Chapter Thirteen Stephen
I watched her expression change as she read her phone. Something had upset her. She whispered to Kate, then chugged down her orange drink.
“What’s the deal?”
I moved my eyes back to Alex. “The deal with what?”
“Come on, man. You’ve been staring at that chick since we got here. Who is she?”
I drained the rest of my glass. Damn, they made a good brew here. “Perry. New hire in Operations.”
“Ah.” He leaned back with a smirk. “I get it now. You shocked the shit out of everyone when you volunteered to sit in for Krismer, but now it makes more sense. You could’ve just told me.”
I signaled the waitress for another. “I was just helping out Walt. You know he didn’t want to do it. No one did.”
“Yeah, yeah. You did your good deed for the year, and that’s all it was. Right, buddy?”
I shrugged. Alex was my coworker and closest friend. He’d see through my bullshit from a mile away, if I had any. Turned out, I still didn’t even know which end was up myself. Exactly why had I volunteered? Certainly not to fuck up her new job.
Adam brought her another fruity-looking thing and she drank that down just as quickly. What was going on with her? She’d barely touched her drink earlier and then guzzled down two within a matter of minutes. Not that she was my responsibility, but I’d have to keep a close watch on her. I didn’t want her doing anything careless.
Perry laughed at something, no doubt instigated by chucklehead over there. Her smile was…. Fuck. She looked over and met my gaze. It was the first time she’d acknowledged me since I’d arrived. She held it for a short time and then turned away. I immediately craved it back. I was so screwed.
I tipped the waitress after she left another round. I’d just picked up my beer when Perry and Kate passed by. I grabbed hold of her arm and she glanced down.
“Can I talk to you a moment?” I asked. That was the main reason I’d come. I wanted the chance to explain, even if I didn’t completely understand what I was explaining.
She used her other hand to pull mine off. “Sorry, Mr. Davidson. I’m off the clock right now, but I’d be happy to revisit policy procedures with you on Monday.”
“Perry, that’s not what this is about.”
A Black Eyed Peas song came on and she started shaking her hips. “Oops, gotta go dance now.”
“There’s no dance floor.”
“Tell that to me and Kate.” She smiled wide and they went off giggling.
I shook my head. That went fucking nowhere. My eyes followed them up to the bar area as they each ordered another drink. I only had a narrow window to work through. The more she drank, the more she might be open to talking with me, but the less she’d remember.
As much as I kept reminding myself that it wasn’t part of my job description to keep tabs on her after hours, I couldn’t stop watching, checking, making sure she wasn’t getting mauled by one of the dozens of assholes drooling all over her.
With drinks in hand, the two found an open spot near the small distillery and began their dancing. If I thought she drew attention to herself just by standing, it was nothing compared to when her body moved. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I didn’t like that I wasn’t the only one who did.
“She’s mighty nice,” Alex said.
“Yeah.” I was seriously wondering what I’d gotten myself into when I’d agreed to manage her department.
“Tread carefully, my friend. Tread very carefully.”
“It’s not like that.” Was her long, dark hair as soft as it looked? Because it looked highly touchable. It looked very easy to run your fingers through. “And even if I weren’t helping out at Braden, she’s still taken. Some loser muscle-head boyfriend.”
I snorted at that and Alex raised his eyebrow. Where was the guy anyway? Loser.
Several songs and a couple more drinks later, they stumbled their way back to the table. I had this strong need to pull her towards me again but closer this time. I wanted to learn her story, find out what had caused her entire disposition to change earlier. What had made her suddenly want to pound lots of alcohol? I wanted to believe it was because of Dre, but I didn’t want her getting hurt in the process. Tread very carefully . Probably the best piece of advice Alex had ever given me.
“You’re crazy,” Kate said, plopping down on her husband’s lap. “You’ll never get married, but you’ll get a tattoo for the guy? You do realize those are more permanent than most marriages, right? ”
“I didn’t say I was getting one for sure. Only that he wants me to. Real bad.” Perry held on to the edge of the table as she swayed back and forth. “Would you get one for John if he real bad wanted you to?” She was slurring, and I scooted my chair closer. Adam was almost touching her and that just… bothered me.
