Read Online Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) by Ruth Cardello - Free Book Online
Authors: Ruth Cardello
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for an engagement ring?”
Millie raised one eyebrow, but the rest of her expression gave nothing away. “For your income bracket? Two carats. Flawless. More than that is gaudy. Less says you’re cheap.”
“I need one by Friday.”
“I’ll have a jeweler bring samples by this afternoon. What ring size?”
Mason scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know. She’s petite.”
“A little loose is better than too tight. I’ll have him bring a range. If you find out the size, tell me, and I’ll forward that information to him before he comes.”
Mason started walking toward his office. He stopped and glanced back. Millie was already working on her computer again. “You’re not curious why I need a ring so quickly?”
Millie looked up from her work for a moment. “Should I be?”
Mason hesitated. He had cultivated a perfectly functional impersonal work relationship with Millie. There was no reason to muddle that, but there was a question eating at him that could not be contained. “Do you think a woman would have to be insane to want to marry me?”
Millie removed her glasses and let them fall on the chain around her neck. “Senator Thorne, I think people have to be insane to want to marry at all, but it stops very few from taking that leap.”
He couldn’t believe he didn’t know the answer to his next question. “Are you married?”
Millie held up her left hand. There was a small diamond ring next to a simple gold band. “Thirty-nine blissful years last January. We raised three boys together. Five grandchildren so far and another on the way.”
Mason looked around the office. “Why don’t you have any pictures of them on your desk?”
“I used to have several in the beginning. They seemed to make you uncomfortable, so I took them home.”
Mason nodded. He didn’t like to think he was that transparent when it came to his feelings about family, but there was no use denying it. “I appreciate that. Hold my calls for an hour. I need to read over Vine’s bill proposal. He won’t back mine unless I endorse his. He’s a wordy bastard, though, and tends to throw in last-minute game-changing clauses. Oh . . . and if you see Andrew come through, send him in. Also, contact Liz at Shimmer and inform her that I’ll be bringing a date to the event. And book the presidential suite at Milo’s for the weekend under the name of Chelle Landon, but bill it to me.” He spelled Chelle’s name for her.
“I’ll get to that immediately.” He didn’t doubt that she would. Millie was so good at her job that her duties extended beyond those of her job description. He was a man who trusted very few people, but Millie was one of them. He could have a team of people organizing his career and his calendar, but he preferred his life uncluttered.
Mason walked into his office and closed the door behind him. He sat at his desk and took a moment to look around. He didn’t have a single photo on the wall or anywhere else. In fact, he hadn’t changed a thing since he’d moved into the office six years earlier. After his first successful term, Millie had joked that he should settle into the office. He considered himself settled. At least, as much as he’d ever been.
He didn’t get attached to many people or places. He took his role in California’s legislature seriously, but nothing was forever. His legacy would be the bills he pushed through that would benefit his constituents and the state as a whole. He was presently working on an environmental bill that wasn’t popular, but it would help protect and increase his state’s water supply. Short-term solutions were Band-Aids. What they needed was funding for widespread, creative solutions. If cities could be made in deserts, then he could stop his state from doing the reverse.
He wasn’t liked in certain circles lately, but that didn’t bother him much. He had a handful of friends. Their opinions mattered, but even then, he did as he pleased.
Charles
Millie raised one eyebrow, but the rest of her expression gave nothing away. “For your income bracket? Two carats. Flawless. More than that is gaudy. Less says you’re cheap.”
“I need one by Friday.”
“I’ll have a jeweler bring samples by this afternoon. What ring size?”
Mason scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know. She’s petite.”
“A little loose is better than too tight. I’ll have him bring a range. If you find out the size, tell me, and I’ll forward that information to him before he comes.”
Mason started walking toward his office. He stopped and glanced back. Millie was already working on her computer again. “You’re not curious why I need a ring so quickly?”
Millie looked up from her work for a moment. “Should I be?”
Mason hesitated. He had cultivated a perfectly functional impersonal work relationship with Millie. There was no reason to muddle that, but there was a question eating at him that could not be contained. “Do you think a woman would have to be insane to want to marry me?”
Millie removed her glasses and let them fall on the chain around her neck. “Senator Thorne, I think people have to be insane to want to marry at all, but it stops very few from taking that leap.”
He couldn’t believe he didn’t know the answer to his next question. “Are you married?”
Millie held up her left hand. There was a small diamond ring next to a simple gold band. “Thirty-nine blissful years last January. We raised three boys together. Five grandchildren so far and another on the way.”
Mason looked around the office. “Why don’t you have any pictures of them on your desk?”
“I used to have several in the beginning. They seemed to make you uncomfortable, so I took them home.”
Mason nodded. He didn’t like to think he was that transparent when it came to his feelings about family, but there was no use denying it. “I appreciate that. Hold my calls for an hour. I need to read over Vine’s bill proposal. He won’t back mine unless I endorse his. He’s a wordy bastard, though, and tends to throw in last-minute game-changing clauses. Oh . . . and if you see Andrew come through, send him in. Also, contact Liz at Shimmer and inform her that I’ll be bringing a date to the event. And book the presidential suite at Milo’s for the weekend under the name of Chelle Landon, but bill it to me.” He spelled Chelle’s name for her.
“I’ll get to that immediately.” He didn’t doubt that she would. Millie was so good at her job that her duties extended beyond those of her job description. He was a man who trusted very few people, but Millie was one of them. He could have a team of people organizing his career and his calendar, but he preferred his life uncluttered.
Mason walked into his office and closed the door behind him. He sat at his desk and took a moment to look around. He didn’t have a single photo on the wall or anywhere else. In fact, he hadn’t changed a thing since he’d moved into the office six years earlier. After his first successful term, Millie had joked that he should settle into the office. He considered himself settled. At least, as much as he’d ever been.
He didn’t get attached to many people or places. He took his role in California’s legislature seriously, but nothing was forever. His legacy would be the bills he pushed through that would benefit his constituents and the state as a whole. He was presently working on an environmental bill that wasn’t popular, but it would help protect and increase his state’s water supply. Short-term solutions were Band-Aids. What they needed was funding for widespread, creative solutions. If cities could be made in deserts, then he could stop his state from doing the reverse.
He wasn’t liked in certain circles lately, but that didn’t bother him much. He had a handful of friends. Their opinions mattered, but even then, he did as he pleased.
Charles
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