5. Genevieve

Genevieve had never meant to fall asleep with Mia, but she wasn’t exactly unhappy about it. More… antsy.

She liked the idea of taking this further with Mia, but she was also hesitant. Like Kate, Mia had past trauma, and Genevieve’s experiences with women who had past trauma were far from pleasant.

“Are you okay?”

Genevieve startled out of her thoughts. She hadn’t realized that Mia could read her expressions so easily.

“Just thinking…”

“Care to share?”

Genevieve considered for a moment. “I’ll trade you? My sad past for yours?”

Mia’s eyes became faraway for a moment, but when she focused on Genevieve again, she seemed determined. “Alright. I… I haven’t really talked to anyone about this before, but maybe it’s time that I do.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I know… but I feel comfortable with you.” Mia took a deep breath. “My stepfather was… well, he was a lot of things, but an alcoholic was one of them. He was a mean drunk. He never touched me, but he would shout a lot and throw things at the walls. One day when I was twelve, I brought home a sculpture I’d made in art class. I was really proud of it. He got angry when I tried to show it to him and smashed it against the table.”

“I’m so sorry, Mia. No one deserves that kind of treatment, least of all a child.”

“Yeah. I still get nightmares about it most nights. I know it’s stupid. There are plenty of people who were in worse situations than me and handled it better. And he was awful to my mum.”

“It’s not stupid. Abuse is abuse. Whether or not he touched you, your trauma is just as valid as anyone else’s. And having to watch your mum go through what she did… well, that must have been so tough for you.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to protect her so much. But I couldn’t do anything. It was so hard.”

Genevieve had known that Mia had something in her past but being let in on the secret didn’t do much to dispel her worry.

“What about you?”

“I had a girlfriend before—a while ago now. Her name was Kate. She also had a traumatic past. I won’t get into details—that’s not for me to tell—but her past caught up with her. I thought she loved me enough to stay, to let me help her work things out. She didn’t. She ran away. One day, she was there, and the next, she had moved cities and changed her number. I never heard from her again.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry that happened to you, Genevieve. You deserve better than that.”

Genevieve shrugged. “After that… well, I’m hesitant to get involved with anyone else.”

“I can understand that. Anyone would be hesitant under those circumstances. I’m not her, though, Genevieve. I won’t run.”

Genevieve quickly backtracked. “It’s not the same. I mean, it’s not like we’re in a relationship. Sleeping together is something entirely different to what Kate and I had.”

“It doesn’t have to be. You deserve a real relationship, with someone who won’t betray you. I mean, if it’s something you want.”

“I don’t miss Kate, not anymore, but I miss what we had. I miss the companionship, the knowledge that I was someone’s everything, just as she was mine. But I’m not risking my heart like that again.”

“Where will you get in life without some risk? You’re a CEO, you should know that. Would you have built up a successful business without taking risks?”

“No,” Genevieve admitted. “It’s not the same thing, though.”

“No, it’s not. The stakes are higher, but so are the rewards. Let’s try, Genevieve. I want more than sex and dreamless nights from you. I want all of you. We have a connection; I know you can feel it too. I really think we can make this work.”

Genevieve was torn. Mia’s lovely green eyes were earnest and sparkling. She could see what Mia was offering, and she wanted it. Wanted it bad. She hadn’t felt like this for anyone since Kate, and if she turned Mia down, she might be missing an opportunity that would never come again.

But if she took Mia up on her offer, she would be opening herself up to history repeating itself.

“I don’t know, Mia. It’s… I haven’t had any kind of personal relationship in years. I don’t know if I can do it.”

“We can figure it out together. I’m not worried about that. I’m not going to expect you not to make mistakes, or not to get scared. But if you don’t want this, I won’t try to push it on you.”

“It’s not that I don’t want it. I just… I guess I’m just scared. I don’t really know which course of action is best.”

“Well, I can’t make that decision for you. But I want you to know that if you’re in, I’m in as well.”

Maybe this was a bad idea, but Mia was filling Genevieve with confidence and hope for the future.

“I think I want to try. We’ll need to go slow—at least on the dating part. I’m certainly not walking things back as far as the sex is concerned.”

“You’ll have no arguments from me there. I don’t want this to affect our professional relationship, though. I think we’ll make a good team, both inside and outside the office, but if one doesn’t work out…”

“We won’t let it affect us,” Genevieve promised. “That’s something I can guarantee. I always put my business first, and no matter what happens between us personally, you’re a good investment. I’m certainly not going to let go of you if I have any choice in the matter.”

“Then I guess we have a deal. There’s just one more thing to arrange.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Where do you want to go on our first date?”

Genevieve didn’t remember the last time she felt so excited about arranging anything.