Kiss A Ginger Day: A steamy workplace romantic comedy

Chapter 5

Roger and Theodore glared at one another like two bighorn sheep about to headbutt. Great. She had a car to retrieve, and men’s egos would have to take a backseat. Especially when one of the big rams had just declared he and Alice were involved—what a crock—and the other had just kissed her lips until they were bruised.

She carefully took the outstretched flowers. “Thank you for these.” Though now she wondered how the hell he got there so fast. She’d texted him less than ten minutes ago.

“Are you okay, Alice?” Roger looked genuinely concerned. “I heard what happened. I was out at a meeting and came right over.”

Who the hell told him? “Um, Theodore graciously drove me home. I wasn’t feeling well. But he’s about to leave, and I need to go get my car. Then I’ll be back in the office.” Her voice had that fake lilt she hated.

Technically, all of that was true. She left out the part where Theodore was going with her to the impound lot.

She turned to Theodore. “You were about to call a rideshare, right?”

“Yes. Right,” Theodore said without taking his eyes off Roger.

Roger’s chin lifted. “You can go back with me, Theodore.”

Theodore bristled. “I have a few errands to run. See you back at Edison.” He strode to the door and disappeared through it. So much for his help in getting her car.

His sudden disappearance, however, gave her an opportunity to clear things up with her boss. “Listen, Roger.” She turned to him. “About last night.”

“You left in a hurry.”

“I heard you’re about to advertise the CFO position. I thought that was what our last few dinners were about.” She had to ask him—straight away. “Is that what you thought they were about?”

“I have to advertise the role. It’s all part of the process.”

That was his answer? “And our dinner meetings? You told Theodore we were involved.”

He sniffed. “That was to give you an out with him if you needed it.”

The way his right eye twitched told her he was lying. “Theodore gave me a ride. That’s all.”

“Besides, you’re clearly only interested in business, so …” He shrugged. “Wasn’t going to work out.”

Oh, my God. He thought they could have been dates? “And about being considered for CFO?—”

“At the right time.”

“When is the right time? Brian left months ago, and I have ideas on how we can improve some things. Remember when I brought up?—”

He raised his hand, halting her speech. “Listen, you’re good at what you do. Very good.”

“But?”

“But don’t get ahead of your skis.”

Hard to do when she didn’t ski at all. “Not sure I understand how I’m doing that. You said I was all business, which I’d think you’d want.”

“It’s all good, Alice.” He laid his hands on her shoulders, and she suppressed a shudder. “Now, don’t work too hard this weekend. But I do need those reports on my desk first thing Monday.” He pointed at her, and then he strode out.

She’d been dismissed—but as a CFO candidate or a potential date? The thought of Roger touching her made her skin crawl. She needed him to see her as promotion-worthy, not romantic material.

And why was he so sure she’d dedicate her free time to Edison if he wasn’t promising her anything in return?

Anger rose hard and fast. She often worked weekends; she thought she was showing her dedication to the company. Shit. He was never giving her that promotion, was he? No way would she go into the office now.

She’d get her car herself, then maybe do something completely frivolous and decadent. Go to a spa. Redecorate her apartment. Take up skiing.

She called the 800 number she’d jotted down from the street sign that morning. Once she found out where her car was, she grabbed her purse, locked up, and rounded the corner only to run straight into a hard body. She screeched just as a loud male voice yelled.

“Theodore!” She slapped his chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“You can’t stop attacking me, can you?” He looked over his shoulder. “Roger gone?”

“Yes, why aren’t you?”

“I promised to take you to get your car. I only left so Roger wouldn’t get the wrong idea. Speaking of which, why didn’t Roger offer since?—?”

“Because he’s … busy,” she quickly lied. She’d rather have said because he was a prick. It wouldn’t have been the smartest thing to say to a consultant evaluating your performance. Perhaps Theodore valued undying loyalty—even if she was beginning to see her allegiance to Edison wasn’t advancing her career as she’d hoped.

Theodore’s blue eyes stay fixed on hers. “And?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, Theodore didn’t question her about Roger’s declaration of being involved with her on the way over to Galin and Son’s impound lot. She could only handle one crisis at a time.

The lot was as she’d expected. Cars parked haphazardly inside a fenced-in yard. Chain link fencing standing at least twenty feet high to keep anyone out. Dirty slush everywhere from last night’s snow, albeit melting at a good clip in the harsh sun that had broken through the clouds.

