"I know I said there was no particular reason for inviting you out tonight but that may have been a bit of a lie." He admitted.
"Okay... care to elaborate?" You pressed, feeling your heart sink as you realised the reason behind his forwardness. "If you're going to fire me at least let me-"
"Fire you? Excuse me?" He interrupted, furrowing his brows. "Why on earth would I do that, you work very hard and do a wonderful job, stop assuming the worst." He scolded.
"Sorry, habit." You mumbled, feeling embarrassed.
"It's okay... trust me, I have no intention of letting you go, alright?" He cooed, reaching out for your hand as it rested on the table and gripping it, smoothing his thumb over your knuckles. "You're fine, you're safe with me." He reiterated, shooting you a reassuring smile.
"Thank you." You hummed, matching his expression before tilting your head in curiosity.
"So, why is it you bought me here tonight?" You questioned as the waitress returned and poured you both a glass of champagne, leaving the bottle at your table.
"I'd like you to accompany me on an... excursion. It's of great importance that things run smoothly and I can't do that without you." He explained, praising you as he retracted his hand and pushed your glass towards you, urging you to take a sip of the expensive drink.
"Really? Where? When?" You asked, shocked at his offer. He chuckled at your eagerness.
"Amsterdam. The hotel is really nothing special, just somewhere to keep our bags and sleep."
"What else do you need in a hotel?" You teased, letting your excitement take over as you grinned at him.
"Well, I suppose you're right." He smirked. "I just didn't want to get your hopes up, that's all. It's this weekend... is that too short notice?" He queried, worried he'd been too slow to ask.
"No- not at all, this weekend is perfect." You responded promptly, sounding way too enthusiastic.
"Someone's excited." He cooed, raising an eyebrow.
"Why wouldn't I be? I've never been and it's-" You stopped yourself.
"It's what?" He questioned.
"It's... with good company." You finished, calming yourself down and taking a sip of your drink, hoping to mask your near slip up.
"Right... well we leave Saturday, early morning, it's a short flight so we'll be there by 9am. The meeting is at 11am, so we'll have some time to wander around beforehand." He explained, looking forward to spending time with you.
"Sounds great, so... back on Sunday?" You assumed, secretly hoping he was going to say no. He shook his head.
"Certainly not, I've booked you the beginning of the week off. Think of it as a sort of... holiday... but with your boss." He continued, shooting you a sarcastic smile.
You stopped for a moment as your phone buzzed, quickly realising you were going to have to explain to Martin that you could no longer see him this weekend. He'd recently convinced you to accept his offer for a second date, in an attempt to redeem his previous actions.
"Something wrong?" Lionel checked, tilting his head to meet your eyes as you stared into space. You shook your head, unsure of what to say.
"You can get that, it's not an issue." He urged, gesturing to your phone as it continued to buzz.
"No, it's fine." You mumbled.
"Is it him again?" He frowned, "You're worried about telling him aren't you?"
"Y-yes... he invited me out this weekend and I said yes... I forgot."
"So, you can't come?" Lionel muttered, attempting to mask his disappointment.
"No, I can, I will... I just... need to figure out a way to tell him." You explained, feeling anxious.
Lionel sighed, feeling protective over you as he watched you struggle to word the message to Martin, explaining your reason for cancelling his plans. He bit his tongue, knowing what was clearly best for you but deciding against commenting on your personal life in case it upset you further. He knew you needed to come to the realisation on your own.
You recoiled from your phone as you sent the text, tapping your thumb on the side of the screen in anticipation as your leg began to tremor.
"Hey, it's alright... he doesn't own you, darling... besides, it's for work." He purred, smoothing his palm over your knee and rubbing it soothingly until you stopped shaking.
"I know... I told him that..." You mumbled, relaxing for a moment under Lionel's touch but flinching as your phone buzzed and quickly looking down to see his reply.
