14. Anthony
ANTHONY
I took a good look at Daisy, trying to read her body language. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or put her on the spot, but I needed to know why she left the competition without saying anything.
“You want to sit down?” I asked her.
She looked over her shoulder at the door, then at the desk. “Sure, why not?”
I held the chair for her. As she sat and crossed her legs, I couldn’t help but notice the way her skirt rolled up. I exhaled sharply, looking away, then took a seat behind my desk and made eye contact.
“Daisy, we need to talk about last night.”
She blushed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I was surprised when I came out from the meeting room and Julian told me you’d left.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, as if she hadn’t expected me to bring this up at all. “I didn’t know what else to do. You were busy with Sal, and you said I was off the clock. Today was a workday, so I didn’t want to get home too late.”
I tilted my head to one side. “Is that the only reason you left? ”
She sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair as a lock fell over her left eye. “I thought it might be easier.”
“For whom?”
She swallowed hard. “For both of us? I honestly don’t know.” She bit her lower lip. “I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I truly don’t do this. I’ve never even dated anyone who worked at the same company I did.”
“That’s very smart,” I replied, remembering my own faux pas in the past. But this was different.
She hunched her shoulders—she was closing herself off. I didn’t like that one bit.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked.
“Why don’t you start with what’s on yours?” One corner of her mouth lifted.
“Half a smile,” I said. “I’ll take it.”
She flashed me a full smile now. “Honestly, I don’t know how to go about this. What I really want is to do my job without any awkwardness between us.”
“We’re both professionals, Daisy. There’s no place for awkwardness.”
“So, we’re just clearing the air right now?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I want to know why you felt the need to flee.”
She winced and then closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “I did flee, didn’t I? I didn’t even stop to think how that would look from your perspective. I simply… didn’t know how to react. Leaving was easier.”
“Fair enough.”
She shook her head. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“That’s an understatement.”
I couldn’t help myself anymore. I needed to be close, so I rose to my feet and went on the other side of my desk, sitting against the edge. She glanced up at me.
“As I told you last night, when it comes to you, I can’t do the right thing. ”
“But why?”
“Something about you draws me in.” On a chuckle, I added, “Can’t believe my grandmothers picked up on it.”
“I’m lost. What?”
I decided to share everything with her. “My grandmothers have this idea that lilac has special powers to bring couples together.” I couldn’t even believe I was saying this out loud. “And they put some in your perfume, I’m sure of it.”
Daisy leaned back in her chair, looking confused. “Wait, what does that mean?”
“That they suspected there’s something going on between us. They only put lilac in a perfume if they’re convinced that two people belong together. They gifted a perfume to all of my brothers’ wives and fiancées.”
“This story is fascinating. Oh!” Recognition dawned on her face. “That’s what they meant when they said they needed to think about what fit me first.”
“Exactly. They even found an antidote to lilac—freesia.”
“They did make me smell freesia! Wait, why would they need an antidote?”
I cleared my throat. “Because of what I told you… my history.”
“Right, right.”
“I doubt it would’ve worked, though. No fucking perfume could’ve kept me away from you last night, Daisy. I can’t even explain what happened. It was something more powerful than my will.”
“It was the same for me,” she whispered. “And yet…”
I straightened up. “I know where you’re going with this. This wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did.”
“I know. I just don’t know how to navigate this. I don’t want to risk my job.”
Cold gripped my body. “Risk your job? You think I’m an asshole, Daisy?”
“What? ”
“That I would fire you because of what happened between us?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. But I take great pride in my career. I want to give my best. Always.”
“And you’re afraid that I’d distract you from doing your job?” I teased, wanting to put her at ease again.
She laughed. “Probably. It’s strange coming into the office knowing you’ve given me an orgasm,” she added in a low whisper.
“Daisy, it’s all engrained right here.” I tapped my forehead, and she laughed again. Hell yes, she was relaxing.
“It feels weird talking about this here.”
She was right. The office wasn’t the place for it.
“I’ll make you a deal. For the rest of the week, we’ll act as if nothing happened.”
“Okay.” She sounded suspicious.
“Do you have plans on Saturday?”
“No.”
“Then let’s meet on Saturday.”
