14. Margeaux
14
MARGEAUX
“Whoa, nice shiner.”
My head whips up, Aaron’s statement echoing through the office like a morning announcement over the junior high loudspeaker. My eyes immediately land on Gus, his trademark stoic expression firmly in place. He’s in the same charcoal pants he was wearing Saturday night on our date, but today’s shirt is a deep teal, the color of a tropical ocean, and immediately sends my mind to thoughts of sitting on a beach with Gus. Of playing in the waves, lounging in the sun, and wasting away the day.
I turn back to my screen, hoping that no one else has noticed that it’s suddenly five hundred degrees warmer in here. The last thing I need is for one of my coworkers to think that my gaze lingered a little too long on the man who is currently our boss. It’s bad enough that him walking through the door sends me into epic daydreams.
“Whatcha do to get it?” Aaron presses when Gus doesn’t respond to his initial comment.
“Got hit in the eye. ”
Well, that’s not a lie…
I press my lips together, keeping my focus on the email in front of me. Bronwyn’s question about the status of some of the filings for the Southern Brothers trademarks we have been working on doesn’t require quite as much concentration as I’m giving it, but right now, if it keeps Teresa off my back, then I will respond to this inquiry in calligraphy.
“How?”
Give it a rest, Aaron…
“How’s that risk assessment coming?” Gus counters, his voice steady, yet subtly accusatory. The same way my grandmother’s was every time she would ask me if that was what I was wearing to church.
Aaron seems to take the hint, nodding and turning back to whatever it is he’s working on. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Teresa roll her eyes but then perk up, like she’s ready for Gus to pay attention to her. Ever the teacher’s pet.
Only she doesn’t get her wish.
“Margeaux,” Gus says. I turn to him, eyes wide, pulse skipping, waiting to see what’s coming next. Gus keeps it simple though, nodding, his smile nothing but professional. “Morning.”
“Morning.”
Another nod, and he turns on his heel, looking to Percy’s assistant. “Mabel, got a moment?”
The older lady nods and follows Gus into Percy’s office. The door closes behind her, the click of the latch barely filling the air before Teresa scoffs.
“What was that?”
“A black eye,” Aaron says. “Seriously, I wonder what happened. Gotta be one of his brothers, right? Unless he was up in Atlanta this weekend.”
I open my mouth to correct him, to say he was down in Savannah, but then I stop myself. I don’t need to volunteer that I know that kind of information. Because then the next line of questioning is going to be why I know such a thing. And that’s not a road we need to travel down.
The look on my face must give away something though, because Aaron continues, explaining why he said he thought Atlanta. “His best friend, Dylan Barrowcliff, lives up there. We all went to high school together. Although Gus and Dylan are like two of the most boring guys on the planet, so I don’t know what they’d be getting into a fight over.”
He’s not boring…
“Not important, Aaron,” Teresa snarks. “And not what I meant. Why did he talk to you?”
No one—even the half dozen other people in this office who haven’t been a part of this conversation—has to ask who she means. We all know that she’s talking about me. It’s crystal clear by the vitriol in her voice.
“He said my name,” I defend.
Shit…
“And good morning.”
“Hardly a capital offense.”
“Why you?”
“Because I’m sitting here? I don’t know?”
Shit. Fuck. Damn. Whatever that string of curse words is that Bill Nighy spews at the beginning of Love Actually . Make this stop.
“But why you?” she repeats. “I’m the senior counselor here.”
“You’re starting to sound a little unhinged there, Teresa,” Aaron mutters.
Have to agree with him there. Especially since she’s not even the most senior lawyer in the room. Of the three of us sitting right here? Sure. But Hayes has a large legal department. Her claims of seniority over me aren’t going to get her very far.
Still, this is why what’s going on between Gus and me isn’t a good idea. At least while he’s my boss. I need to keep my head down and focus on my work. Which right now means replying to Bronwyn’s email about Southern Brothers trademarks. And then moving on to a project regarding the self-defense classes.
Actually…
An idea sparks in me. I pull out the notebook I keep in my tote bag, flipping through the pages until I find the note I scribbled over the weekend. Scanning my notes, I find what I’m looking for, the brief note to self to research a gadget that Jace mentioned. One that Hayes has an expiring patent on.
Digging into the patents file, I find the one I want and start reading. My mind moves like the Tilt-A-Whirl at the county fair, spinning out of control as I devour the information, page after page of specifications and nuances. The rest of me can’t move fast enough to keep up either, the thoughts pouring in, one after another. Pulling up a blank document, I type furiously, trying to capture it all in one space, not wanting to miss a detail.
By the time I get it all out, it feels like hours have passed, but I’m sure it’s only been minutes. No one else in the office seems to be the least bit disturbed, but I’m thrumming. My skin is buzzing, the excitement I’m feeling hard to contain. I’m going to have to though—or else everyone will think that I’ve lost my mind.
And maybe I have. But maybe I haven’t.
Time will tell.
Mabel reappears at her desk, leaving the door to Percy’s—err…Gus’s?—office open. For a brief second I consider going in there and sharing my idea with him. Telling him what I wa nt to do. But I stop myself. Not because I think he’ll tell me no, because I know he won’t. He told the department that he had no intention of doing anything differently than Percy—after all, this was a temporary shift in reporting structure—and one of the things that Percy brags about is letting his team members work on projects they want, as long as they have the bandwidth and they’ve cleared it with him.
But going in there now to tell Gus about this idea and that I want to work on it means walking by Teresa. And after her little hissy fit this morning, I don’t need to give her any more ammunition. An email will suffice.
