Chapter 45
EDEN
“We’re goingto need to tell everyone at Dream Guy about us.”
Danny looks up from his phone at me. “Okay.”
I’m thrown by his easy smile and his quick response. “Wait, seriously?”
He chuckles before standing up from his spot on the couch, swiping my empty glass from the coffee table, and trotting to his kitchen. He returns with a smile on his face and a glass full of orange juice.
He hands it to me. “Of course I’m serious.”
“Oh. That’s good.”
“You sound uncertain, which is weird given that you’re the one who brought it up,” he teases.
“No, I’m absolutely certain. You just answered really quickly.”
He pulls me to straddle his lap, then cups his hands around my cheeks. “I answered quickly because that’s how certain I am about us. I want everyone to know I’m with you.”
My heart actually flutters. Damn, I always thought that was a thing that only happened in movies.
As incredible as it feels, I shove it aside. “I just don’t want it to change things for the worse at Dream Guy.”
“Why would it? All the guys are professionals. They’ll probably appreciate that we’re being honest and forthcoming about our relationship.
I shrug. “I guess I’m just skittish about telling people about us…since, you know, the last time we did that, it didn’t end well.”
I think back to last night at my parents’ anniversary party and how my brother was ready to kick Danny’s ass when he saw us kissing.
I don’t miss the regretful look that flashes across Danny’s face. “I get that. But I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that none of the Dream Guys are going to kick the shit out of me when they find out about us.”
I start to smile. “You’re probably right.” My brain goes into overdrive thinking of a million other things that could go wrong.
“What if they get upset though? What if they think that it’s inappropriate for us to date, since I’m the creator of the app, and you’re technically an employee? That’s sexual harassment.”
Danny tilts his head at me. “What we’re doing is most definitely not sexual harassment, Eden. We’re both consenting adults. And we’re not violating each other’s boundaries.” He squeezes my ass cheek. “Though I’ll happily let you violate me in whatever way you want.”
I lightly smack his hand and laugh before trying to sound serious again. “I mean it, Danny. I just don’t want this to put anyone off. I value everyone who works for this app. I don’t want them to think that I’m some sleazeball who is using the workforce as some sort of dating pool.”
“Eden, you’d never in a million years do anything like that,” Danny says. “None of the guys think that about you. You’re choosing to go about this the exact right way. Now that we’re serious, we’re disclosing our relationship. That’s exactly what would happen at any other company.”
I take a few seconds to process what he’s said.
He slides his arms around my waist, holding me tight. “It’ll be okay. Promise.”
I press a kiss to his lips, then grab my phone and type out an email to Kayla and the Dream Guys.
“We’ll announce it later this week at our staff meeting,” I say.
Danny smiles. “Can’t wait.”
* * *
“Okay,everyone. Thanks so much for coming. I’m going to kick things off with an announcement.”
The entire apartment, which is packed to the brim with Dream Guys, goes quiet. Kayla sits at the couch, typing away on her laptop before turning the screen to face me at the front of the room. I wave at the dozen Dream Guys who came on board when we expanded Dream Guy to the rest of the West Coast and are working outside Portland.
I take a second to swallow and take a slow, quiet breath. When I notice that I’m fidgeting, I quickly fold my hands in front of me.
“Being open and honest and fair is important to me when it comes to running this app.”
Almost everyone in the room nods along with what I’ve said.
“And well, as much as I try hard to focus on being professional, sometimes personal things come into play, and…”
My cheeks ignite as I feel the stares of everyone in the room bore into me.
“Danny Darden and I are in a relationship,” I blurt.
I’m quiet as I take in the reactions of everyone in the room. Kayla, who already knew about us, is smiling at me. I peer over at Danny standing in the corner, somehow looking relaxed as hell while everyone else looks at each other, as if to confirm that they heard me right.
“I know we’re a relatively new company so we haven’t crafted an official policy when it comes to dating and relationships.” I stop and swallow when I hear my voice going pitchy. “But I always want to be open and honest with you all. Neither of us planned for this to happen, it just sort of…worked out that way. But it doesn’t change anything about our working relationship or how the company operates.”
“That’s cool,” Gavin says with a grin. “Congrats, you two.”
“We’re so happy for you,” Kayla says.
“Yeah. Awesome,” Brendan says.
Everyone murmurs their agreement, and the stress knot in my stomach loosens.
“So you’re not…upset?” I ask.
A sea of shaking heads is the answer.
“Nah. All of us are dating, whether it’s fake or real. You should be able to too.”
I tell Jamie “thanks” for his no-nonsense appraisal of the situation.
Danny winks at me from across the room. I shrug off the invisible anvil on my shoulders and get on with the rest of the meeting. It ends and people start filtering out while others hang back to chat and catch up.
I walk over to Danny, who pulls me into a hug.
“See? Told you it would all be okay.”
I grin up at him and press a kiss to his lips. “I guess you were right after all.”
A few whistles follow, and I laugh.
I head to the kitchen for a drink. A minute later, Kayla darts in, panicked look in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
She opens her mouth, but hesitates. Then she shakes her head and just hands me her phone. She stammers before sighing. Her shoulders sink. “I’m sorry, Eden.”
When I read the text on her screen, my heart plummets to my feet.
No way. This can’t be happening.