“Note to self. Don’t ever leave my car alone again,” she muttered to Theodore.

A man in a flannel shirt and down jacket, a cigarette dangling out of one side of his mouth, gruffly puffed out, “That’ll be $675. Cash. ATM is over there.” He jerked his head to a gray and black ATM machine wrapped in thick chains that stood to the side of the booth.

“How convenient,” Theodore sniffed.

“Yeah,” the guy’s face split into a grin. “She’s lucky. The northwest lot ain’t got one.” He appeared quite proud of his little machine. Alice pushed her card in and began to tap the dirty screen. She would have to hose herself down after their field trip.

“She’s so lucky,” Theodore agreed. “I mean, stranded during a snowstorm, car unable to move, no one else out and about. But just in case her car was in the way of, oh, I don’t know, a snowmobile that needed to park or Santa’s sleigh, you guys come along and liberate the spot no one in the city needed all for the bargain price of $675. You must be very proud of the work you do.”

What was he doing? “Um, Theodore, let’s just go.” She slid the money across to the lot attendant.

His beefy hand immediately snatched it up. “The parking rules are the parking rules, Your Royal Highness.” The guy grinned at him, then turned away to watch whatever he was watching on his tiny TV screen.

It took them a full twenty minutes to find her car, and her shoes were likely ruined from the dirty slush, but they didn’t look any worse for the wear. She cracked open the driver’s side. “Remind me to stay home when it snows again.”

“Still can’t get over that he asked for almost seven hundred dollars with a straight face. Whatever happened to fair warning where they merely leave a ticket on your windshield, adorned with a smiley face?” Theodore climbed into the passenger side.

The man had quite the optimistic streak. “Clearly, you’ve not parked on a snow emergency route. The snowplows take precedence.”

“No chivalry in that.”

Theodore was hung up on that notion for sure. Not that it was a bad thing. For instance, he hadn’t asked about Roger. She’d still have to bring it up. They needed to handle the gossip her boss—or anyone else—might have started back at the office. A few people there, like Tricia, were motormouths.

She clutched the steering wheel with both hands, faced forward, and tried to forget the fact that she was once again trapped inside a car with Theodore’s scent. He smelled like a man—wool and cinnamon and something else she couldn’t name but really, really wanted to. Even Theodore”s weird obsession with made-up holidays couldn’t dampen the odd pull she had toward him.

She would have gotten buck naked with himin a second if they hadn’t been interrupted. And that wasn’t something she did often and certainly never with someone she didn’t know.

Get a grip, Alice. And keep it, she told herself. Their attraction had to be some strange concoction of pheromones. Something scientific, easily explained.

As soon as she pulled out of the lot, Theodore glanced around. “Let’s have lunch. I could eat a horse. Fair warning, too, we’re going to talk business. Have our interview, starting with why Roger showed up at your apartment.”

Oh, shit. He would force the issue after all. “I have no idea. We had a few dinners together. It was nothing. It was to talk about work, but some people have an idea he thinks it might have been more. But my job performance should not be evaluated on his delusions.” Or his decision to not promote her. Prick. Prick. Prick.

“If he’s ever taken advantage of his position?—”

“No. Pure consent to talk business over wine and salmon. But ancient history.” She tittered a little. “Meant nothing. All is well. It’s over. Like a minor blip. Like … nothing.” Gah, she was rambling when she needed him to think she was professional, C-suite material.

And now that she’d learned Roger didn’t believe in her, a burning desire to prove him wrong grew like a rising sun. Perhaps Theodore could help. If he gave her a glowing review, maybe Roger would rethink his hesitation around her promotion.

“Okay,” he sighed. “You don’t strike me as someone who gets easily bowled over, so I accept your answer.”

“How noble.”

He looked over at her, brow furrowed. “Whatever you tell me, I’ll believe.”

His tone was so sincere, she believed him. “Good.” It was time to get down to business. “So, what’s our story going to be?”

“Story?”

“The one we need to tell Patty when we get back after us supposedly having a lunch interview. The one we’re going to make up about us because people clearly saw us leave and Roger found you in my apartment.” She was so over being considered gossip-worthy—and he’d gotten her into that mess by catching her when she fainted, which had likely started a snowball of rumors. A tad unfair, but she was sticking with it. “People might assume we were … you know …”

“Shagging?”

He nailed it. “Patty can start the counter gossip immediately. We have to neutralize this thing.” She might be mad at her boss, but she wouldn’t let her whole life at Edison fall apart. It was time to make good on that New Year’s resolution.

He stared at her, blinking.

“What?” she asked. “This is important. We need some believable details.”

He faced the windshield again. “I was magnificent. The best you ever had. I’ve ruined you for all other men.”

She choked out a laugh. He was impossible. “You have it backward. I am now the benchmark for which you assess all other women. I own your body and soul. Bella Hadid, Scarlett Johansson, and Blake Lively could offer to do you at once, and you’d refuse.”

“Truth,” he nodded. “But if you throw in Zendaya, I’d have to reconsider.”

She mock-gasped. “You’d cheat? On me?” She slapped her arm against his chest, and he grabbed it. The warmth of his hand holding a part of her sent a sizzle across her skin. Hello, hormones. It didn’t help his eyes relayed, “I want to devour you.”

She pulled her arm free. She was driving, after all.

“You just can’t stop touching me,” he said.

His wicked grin did little to tamp down the frisson of heat between them.

She never felt like that—or talked like she did with him. Something about Theodore felt oddly safe and free at the same time. His teasing demeanor had her slip into sexy banter at the drop of a hat. It wasn’t very professional, but it was fun.

Maybe she allowed the slip in decorum because his stay was temporary. Despite them saying they’d revisit their inconvenient chemistry thing on National BAE Day—whatever the hell that was—she knew the score. He was just a flirt.

Or maybe her willingness to cross boundaries was because she was still miffed as hell at her boss. She’d done everything he’d asked, and she’d gotten very little for it.

He leaned closer. “Listen, Roger’s not going to say anything. His ego won’t allow him to admit you weren’t bowled over by him. Trust me. I’m a guy.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Let me take you to lunch. You can tell me all about what it’s like at Edison Tech. Interview done, and then we return to the office.”

Maybe she would let him interview her. She’d assure him her unwise out-of-the-office meetings with Roger were not romantic at all, despite the gossip. She’d lay out all the reasons she was an asset to Edison. Gathering some intel on Theodore herself wouldn’t hurt, either.

She took him to Mrs. Meacham’s Kitchen, a little cute bistro-set up in Georgetown. They parked in a nearby garage, and given it was 1:45, they easily found a table near the big window overlooking M Street. It was casual, and even better, no one from the office knew about the place—she hoped.

They ordered lunch. He chose a ham and cheese croissant sandwich and a glass of water, no ice. She went with her usual: an all-veggie salad and iced tea.

He tsked when the waitress put down her drink. “Again, the tea abomination continues.”

She pushed the wrapper off the straw. “You don’t have iced tea in England?”

“Wales. And yes. Sometimes. But no self-respecting place does. What did those tea leaves ever do to you to be treated so horribly?”

She snickered and dramatically dunked her straw into her iced tea and took a long draw. “Mmmm, iced cold tea.”

“My taste buds are dying as I sit here.” He lifted his water to his lips.

They sat in relative silence, sipping their drinks for a few minutes. His foot bumped hers, and a jolt of electricity went through her whole body. Time to shift to business talk—immediately.

Alice put her elbows on the table and her hands on her chin. “Okay, what do you want to know about my work?”

“Are you any good?”

She laughed. “Of course. But I’m sure all the girls tell you that.”

“You wouldn’t believe it.”

The waitress arrived, put her salad in front of her and his sandwich before Theodore, then asked, “Get you folks anything else?” Her eyes remained glued to him.

“We’re good, love. Thank you.” He smiled up at her, and Gloria, as her nametag announced, paused. She gave him a wide smile and flushed.

Women regularly fell at his feet, didn’t they? She wouldn’t. Couldn’t afford to.

She’d always been one to follow the rules, but he seemed to be a rule-breaker. That alone should have had her head for the hills.

She picked up her fork. “How did you get into this job anyway?”

Theodore dramatically snapped his napkin on his lap. “I got my MBA from University of Cambridge. Starting working for a manufacturing firm. Then, a tech firm. Turns out, in both places, I had a knack for ferreting out personnel problems. Discovering inefficiencies.”

“So.” She cleared her throat. “What do you do after you find these inefficiencies?”

“I report them to the higher-ups. They”re the ones who make the decisions about who stays and who goes.”

“And how does that make you feel?” God, she sounded like a psychologist.

