Eli
Eli
H e had gotten his office set up, for the most part, and had a ton of meetings during his first week at McTavish. He was ready for the weekend but wasn’t sure if he wanted to stay home or bite the bullet and go out. Honestly, he was fine with sitting at home and catching up on binge-watching some shows.
“I’m heading out unless you need anything else from me,” Mina said.
“Um, no,” he said, “have a good weekend, Mina.”
“You too. Do you have any plans?” she asked. There was no way that he was about to admit that he was going to be a total loser and lay on his couch watching television all weekend long.
“Oh, yeah,” he lied, “I have a date tonight, and well, I haven’t made any other plans yet. I guess I’m waiting to see how tonight goes first. How about you? Any plans?” he asked. He didn’t want to hear that she had a hot date or something like that because that would only make his pathetic nonexistent plans even more pitiful. What he really wanted was to ask Mina out on a date—a real date. He’d wanted to do that since his brother’s wedding, but he was also a chicken and now that she worked for him, he didn’t want to chance of making their working relationship awkward if she ended up turning him down.
“I have a date tonight too,” she said. “It’s actually a guy I met while getting coffee on break the other day. Well, I hope your date goes well. I’ll see you on Monday.” He watched as she hurried out of his office and for just a second, Eli thought that Mina was lying to him—but why would she do that? He decided to do a little bit of research and his brother was just the person to give him answers.
Eli walked down to the elevator and rode it up to the top floor where his brother’s office was. Since he was also a partner, he got to be on the top floor with the McTavish brothers. He found Evan sitting behind his desk and he softly knocked on his brother’s door.
“Hey, Eli, what can I do for you?” Evan asked. “How’s your first week been going?”
“Good,” Eli said. He meant it too. Working for McTavish was a dream come true. He had never been with a better company.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t get down to visit you much this week. Work’s been crazy and I’ve been running home to check to make sure that Carrie is following the doctor’s rules and staying off her feet.”
“I understand,” Eli said, “I hope she’s doing well.”
“Oh, she’s a pistol. She’s refusing to sit still and I’m worried that I’m going to have to take some time off to sit on her if she doesn’t start behaving,” Evan said. Eli chuckled and Evan shook his head. “It’s not funny. If this was happening to you, I’d feel bad for you, brother.”
“Well, I’d have to find a woman and somehow, knock her up, to have this happen to me, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. You know, you love the fact that Carrie gives you a little bit of trouble. She’s just your type.” His brother always liked his women hot and naughty. Carrie seemed to really fit the bill.
“Well, I could do with a little bit less trouble, if I’m being honest,” Evan said. “So, what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you could answer a question for me,” Eli said. He wasn’t sure if he should just blurt it out or forget asking altogether.
“Shoot,” his brother said.
“I’m just wondering if Mina is seeing anyone,” Eli said. He decided to go with just blurting it out and from the look on his brother’s face, it might not have been the way to go.
“Why are you asking me about Mina’s dating life? Is something wrong? Is she not working out or something?” Evan was just full of questions and now, Eli was going to have to field them all if he wanted answers.
“She’s working out fine,” Eli admitted. “I’m just curious. She said that she has a date tonight with a guy that she met while on a coffee break around the corner. I was wondering if you heard her and Carrie talking about some guy she just met.”
“No, I can’t say that I have,” Evan said. “I mean, I don’t listen in on all my wife’s conversations with her best friend, but I haven’t heard her talking about Mina going out on a date or anything like that. Do you want me to call and ask her?”
“Um, no,” Eli said when his brother picked up his cell phone from the desk. “That’s not necessary. I was just worried that she had met some stranger and I guess I’m just trying to look out for her.” He knew that if anyone would be able to see through his bullshit, it would be his brother. Eli was just hoping that he’d give him a pass this time.
“Bullshit,” Evan said. Yeah, so much for giving him a pass. “You like her, don’t you?” he asked.
“What—no,” Eli protested. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Okay, so then, you won’t care if I ask my wife if Mina is seeing anyone. I mean, if you don’t like her, what does it matter?” Evan asked. His brother always had a way of calling his bluff and it always got on his last nerve.
“You know what—just forget that I even came up here to talk to you. I’m heading home for the weekend. I’ll see you on Monday. Send Carrie my love,” Eli said.
“Oh, don’t be that way, Eli.” Evan chased him all the way to the elevator and grabbed his arm before he could get on. “I’m sorry, but I also don’t think that you should pursue Mina,” he said.
“I’m not pursuing her,” Eli insisted.
“What do you call all of this?” Evan asked waving around his arms. “You two don’t really even know each other and maybe, you should get to know her professionally first.”
Eli barked out his laugh, “You’re one to talk,” he said. “You didn’t know Carrie at all, and you seemed just fine with jumping into a relationship with her. Did you get to know her professionally first?”
“Well, no,” Evan admitted. “I didn’t get to know her professionally, but we had a different circumstance that we were dealing with when we met.”
“Right, well, maybe Mina has a crazy ex that I can protect her from, and we can go on the run together,” Eli teased.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Eli,” Evan said.
“I appreciate that, but I also can’t stop feeling the way that I feel,” Eli said.
“Then, I guess all you can do is ask her out,” Evan offered.
“It’s too late for that,” Eli said, “she told me that she has a date tonight and I kind of lied and told her that I do too.”
“You two are a pair, aren’t you?” Evan asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a pizza to order and a couch with my name on it. See you later,” he said, stepping into the elevator. He was going to go home and mope, that was certain, but at least he’d be able to face his new assistant on Monday because there was no way that he was going to call her bluff and go over to her place tonight. He wasn’t a lunatic.