“Hmm….” Kate looked up at him and smiled. “Probably, but then I married him too, so it’s kind of a different situation, don’t you think?”
Perry giggled. “You two are soooo cute together. I have a special knack for these things, you know. I can tell like bam! when a couple’s meant to be.” She waved her finger around. “And. You. Two. Are.”
Too bad that same knack doesn’t extend to yourself.
“If I ever do get some ink, though, it’s gotta be pretty. And I think I want it right here.” She jabbed herself in the hip, knocking her off balance. I heard a smack when her ass hit the ground.
She started laughing hysterically, and I rose. Man, it was brutal to watch and not rush over and help. Both Kate and Adam pulled her up. Or tried to.
“John, you about ready to go? I think we need to get Perry home now.”
“Naw, you guys stay,” Adam said. “I can take her. No problem.”
“No, we should probably get going anyway. We have plans in the morning.”
“But she’s more on my way than yours. I got it.”
“Aww…. Are you two fighting over me? You guys are the best.”
Fuck this. I walked over and stood behind them. “I’ll see that she gets home okay.” All eyes were on me, even Perry’s as she blinked slowly. “Does that work for you, Adam?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Sure thing, boss.”
Kate crouched down and whispered something. Perry wouldn’t stop staring at me, and I fucking liked it too much.
“Okay, I can do this,” Perry mumbled and seemed to sober up just enough to get upright with Kate’s assistance. I’d give almost anything at that point to know what she’d whispered to her.
“Grab hold of my arm, Perry,” I said.
“I’m not as think as you drunk I am.”
“What?”
“Ha! I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Just grab on, okay?”
She sighed, then wrapped her hands around my forearm. I sucked in a breath. I liked her touch. I liked it a lot.
“You sure you want to do this, man?” Alex said quietly.
“I’m just making sure she gets home all right.” I smacked his chest with my free hand. “Now help me out. Can you grab her purse for me?”
“Sure. It’s just my color too.” He slung it over his shoulder and struck a pose, causing Perry to start giggling again.
“You’re funny,” she said. “Who are you?”
“Alex’s the name. Making pretty ladies laugh’s my game.”
Which of course brought on more laughter. I shot him a look. This wasn’t his act. He was doing this shit on purpose.
“He’s just a good friend of mine, Perry, and he’ll be coming with us.”
After goodbyes and curious looks that I shrugged off, the three of us exited. “Think you’ll be fine if I drop Alex off first? He’s closer.” And even if he weren’t, I’d still drop him off first.
“How do you know that?” she said. “You don’t know where I live.”
“Yes, I do. It’s in the file.”
“Oh. Well, I live on 31 st over by Lucky’s.”
“Yes, I know.”
She inhaled deeply. “I feel so much better out here. I guess I just needed air. You can have your arm back now.” She let go of me and immediately wobbled.
I put her hands back. “It’s not much farther. Hold on, please. I don’t want you falling on the pavement.” Just because she sounded better didn’t mean she’d be walking a straight line any time soon.
“Okay, Mr. Davidson.”
“It’s Stephen, Perry. I’ve told you that. And we’re not at work, remember?”
Her eyes flicked up, and she seemed to ponder what I’d said. Then she nodded. “Okay, Stephen.”
“Can I call you Mr. Davidson?” Alex said in a husky voice. “It sounds so authoritative.”
Laughter from both sides. I gave him another ‘shut it’ look, but he appeared to be having way too much fun to pay attention. I knew him—he was going to fuck with me for not being upfront about Perry. But I didn’t intentionally hold anything back. How could I do that when I didn’t fucking know anything myself?
“Huh. This is yours?” she asked when we came to my truck.
“Yes. Do you need help getting in?”
“It’s not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
She shrugged, putting her hand on the door. “Hey, what happens if I get sick in it?”
“Are you feeling sick?” I wondered if I needed to bring her back inside to the bathroom; although, it’d probably be cleaner for her to throw up out here. I didn’t want her kneeling over some nasty-ass toilet.
“No, just wondering. Would you get mad at me if I did?”
