Awkward
“What’s with him?” Mona asks, pointing at Tyler.
“It’s complicated.”
“Don’t tell me you found him on your app!”
I shake my head. “No way. I’ve told him enough for him to know how crazy it is.”
“But you know why he’s been jumping around like he has ants in his pants every time he’s seen you this week?”
In his pants. I know exactly what he has in his pants, and my cheeks burn. “Yeah.”
“What is it?”
“Later,” I say as people filter into the room for lunch.
The last thing I need is anyone overhearing that I’ve slept with my boss.
Mona grabs my arm and drags me into the conference room. “Now. What’s going on?”
Licking my lips, I glance around. At least no one can hear us. And I really need to tell someone. “Something may have… happened.”
“What kind of something? And with who?”
“Um…”
“You had sex with Tyler?” she whisper-shouts. “Are you serious?”
I look around and make sure no one happened to walk in. “Be quiet.”
“You did?”
“It kind of… just happened.”
Her jaw drops, and for the first time ever, Mona has nothing to say. She just stares. For a painfully long time.
“Say something,” I beg.
“Walk me through this,” she says, her voice calm. Too calm.
Swallowing, I blink as the flush creeps up my neck. “I went to meet a date, and I walked out. I’ll tell you about it later. Anyway, I ran into Tyler. We went to a bar, and then he kissed me.”
“In the bar?”
A deranged laugh sounds. “And then some.”
“You fucked in the bar?” she whispers.
“No, but he made me come under the table,” I mutter.
“You’re lying!”
I shake my head. “I’m not. I think it was the alcohol and dim lighting. He looked different. Normal. Not my boss.” I whisper the last sentence.
“Okay, so you got off in the bar, and then…?”
“We went to his car, and realized we couldn’t go to either of our places, so we got in the backseat. And we did it.”
“You… no… more.”
Another crazy laugh sounds. “I rode him until we realized how easily we could get caught. Then I switched positions, he came, and I walked home. Alone.”
“He came before you?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s not the point.”
“I understand why you’d be avoiding him, but is he just embarrassed by that?”
Of course, Mona will focus on the most random aspects. “I think it’s the fact that we crossed a line that we can’t uncross that he’s freaking out about. And the avoiding thing is only making it worse, and I think I have to quit my job now.”
Her hands rest on my shoulders. “No, you don’t.”
“This is weird, and people are going to notice. And then assume. And I can’t handle the public humiliation.”
“Do you like him?”
In all of my freaking out, I never stopped to consider it. “I don’t know.”
“You like him enough to ride his dick, though.”
“I hate you.”
She laughs. “How big is he?”
“What?”
“I always suspected he was packing a lot more than you’d expect with how he acts. He’s got a swagger about him.”
I wish I could say I can’t believe this, but it’s Mona, and I can. “He’s normal sized.”
“Was he better, equal to, or worse than Decker?”
“No one’s better than Decker,” I whisper. “That’s not really fair to compare.”
“Fair. Is he well-groomed?”
Closing my eyes, I force out a long breath to calm the anger rising. “I didn’t get a good look. It was dark.”
“Did you feel—”
“No, I didn’t. You’re missing the point. I have to quit my job now.”
“No, the fuck you don’t. You keep acting like everything is normal, and eventually, he will, too.”
I open my eyes and glare at her. “Seriously?”
“How does it feel to be in a love triangle? One that doesn’t want you to join a polyamorous relationship?”
“It’s actually more of a square now.”
Mona’s eyes widen. “You’re holding out on me?”
“Ken. The coffee shop guy. I went out with him, and he’s definitely a contender.”
“The barista?”
“Owner. Just opened another one this week.”
Laughing, she shakes her head. “Here you are, dating half the city, and I can’t even get a guy to call me back after I rock his world.”
“First, I’m not dating half the city.”
“Dating app. Many dates. Terrible ones, but still.”
I roll my eyes. “And second, you might get a call back if you chose to be less scary after sex.”
“I’m not—”
“They’ve told you they thought you wanted to kill them in your post-coital haze,” I say, reminding her of the comments her last boyfriend made when they broke up.
She just glares, and we walk out of the conference room and right into Tyler.
He jumps back like I’m acid or a bear trap ready to snap shut. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
He turns and takes off down the hallway in an almost-sprint, and I hate how self-conscious I feel. “Didn’t see you, either.”
