7. Garrett
GARRETT
W hoever thought it was a good idea to have the boss included in a party that involves an open bar clearly didn’t think things through.
The party planner Paige hired outdid herself with decorating the building’s first floor event space. It’s the perfect mix of all things spooky and haunted but not scary. They even have all the serving dishes matching the aesthetic of the night, with black cauldrons and coffin-shaped trays holding foods while the Halloween-themed drinks are served in plastic chalices.
All around me, every single employee who works in this building is dressed to the nines in Halloween costumes while they drink, dance, and make questionable decisions considering they’re still in the building where they work.
It makes me happy that they actually enjoy the team outings and events Paige puts together. But there’s always a certain point in the night where I can’t help but feel like an unwanted voyeur of their fun. It’s usually right about now that I head out. The only one who normally protests is…
I scan the room, searching for the face I’m always able to pick out in any crowded space.
“Anyone wearing a repeat costume has to do a shot.” Eva pops up in front of me, stopping my search for Paige, and thrusts a black shot glass at me.
“I didn’t?—”
Sam appears next to her, interrupting me by holding his phone up beside the shot. I glance at the picture and almost snatch the device from him. It’s of me and Paige at last year’s party. Her arms are wrapped around my waist as I hold her close and she smiles up at me instead of looking at the camera. I laugh, suddenly remembering how her pointy black hat almost fell off because of the way her head was tilted back. She was hands down the sexiest and most stunning witch I’d ever seen, and that’s saying something since I had a crush on Sarah Sanderson from Hocus Pocus growing up.
I need to figure out how to get that picture.
Shaking my head, I quickly glance at the image of myself beside Paige.
“No, last year, I was a farmer. This year, I’m a cowboy. Got the fancy boots and the hat to prove it.”
Eva scowls but doesn’t lower the shot glass. “They’re the same thing.”
“If I’ve learned anything from both growing up out west and working with authors who write cowboy romances… they are most certainly different.”
Sam squints at the picture on the screen, comically analyzing it for a few seconds, and then nods like a bobblehead.
“He’s right. Last year he wore overalls and no hat. This year he’s got bootylicious jeans, a tight shirt and flannel, plus a cowboy hat.” He looks up at me with a sloppy, drunken smirk. “You know what they say about anyone who takes a cowboy’s hat.”
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline and Eva chokes out a laugh as she tugs at his arm.
“Alright, you, I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’re not his type.”
Sam pouts, letting her pull him away, and gets distracted by the now available shot she holds. Eva spares me a quick glance over her shoulder and mouths an apology, but I can only laugh. One of my editors hitting on me is definitely a sign it’s time for me to go.
With one more glance around the party, I turn on my heel and head toward the elevator, greeting the building security as I pass their desk. Once the heavy stainless steel doors seal shut, I roll my neck from side to side, leaning against the back rail, and try to get used to the deafening silence of the elevator compared to the party.
I’ve never been one for big parties or crowds. However, these past two years have been filled with more and more of them, all so I can spend a couple hours with Paige.
As the numbers tick closer to the offices, closer to her, I can’t help but laugh at the masochist I’ve become. There’s no denying that Paige has me wrapped around her finger. Me wearing a costume two years in a row simply so she would have no reason to be disappointed in me proves that.
The doors open, and for a second as I step off, I almost doubt she’s actually up here. All but the emergency lights are off, giving a very fitting vibe for Halloween. If it weren’t for the fact that I spend more time in this building than anyone, I’d probably be turning on every single light I pass. However, this isn’t my first time being here after hours, and instead of setting me on edge, the darkened atmosphere soothes me as I round the corner toward the light illuminating at the end of the hallway that leads to our offices.
Our offices.
The idea that Paige will be so close every day might be the best thing to come from all of this. As of yesterday, she had yet to fully move into the new space, claiming she didn’t want anyone asking questions before we were ready. But even just the idea of her being right next door, the thought of her adding her own touches to the space beside mine, has excitement bubbling through me.
I feel like a kid counting down the hours until it’s time to go trick or treating. Except instead of candy, my treat is Paige. As a business partner, at least, but still. In just a few days, we’ll announce her new role and we won’t have to keep meeting in secret.
Getting closer to the open door, the sound of her softly humming a familiar tune draws me in. I should make some noise, make sure she knows she’s no longer alone. But I don’t. Instead, I find myself leaning against the doorframe to her soon-to-be office and smile as I watch her jot something into the notebook.
She drops the pen, takes off the black pirate hat, and tosses it across her desk before she digs through one of the boxes stacked beside the desk and when she bends over, I take it as my cue to announce my presence.
“A pirate’s life for you, huh?”
Paige squeals, twisting so fast that her maroon skirt flares out around her. The notebook falls to the floor as her hand smacks against her chest.