He sighed, looking down at his hands. “Honestly? It”s a mixed bag. On the one hand, I feel like I”m doing good work, making things better for everyone. But on the other hand, I know that some of the people I report on are going to lose their jobs. It”s not easy.”

She forked a piece of carrot. “Is this the part where I should feel sorry for you?”

“You think I like being the most hated person in a room? Making people cry?”

She gasped. “You make people cry?”

“Only sometimes.” He waved his sandwich at her, then took a big bite.

“You could stop. Do something else.”

“I like my work. I help companies. Basically, go in and show where things aren’t working. The inefficiencies are?—”

She held up her hand to stop him. “God, such corporate speak.”

“Spoken by the accountant.” He took another huge bite of his sandwich. The man really was hungry—and entirely wrong about her. The mere thought of using any of that jargon raised her internal temperature a few degrees.

She stabbed at her salad and stuffed lettuce in her mouth, not caring what she looked like. She was so sick of management types who didn’t have to actually do the work, telling everyone how to do it better.

“Ya know,” she said between chews. “It seems like the higher someone goes up the career ladder, their ability to see and know what’s real lowers.”

Like Roger. She remembered when he was a project manager. As soon as he was moved into the CEO position, his vague-speak went off the charts, and suddenly, he didn’t know how to do anything. Tricia, too. She started out as a receptionist. Alice cheered when she was promoted but, still…

They all used the same words. Synergies. Inefficiencies. Redundancies. All words to make firing people more palpable. Roger, in particular, had been on a spree lately. And he thought Alice was getting ahead of her skis?

“Okay.” Theodore brushed crumbs off his fingers. “Truth time. I ferret out the lazy people, the toxic ones, the people who make it harder on everyone around them. The people who are nice but don’t really do anything. The people who are paid big money to basically show up to meetings and scroll through their phones while everyone else around them is making problems disappear. I make it possible for those lazy asses’ salaries to be redistributed to those who are doing the work.”

His vehement tone made her sit up. He clearly believed what he said.

“It never happens that way, though,” she said.

“It should.”

The man couldn’t be that na?ve. “But it doesn’t.”

“It at least has a chance,” he sighed. “Even if it’s hard trying to set things right.”

Furrows formed between his eyes. Pain—that was what she saw in them. It must be hard to be the bearer of bad news. Perhaps that was why he always made jokes and was obsessed with throwing things off-kilter with National Iceberg Day or whatever.

It was impossible to not be a little charmed by the guy. There was something about a man with convictions and caring instincts that stirred warmth deep inside her.

The need to kiss him again arose—inexplicably. Her mouth watered as memories of the way he tasted crowded in on her, knowledge she shouldn’t have. Snuggling up to a management consultant sent in to assess the staff—assess her? Yet she hadn’t been able to push off him. In fact, her libido was still on fire around him. Even Roger’s sudden appearance hadn’t dampened a single, ignited, hormonal urge. Or her own conviction of getting that damned promotion if it were the last thing she did on earth.

The dichotomy in her mind and body was the oddest thing.

Get back to business, she reminded herself. “Roger and I had been talking about me being promoted to CFO, you know.”

“I didn’t know.”

She slid her hands under her thighs and leaned forward. “Yep, but it hasn’t materialized. Theodore, please tell me. How bad are things at Edison that the owners felt the need to bring you in? And is my job on the chopping block?” She might as well go there. Cutting personnel is the fastest way to curb expenses. Her lack of promotion also was making her suspicious. If she left Edison Tech, she wanted to leave on her own terms.

“Tell me why you want to keep it.”

She straightened up, feeling a sudden surge of determination. “Because my work at Edison makes a difference. I”ve been working hard to improve the company”s financial systems, and I think I”ve made a real impact.” Even if Roger hadn’t adopted most of her ideas, she knew things were better with her there.

He leaned back in his chair, studying her. “But that doesn’t tell me why you want this job. What does it do for you?”

She hesitated, unsure how to answer. But his direct gaze, as if he was seriously interested, urged her to be truthful. “Making a difference is important to me, and I can at Edison. I have ideas for how we can improve our processes, if someone would listen.”

“I’m listening.” He picked up his sandwich and took another huge bite.

She started talking. If they made everyone submit their expense reports electronically with receipts attached, the new financial system she’d been eyeing would reconcile the two. Then, there was the matter of actually investing some of their cash flow instead of letting it sit in the corporate checking account. That last one was such a no-brainer, and she was shocked the company had never done it before. But Roger liked things to stay liquid.

