Chapter 6 - The Portrait, RevisitedThe following Friday night, the office was once again empty, bathed in the quiet, golden glow of dusk.
I stood in the executive reception lobby, holding a small stepladder and a can of specialized glass cleaner.
Ethan walked up behind me, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked up at the massive gilded portrait on the wall.
"Care to explain why my executive assistant is moonlight as a window washer?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm fixing your portrait," I replied, climbing up the first step of the ladder with a microfiber cloth in hand.
"Fixing it?"
"Yes. There is a very distinct, greasy smudge right across the mouth," I pointed out, shooting him a cheeky over-the-shoulder glance. "And since I’m the one who put it there, professional courtesy dictates that I clean it off."
Ethan let out a low laugh, walking over to the ladder and placing his hands firmly on the metal sides to steady it.
"Leave it," he murmured, his voice dropping into that rich, magnetic tone that made my heart do a familiar flip.
I paused, looking down at him from the second step. "Leave the smudge?"
"Leave the smudge," Ethan confirmed, his green eyes burning with a bright, intense affection. "It adds character. And besides... it reminds me of the exact night my life finally got interesting."
I smiled, dropping the cleaning cloth into my pocket, and leaned down from the ladder, resting my hands on Ethan’s broad shoulders.
"You know, Ethan," I whispered, gazing down at him with a grin. "For a mafia boss... you're a lot more than just adequate."
May you like
Ethan reached up, his hands sliding around my waist to steady me completely as he pulled me down into a kiss that made the entire city outside the glass walls fade away into nothingness.
"Just remember that, Miss Summers," he murmured against my lips, "when you're working late."