“You have an admirer!” Mona calls in a sing-song voice, carrying flowers to my desk.
Everyone stares as she sets them down, and I honestly don’t know who they’re from. Obviously not Decker—he hasn’t even been home in a week. And I don’t remember telling Ken where I work. Tyler definitely wouldn’t send them to me when he can’t even look me in the eye and acts like I’m contagious.
“Who sent them?” Mona asks, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Which hunky desire sent you these amazing and expensive flowers?”
Holly,
I hope your day is just a little brighter when you get these. I’m sorry I’ve been so difficult to reach, and I can’t wait until our date on Saturday.
Ken
Smiling, I put the card back. “Ken.”
“Coffee shop guy? Nice!”
The day passes quietly after that. At least until Tyler stops by as everyone packs up. “Nice flowers.”
“Thanks.”
“Who sent them?”
His tone makes me uncomfortable. Is he jealous?
“A guy I had dinner with.”
“Nice.”
He turns on his heel and storms into his office. Mona giggles as she comes back to my desk. “That was not the face of a happy man.”
“This is ridiculous. This is why hooking up with someone I work with wasn’t a good idea. But I thought he could be professional. Of anyone here, you’d think he’d be the one to pull that off, right?”
“Well, he is a guy—”
“I have to talk to him. This can’t keep happening.”
“Good luck,” she says.
I wait until everyone else leaves before storming into his office and shutting the door. The blinds are all drawn—like they have been all week—and I cross my arms. “What the hell, Tyler?”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t get to act jealous when I get flowers from someone after you’ve gone out of your way and made it obvious you’re avoiding me like we’re in elementary school, and you think I have cooties.”
Tyler sighs and stands. He stops in front of me looking… remorseful, maybe. At least, I think that’s what he’s going for.
“I’m sorry. You’re right.”
“We never should have—”
His lips on mine kills the sentence, and he presses me back against the door. His hands slide up my belly and under my shirt to cup my chest, his excitement poking against me through his slacks.
“This is what got us in this mess in the first place,” I whisper as he moves to suck on my neck.
He hikes my leg up to his hip and grinds his bulge against my core. “It’s a new situation for me, and I don’t really know how to act. I didn’t want people to think something was going on, so I thought it’d be easier if I stayed away.”
The friction as we dry hump sends a hot rush through me, and I can’t stop the moan. “That plan backfired. Everyone noticed you were—” His hand slips up my skirt, rubbing me over my panties. “—acting weird.”
“I want to taste you so badly, Holly,” he growls, dropping to his knees.
“Wait.” I push him back gently. “We can’t do this.”
Standing, he runs his hands through his hair before nodding. “You’re right. Doing this here isn’t—”
“No, this. Us. You’re my boss, and I think this is too complicated.”
He swallows and stares. “I like you.”
“I like you, too. I think that was pretty obvious this weekend.”
I’ve always liked Tyler, but until this past week, I’ve never seen him as much more than my boss. I think he could be a great boyfriend, but I also like working for him. He’s a really good manager.
“I’m dating people. Not a ton, but I am dating. You don’t seem like you can handle that.”
Shaking his head, he leans back against his desk. “No, I can’t. I think you need to decide exactly what you want. If you want to pursue this further with me, we should involve HR. That way, we’re both protected.”
Always the practical one. But he’s right. There’s no rule against dating coworkers, but there is one about disclosing and dating a subordinate. One of us would have to switch teams, and I don’t like that idea, either.
“I’ll think about it. Assuming you can stop acting so weird around me. There’s a lot at stake for both of us if we decide to give this a shot.”
“Agreed. I’ll stop acting weird, I promise. Let me know what you decide.”
The good thing about Tyler is that he values practicality over all else. Which is what makes him a good manager, but it’s also what likely didn’t work with free-spirited Rachel.
“Because of that reaction to the flowers, you’re going to have to do the same to everyone who gets them from now on. You realize that, right?”
Laughing, Tyler hangs his head. “I really did shoot myself in the foot. I knew I shouldn’t have asked in front of others.”
“Or you could tell people you broke things off with Rachel, and they’ll just think you’re a scorned man who hates seeing others happy right now.”
He groans. “I don’t know which is worse.”
“That’s up to you. But the second option is quicker. Valentine’s Day will be horrible for you. Just food for thought there.”
I walk out of his office, grateful he’s not letting his emotions run the show. We both know how messy this could get if we don’t take a step back and think.