“Teresa.” Gus’s deep voice reverberates through me, and I startle. I swear he could make anything sound good, even her name. Stopping directly in front of her desk, he doesn’t waste time on formalities. “I don’t know where you are on the Hickory Hills Drug contract review, but I need you to please make sure that you include in your report who owns the building the drugstore is in, what the mortgage status is, if we potentially need to have an inspection done, the works. And if I could have that by Friday, please.”
“Of course! On it!” Teresa says, sitting straight up, like she’s a marionette and her puppeteer tugged on her strings. “And I’m sure the building is included, but it’s smart to double-check.”
“Agreed. I think it’s a brilliant idea.” He pivots, winking at me as he heads toward the door. “I’m in meetings for most of the afternoon, but if y’all need me just text.”
“Did he just wink?”
This time, I don’t think the door is even closed before her ire is on display. I swallow hard, waiting for her to continue. Mabel’s head lifts slightly, and I can tell she’s ready to eavesdrop on all of it. Nothing has been said, but if I had to guess, she’s a card-carrying member of this illustrious Hickory Hills rumor mill I keep hearing about. Which is even more of a reason to keep all this drama to a minimum.
Oh yeah, and my job.
“And just what are you doing getting ideas about M and A, huh? You’re trademark and IP. I’m M and A,” Teresa says, rounding her desk and stomping over to me.
“You specialize in taxes,” Aaron quips. “Percy asked you to look at the drugstore stuff because of tax law benefits. Sliger handles mergers and acquisitions.”
Teresa crosses her arms, the defensive look on her face telling me she’s ready for a fight. About what I’m not sure, but she’s ready. The fact that Aaron just pointed out that she doesn’t actually handle mergers and acquisitions probably isn’t boding well for me either. And I didn’t even do it. I know better than to engage. I need to simply turn back to my work and focus on that. There’s plenty of it. These trademark renewals are not going to write up themselves. Plus, that other project. Not that I’m going to let her in on that.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What do you have to say for yourself?” she demands.
“Teresa, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Look here, Finnegan. I don’t care where you got your fancy degree from. Or who you did your hotshot internship with, or whatever you spent all the time overseas doing. Here, you’re the low woman on the pole, got it? Don’t think you can just waltz in here and automatically be handed things. You have to earn your spot just like the rest of us.”
Okay…she’s officially lost the plot.
“I’m going to get back to work now,” I tell her.
She huffs out a breath, as if she were the fire-breathing dragon in a fairy tale, then stomps back to her desk. Aaron looks up at me, circling his temple with his pointer finger to indicate that she’s crazy. Which, I have to agree with him. I can only hope that whatever Mabel reports back to her crew reflects that same thing.
The buzz of my phone against the desk steals my attention and I look down, heart jumping at Gus’s name.
Gus
In case you were unaware, I had a great time this weekend. And I really hated waking up without you in my arms this morning
Same. On both counts
Good
Side note: sending you an email about an idea I had and a project I want to work on. Jace mentioned something this weekend about the SafeSounds Widget and how the patent is expiring, and I think there might be a work-around to extend it. Just so we have official record of my taking on the project
Fine by me. I told y’all when this all started, nothing changed, you can still take on whatever as long as it fits whatever parameters Percy has
I know. I just want to follow the rules ;)
Speaking of breaking the rules, when can I take you out again? You busy tonight?
I sigh, my chest filling with a swarm of butterflies. There’s no controlling the silly smile that takes over, and I know that if anyone were to look at me, they’d think I was as twitterpated as a tween at a boy band concert.
Which I am.
Still, I know we need to pump the brakes. Teresa’s outburst from earlier is a clear example of why.
We need to be careful.
I know.
Says the man who winked at me in the office
No one saw that
Teresa did. And promptly lost her shit.
She doesn’t know anything
No, she just thinks you’re playing favorites. And she hates me enough as it is. We don’t need to give her any more of a reason.
Looking up, I make sure that she isn’t staring at me. Because that would be the cherry on top of this sundae. For all I know, she’s keeping a logbook of my every move and has notes that at this very moment say I’m sitting at my desk texting. If she only knew who I was texting.
I have good money she’s jealous because Willa took to you. They worked on a project last year and it didn’t go well. So the fact that she sees you and Willa together probably kills her
Oh. Well, that’s an interesting piece of information. And one that shines a light on a lot. A lot.
Since I can’t hang out with Gus at the office, most days I end up eating lunch with Willa and Bronwyn. Something I have loved. Something Gus thinks is dangerous. Something that makes the comment about earning my spot make a little more sense as well. Maybe this isn’t all about Gus, but the fact that she feels slighted all around.
Perceived woman on woman professional crime.
Good to know
Still, we need to be careful…
I know. And you’ve worked hard to get here
I don’t want to do anything to put your beautiful mind at risk
My heart squeezes, the butterflies taking flight. The more time I spend with him, the harder it is not to fall for him. In fact, it’s impossible. And I’m lying to myself if I say that I haven’t already started.
So how about this—Dolly, Rose, Emily, and Alice are all going to be at Drafts and Dig In at Pour Decisions on Thursday. When Dolly invites you, say yes. Girls’ night out. Then, inevitably, when we end up at the same table since I’m there with Hux, it’s nothing but a happy coincidence
My Thursday night is currently open
And maybe one of the girls should pick you up, so that someone going your way could give you a ride home
or we could just carpool? Since we’re both headed in the same direction ;)
Have I told you how sexy that brain of yours is?
I laugh, not bothering to hide it.
I should get back to work. My boss can be a real hard ass.
I’ve heard that about him. Bark is worse than his bite though
I dunno, I rather liked his bite ;)
Noted
One last thing—you should still call me tonight. We could have some…hands-on fun…
It’s a date