The only thing she left out was how Roger also liked to spend—feasibility studies for new branding, new websites, all of which cost $25,000 a pop. Yet they never seemed to go anywhere. She’d questioned him about it, but he’d said it wasn’t her department or concern.

Super prick.

Theodore listened intently to her ideas, his gaze only breaking now and again to glance down at his rapidly disappearing lunch. He nodded and made little hmming noises as if he were actually taking in what she said. Her mind cleared even more, ideas popping in with gusto.

Like how buying the building that housed Edison Tech and leasing out unused parking spaces could raise money that could be reinvested into Research Development and marketing.

She waved her fork. “RD and marketing really needed a team building something-or-other because they’re at each other’s throats all the time.”

“God, I hate those things.” He chuckled. “Falling backward into people’s arms. Rappelling down mountainsides on anchors and carabineers your colleagues put in. Though I suppose that’s one way of getting rid of someone.”

She nearly choked on her iced tea. “I would never let anyone at Edison be in charge of my anchors.”

“Ah, and there’s the truth.” He pointed a finger at her. “The fact that you can’t rely on them tells me everything. But I wouldn’t let Roger near my rappelling gear, either, after this morning. I’d end up pancaked on the canyon floor.”

“But he hired you.” Roger had to think Theodore was the right man for the job.

“I was brought in by the owners. Roger had no choice. And that was before he heard me kissing you into oblivion. You, moaning out my name.”

She flattened herself against her chair back. “I did not. I distinctly heard ‘Alice … Alice … Oh, Alice’.” She fluttered her eyelashes.

“Can’t blame a guy for that. Like I said, your kiss is …” His gaze fell to her mouth.

She was far too interested in him finishing that sentence. My, how they reverted to flirting so quickly. And so often.

She threw down her napkin. “We need to get back to the office.”

“You took the day off, remember?” His feet slid alongside one of hers, capturing it. She didn’t pull back.

“I don’t want to.” Instead, she felt a burning need to accomplish something—something she could control. “I feel fine now, and I have a pile of work to do.” She’d do it all from home.

“We have a lot in common, Alice.”

“Oh?” She reached down to grab her purse and put it in her lap.

“We both work too much.”

“Probably. Grab a cab or something so you go back to the office without me? So they won’t think?—”

“The office saw me carry you out.”

Strong arms, his scent, all crashed back into her mind, and the heat between her thighs grew stronger. “Don’t remind me. But I’m not going back to Edison. I’m going to work from my apartment. Someone said I should take the day off.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re doing that.”

She shrugged. “Working from home feels like a vacation.”

“Now, that’s sad.” He leaned forward a little, bringing his blue eyes closer to her. “When National BAE Day comes, I’m locking up your laptop and whisking you away.”

She rolled her lips between her teeth, then let them out with a pop. “To where?”

“Where the office can’t get to you.”

They’d find her anyway. Most of the office had her cell phone on speed dial. “Is that what National BAE Day is about?”

“BAE stands for ‘before anyone else’. It’s an opportunity to show your lover they’re truly number one in your life.”

“Oh.” Being number one to someone, and not just because someone couldn’t remember how to reboot the Wi-Fi, would be nice. “You celebrate every year?”

“Never have. Been wanting to, though.”

Doesn’t everyone want to find their one and only love? “It would be … nice.”

Another one of his cocky smirks formed. “Nice? Oh, we’d be far better than that, Alice.”

Shit, her panties were wet. “How do you know? What’s happening here could be just pure chemistry. Nothing more.”

“That’s what we’re going to disprove.”

She swallowed. “By waiting until this made-up holiday.”

“Not made up, but yeah,” he said quietly.

They were going to have trouble delaying, weren’t they? His foot still had hers captured. Her entire body was one giant vat of dancing hormones screaming at her. She had taken the day off. Would be a shame to waste it on something like laundry.

“Can I get you all anything else?” Gloria had magically appeared. She looked to Alice, then to Theodore, then back to Alice again. “Some pie, perhaps? It’s National Pie Day somewhere today.”

Alice drew in a long breath as her eyes locked on Theodore. He didn’t take his gaze from her face, either. “No, thanks, Gloria. Just the check, please.”

As soon as Gloria scooted away, Theodore leaned forward. “Alice, do you believe in signs?”