“Garrett.” She gasps and thoughts of her saying my name like that for other reasons fly through my mind. Paige bends to pick up the notepad as she scowls at me. “You’re lucky I didn’t throw something at you.”
I laugh and push off the doorframe, entering her office while resisting the urge to openly check out Paige in a pirate costume.
“I knew to keep some distance between us,” I tease.
She shakes her head, setting her things onto the desk before turning to face me fully. My mouth dries at the way the brown corset pushes her breasts up and causes them to spill from the top of her white shirt.
“What are you doing up here?” she asks, pulling me from my newfound fantasy of us playing cowboy and pirate.
I tuck my hands in the front pockets of my jeans and get closer, peeking at whatever she was working on.
“I actually came to ask you that.” My eyes land on the paperwork she was flipping through in the box and I level her with a half-assed glare. “You put together a hell of a party downstairs. You should be down there and enjoying some time away from work.”
“I know, but I remembered some things I forgot to tell Eva and didn’t want to bother her with it when she was enjoying herself. But I also didn’t want to forget, so I came up to make a note and then”—she motions to the work beside her—“I got a bit distracted.”
“You do realize that you’re not leaving the building? If something comes up down the line and Eva or the team need anything, you’ll still be here to help. So will I.”
She nods but doesn’t seem fully convinced by my words. Watching her closely, the way she shifts her weight on the balls of her feet, how her wide gaze lands everywhere but on me.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, taking a shot in the dark and crossing my fingers that she’ll let me in. She looks at me then, shoulders straightening as she visibly tries to close herself off.
“Nothing, I just?—”
“Paige, we’re about to be partners. If something is bothering you, I need to know that you trust me enough to talk to me. I want to be here for you, to help whenever and however I can. But I can’t do that if you shut me out.”
“I’m just…” She sucks in a breath, looking past me, and crosses her arms over her stomach. “I don’t want to mess anything up. I’m trying to make sure this transition with Eva goes smoothly and that I can do everything you need me to. But I feel like I’m gonna forget something, or not know enough about running a business. I want to make sure it’s all perfect and?—”
“I don’t need you to be perfect,” I interrupt, stepping closer and reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Expecting perfection only sets us up for failure. What I need from you is to be, well, you . Your passion and dedication to this company mixed with your knowledge and ability to do what’s right for everyone involved is what I need.”
My hand has a mind of its own and I cup her cheek in the palm of my hand.
“I just need you, Paige,” I whisper.
I hold my breath when she leans into my hold, her eyelids fluttering as she lets out a quiet sigh. My gaze drops to her slightly parted lips and my very thin restraint is put to the test.
Every inch of me is buzzing with the need to wrap my arm around her waist and hold her against my chest. To finally learn what it would feel like to kiss her.
“We should go back downstairs,” she whispers, placing her hands on my chest as if she’s going to push me away. Yet she doesn’t move from my arms.
I rub my thumb over her cheek and she finally raises those shining, sapphire eyes to mine before they drop to my mouth. Her tongue slips out, wetting her lips.
Paige is in my arms, looking at me as if she’s waiting for me to just kiss her despite her words that we should leave. When she looks up at me again, the desire clearly painted across her face as her eyes flutter closed and she leans into me, I know what I’m about to do. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know that if this goes poorly, or if I’m reading her all wrong, there would be no one to blame but myself.
She’s magnetic, pulling me toward her with a force I don’t want to fight. Our lips touch in a soft caress, and I wait for her to pull away, to tell me no.
Her hands tighten on my chest, clenching my shirt in her fists before pulling me closer to her until she’s kissing me. My own hands move of their own accord, desperate to feel every bit of her that she’ll let me as I get lost in her lips. One hand slides down to wrap around her waist, resting on the small of her back and eliminating any space that remains between us.
My fingers comb through her silky hair to the base of her skull, where I carefully tighten my grip so I can tilt her head, allowing me to deepen the kiss. Tracing my tongue along her bottom lip, she opens for me without hesitation.
Kissing Paige feels like everything I ever dreamed of and more. My mind races to memorize every detail about it. How her plump lips feel against mine, the way it feels for my hand to smooth down her backside until her ass is in my palm. The sound of the quiet moan that I greedily swallow down and the feel of her shifting her hips against my hardening cock.
I could get addicted to the feeling of Paige in my arms.
Bending slightly, I turn us both until the backs of her thighs hit her desk and get completely lost. By the time she pulls away for air, an entire year could have passed and I wouldn’t have been any wiser.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispers breathlessly.
The tips of my fingers ghost down the side of her thigh, and when she shivers at my touch, I can’t help but smirk.
“If that’s true, then why does this feel so fucking right?”