Eli spent Friday evening doing what he told Evan he’d be doing—eating pizza and watching movies from his couch. By Saturday morning, he felt like a slug and decided to go to the gym to work off some of the carbs that he ate the night before.
By the time he got to the gym, the weekend crowd was in full force. They were the ones who put off working out most of the week only to take up every machine in the gym on Saturday and Sunday. He hated working out on weekends, but he really didn’t want to just drive home after putting effort into getting dressed and driving over there. His late nights at his new job didn’t help him get to the gym on weeknights either, so he had nothing to lose except for a few unwanted pounds.
He checked in, towed his stuff in a locker, and got on the closest treadmill. He always like to start his workout with a good run. Then, if he had any extra energy left, he usually hit the weights before heading to the showers. Eli damn near fell off the treadmill when he realized that Mina was running on the machine in front of him. He thought about giving up on the whole idea of exercise, but then, he’d be giving up the best view in the gym.
Mina had her dark hair pulled back in a slick ponytail and he loved the way that it swished back and forth with her efforts. He didn’t mind watching her ass mimic the same movement in her tight, hot workout leggings. God, everything about her turned him on and he was sure that he was going to regret his next move, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. He had never been a fast learner and following his brother’s advice and simply asking her out still felt wrong to him. How could he date his new assistant and work with her day in and day out? The only way to find out was to actually man up and ask her out.
He took a deep breath and stopped his treadmill, practically stumbling off the back of it. Eli regained his composure, looked around to make sure that no one had seen him make a fool out of himself, and grabbed his water bottle and phone. He walked over to the side of Mina’s treadmill and gave her his best smile and a little wave. Yeah, he was an idiot. Who waved at someone like that when they were standing right there?
She slowed down her pace and pulled her earbuds from her ears. “Eli,” she breathed. She sounded sexy as hell with the way she rasped his name out. He wondered if that was how she would sound during sex—breathy and hot.
“Hey,” he said.
“I didn’t know that you come to this gym,” she said. “I mean, I haven’t seen you here before.”
“Um, I just joined,” he said. “I was kind of a slug before I took the job at McTavish.”
She looked him over, and he had to admit, he loved the way that her eyes lingered on his body. “I doubt that,” she said. “You look like you’re in pretty good shape.”
“You’re being kind, but you don’t have to say that,” Eli said. “How was your date last night?” he asked.
“My date?” she asked. “Oh—um, it went well, I think. You know how hard first dates are.” He hated that she had a good first date with anyone besides him, but he wasn’t going to be an ass about it.
“Sure,” he said, “I’m happy that it went well,” he lied.
“How did your date go?” she asked. That was a very good question. Did he want to go with the whole, my date sucked lie, or it went well and she’s at my place right now, lie?
“It didn’t work out,” he said, going with the former lie. It would at least give him the opportunity to ask her out—if he could get up the nerve.
“Sorry to hear that,” she said, even though she didn’t look sorry at all.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your workout,” he offered. He turned to walk away, internally kicking himself for being a complete chicken. Eli turned back as she started to run again. “Would you like to grab some dinner with me, after the gym?” he asked. Mina stumbled off the back of the treadmill and he nearly caught her in midair.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m such a klutz. I’m sorry,” she said. He had his arms wrapped around her and not one single bit of him was sorry that he had to catch her and hold her against his body.
“Not a problem,” he said.
“You just caught me off guard,” she said.
“I didn’t mean to,” Eli said, “I just wanted to take you out to dinner, Mina.” She sighed and looked up at him, and for a second, he thought for sure that she was going to tell him, yes—but she didn’t.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Eli. I work for you and if we go on a date, and things didn’t work out, I’d hate to lose my job.” Yeah, he’d never fire her, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t believe him if he said that now. He was going to have to backtrack and do some creative lying if he was going to make things less awkward between the two of them.
“Oh—you thought I was asking you out on a date?” he asked.
“Well, yeah,” she said. He released Mina and gave her his best smile again. If he was going to pull off this lie, he couldn’t be touching her. His traitorous body would give him away.
“No, I just thought that we could get a bite to eat together—you know two friends, hanging out, outside of work. I mean, you are best friends with my sister-in-law, and that practically makes us family now. I just thought that you’d like to hang out if you don’t already have plans.”
“Now, I’m embarrassed. I’m sorry that I jumped to the wrong conclusions,” she said.
“No—don’t be embarrassed,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. So, how about it? You want to catch dinner after your workout?”
“Oh, um, sure,” she said. “I’d like to hang out as friends. Thank you for inviting me, Eli.”
“Great,” he said, “where would you like to go?”
“Um, how about if you come back to my place to hang out? We can order takeout and watch a movie. I know it sounds kind of boring, but I’m watching my new neighbor’s dog and I can’t leave her alone for too long, or she’ll tear my apartment apart,” Mina said.
“I’d love to help you dog sit. How about if you text me your address and I’ll pick up some takeout? Does Asian sound good?”
“I love sushi, so sure,” she said. “I’m not too picky.”
“Great,” Eli said, “how about if I come over around six?” That would give him enough time to run home, take a proper shower, and put on something besides sweats.
“Six sounds perfect. I’ll text you my address now,” she said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. They had exchanged phone numbers during their first day at work. She told him to call if he needed anything from her over the weekends. Mina insisted that she didn’t mind working on Saturday or Sunday if he was heading into the office. He didn’t like working weekends, but he appreciated her extra effort.
“There,” she said, “I’ll see you at six.”
“Great, see you at six,” he agreed. She got back on the treadmill and started her run again and all he could do was stand there like a fool, watching her.
“You okay?” she asked. “Did you need something else?” she asked.
“No,” he croaked. “I’m good. See you later.” He hightailed it back to the locker room before making more of a fool of himself.
“Smooth, Eli,” he whispered under his breath, “real smooth.”