“What are we doing?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll think about that. For now, let’s get back to work.”
She rose to her feet, nodding. As she moved a step away from the chair, a whiff of her perfume reached me. It was the same one from last night. Damn, it was intoxicating.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to compose myself. Otherwise, I was liable to kiss her again—have her again, right here, on the couch. Or my desk. Even my chair. Or all three.
Damn it, Anthony, not at the office.
“ Then I’ll see you later, Mr. LeBlanc.”
I blinked. “What?”
She smiled sheepishly. “Don’t know where that came from. I guess I was trying to make things as office-like as possible.”
I winked at her. “I’m still Anthony. And yes, let’s get the ball rolling. We’ve got plenty to do for the competition. ”
“And the festival,” she reminded me.
“Anything I need to troubleshoot?” I asked as I went back behind my desk.
“I’ll check and let you know.” Turning around, she headed to the door.
“Daisy, Saturday can’t come fast enough.”
She glanced over her shoulder, smiling from ear to ear. “I’m already counting down the hours.”
I kept things between us completely professional over the next few days. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because Daisy seemed to need it.
I didn’t. Every time she sauntered into my office, I was tempted to lock the door and have her on my desk. Every time we went on location, I almost couldn’t fight my urge to pull the car into a dark corner.
I was slowly losing my mind, and I wasn’t sure how it was happening, why, or how I could stop it.
On Friday morning, I could already smell victory in the air.
The week was coming to an end. Before going into the office, I went to Maria’s coffee shop and bought myself a coffee and a caramel drink for Daisy.
I knew how much she enjoyed this sugary treat.
And it was practically the weekend. I could start breaking the rules a bit.
To my surprise, I arrived at the office before she did. Then I remembered that she was at the festival location this morning. Gregory had asked her over, which meant he felt she was competent enough to solve whatever it was on her own.
After putting the drink on her desk, I went back to my office and got started on my own duties.
It was all about the jazz competition today.
The event was more work than it was worth, but the musician in me enjoyed it nonetheless.
I wanted to give everyone who loves music a chance to prove themselves .
At eleven o’clock, Daisy passed in front of my door.
I hadn’t asked her inside my office again since Monday; it was easier for me to resist my impulses if we weren’t in the same room.
Some days, I wished Dorothy came into the office every day.
Maybe that would give me an incentive to behave. But she worked from home a lot.
I heard Daisy’s yelp of joy and couldn’t help laughing.
Oh, fuck it. I grabbed my phone and texted her.
Anthony: Brought it with me this morning. Must be cold by now. I’m more than happy to bring you another one . Or microwave it.
I was stepping on this slippery slope with both feet.
Her reply came right away.
Daisy: I enjoy caramel hot and cold.
Mental note: I was going to include cold, sugary drinks in my repertoire from now on. Possibly ice cream too.
Daisy: Thanks so much. This made the day so much better.
Anthony: I heard your yelp of joy. Wish I could’ve seen it.
That was almost crossing the line, but not quite. But it was the truth.
Then I reread her message and immediately went into her office.
“Did Gregory give you grief? Have you?—”
I stopped talking because Daisy was sitting on her desk. Her legs were crossed, her head tilted slightly backward, eyes closed. She was holding her drink just under her lips. She straightened up abruptly, putting it down on the desk and then hopping to the floor.
“Sorry, what?”
I grinned at her. “My apologies. Didn’t want to interrupt… whatever this is.”
“I was just thanking heaven for caramel.”
“Back to my question. Did Gregory give you grief? You said I made your day better. ”
“You did, but that doesn’t mean it started off bad or anything. But this drink is a highlight.”
I made another mental note.
“Gregory was more than fine.”
“No fires to put out?”
“There are quite a few issues, but I’ll deal with them,” she said confidently as she sat behind the desk.
“Daisy, what’s going on?”
“I can deal with everything that’s come up,” she said again. As an employee, she really was a dream.
“You’re doing great work. I’ll do my best to persuade you to stay on.”
She pressed her lips together. “As much as I’m enjoying this, as soon as I get a position as senior marketing manager, I’m out.”
I swallowed hard. It was her prerogative, of course. I was certain Samantha would have something for her soon, but I didn’t want to think about it too often.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked.