plate so we can share?"

"Of course!" she replied with a smile. "Let me get that going for you."

"You'll like this, I promise." I took a deep breath before I finally got a chance to circle back and answer the question Zee had asked before Sandra's return. "You have a chance. I should really say, we have a chance. But this is where we stand. My girls are my everything. Obviously, Gracie and Jashanna are already rooting for us, but Hollie doesn't know what is happening yet. I know she'd be open to me dating someone new, but I don't know if she would be okay with me dating someone almost her age. Would any of the stuff that Raquel has been saying poison her towards you?"

Zee frowned, then shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't really talked about my past with her, but I know Raquel is a bitch, so I doubt it's helping. She was the same way in high school, so she hasn't changed. She only knows the rumors, not the real me. I couldn't believe it when I found out she was my roommate for the semester, but I guess that was the only way to meet Hollie and find my way back to you, so I can make do with her for the rest of the semester."

I thought about it for a bit, liking what she'd said about the real her. Hopefully I'd get to hear more about that as we went. "Okay, how about this. You have about three weeks before Thanksgiving break. If you can win Hollie over to where you think she'd accept you being with me, then we'll give it a shot. I know this might not be easy with us being apart for that time, but I'm willing to try if you are."

"I can do that. Trust me, she doesn't like Raquel either, but she had the only car since Denique was going home to Jacksonville for the weekend, and so we got stuck with her. Is it weird to you? The age difference between us?"

I just shrugged a little. "Zee, I'm flying a little blind here. I didn't even know your last name until I read it a little while ago on the resume. I do worry that we're in different places in our lives, and I promised myself that I needed a real relationship with someone that treated me right. I want a perfect love, and maybe that is too much. Maybe you're a sex fantasy that flames out when we try to make this into something real, but maybe you're also something that could give me everything I wanted. I know it's a risk for you too. I don't want the power dynamic to be skewed so much that you think that I control everything and that you're trapped with me. It goes both ways, so we have to be careful. If you think you want something serious, like something that can turn into marriage serious, then tell me and we'll give it a shot if you think Hollie would accept you. If you think that you're not ready for that, if you think we can just have a physical relationship, then tell me that too. I don't need anyone to help me as a parent, I've been doing that since before Gracie was born. But I do need to be with someone that the girls can respect as my partner and that they can go to as a friend. Does that make sense?"

She nodded quickly. "Of course. The girls have to come first. I think they're amazing, and you must be a hell of a woman raising them on your own, and then taking in Jashanna. I know this is not the way most people would draw up a relationship, but I've been searching for so long to find someone that makes me feel even half as good as you do and is as good of a person too. I'd be a fool to not want to grab this chance with both hands and try. I'll do my best to make Hollie believe I'm good enough for you. I'll happily come back for Thanksgiving and show you. Hell, I have nowhere else to go, so I'd come back for Christmas too if you'd have me."

"I guess that settles it then." I raised my glass of sangria. "To giving us a shot." I held out my glass, and she clinked hers against it.

"This is going to work, I can sense it." She seemed so certain that I had a good feeling about it. I really hoped she was right!

***

A/N - Ray's Bar and Grill showed up before in Flagrant Foul, as that is the place that Reign's mom and uncle run. They seem like the kind of people that could help Zee out.