“Would you do it on purpose?”
“No.”
“Then how could I get mad at you?”
“Huh.” She crawled up without help, but I kept my hands close by in case she slipped. Her skirt slid up and I looked away. No sense in torturing myself.
I went over to the driver side and Alex hopped in back. “Put your seat belt on,” I told her.
“I’m trying.” She fumbled around and just when I was about to get back out to do it for her, it clicked. I wasn’t sure if that disappointed me or not.
“Ready?”
“Yep. I live on 31 st Street.”
“I know.”
“Speaking of 31, what are you guys dressing up for on Halloween?”
I chuckled. “That’s over six months away.”
“I think I’m gonna be Dorothy. You know, Wizard of Oz . What character would you pick to be? Ooh… with your blond hair, you’d make a good lion, Stephen. What do you think, Alex?”
“Are you kidding me? Ah, yeah. Adorable.” He ruffled my hair, and I yanked my head to the side. “You’d make one sexy beast, Mr. Davidson.” He snapped his wrist forward. “Roar.”
“You’re funny,” she said. Yeah, a fucking barrel of monkeys. “I should introduce you to my best friend, Christa.”
“Is she hot?”
“Ohmigod, so hot. She has this incredible hair that looks like it dripped right out of a honey bottle. And her body?” She drew curves with her hands. “Ah-mazing.”
He laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep her for yourself?”
“No, silly.” She waved her hand. “And she has this killer job working in a skin clinic. She’ll probably always look young and gorgeous.”
“Sign me up.”
“She’s not your type,” I said.
“Hey, just because you turned her down doesn’t mean she’s not perfect.” Perry turned towards me. “And why did you turn her down?”
“Interesting,” Alex said, and I caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, why did you? ”
I glared at him. “Not my type either, Alex.”
“Do you mind if I put my feet on the seat?”
I shifted my view over to Perry. Hopefully, she’d moved on from the Christa discussion. There was something about her friend I didn’t trust. And just because someone might be physically attractive doesn’t mean they’re perfect.
“As long as you stay buckled up, you can do whatever you’d like.”
“Huh.” She curled her legs underneath her. “Knock knock.”
“What?”
“It’s a joke, silly. You’re supposed to say ‘who’s there.’”
I smiled, shaking my head. “Okay, who’s there?”
“Wait, I think I’ve heard this one before,” Alex said. “Does it by chance involve a banana?”
Perry giggled. “Nope. Knock knock.”
“Who’s there?”
The car was quiet for a minute. “Damn, I forgot. It was really funny too.”
“I’m sure you’ll get another chance to tell us,” Alex said. “Since we all work together now.”
Perry’s eyes grew huge. “Holy shit! You work at FiTech too? Stephen, did you know about this?”
“Yeah, I think I heard something.”
“That’s so cool!” She gave Alex a big smile. “Which department?”
She sounded a little too excited. I was glad that we’d arrived at his place. Hey, I loved the guy, but I’d love him even better if he were gone right now.
“Product Development. I’m over at corporate.”
“Oh, where Stephen used to be. I guess we won’t be running into each other too often, then.”
“I have the strangest feeling that it may be more often than you think.” He’d practically grinned the words.
“Goodbye, Alex,” I said .
He took his sweet time leaving while he chatted a few more minutes with Perry. Just before I was about to boot his ass out the door, he clamped a hand on my shoulder. “Have a good night, buddy. Talk to you soon.”
As soon as he was gone, Perry said, “I like him.”
God, is everyone going to fuck with me tonight? “What about your boyfriend?” Part of me hoped she’d say that he was no longer an issue, but then what would happen if she ended up being interested in my best friend, the guy I considered family? No. Fucking. Way.
“I didn’t mean like like, Stephen. Geez.”
She didn’t say anything further about it. Nothing regarding Dre. In fact, she didn’t say much at all. It was as if Alex had been the liaison, and now that he was gone, we didn’t know how to communicate. I didn’t like it. I wanted to hear her laugh and joke like she had with everyone else. I wanted to hear her bitch at me and speak her mind. Anything except for the silence she was giving me.
“I need to talk to you about what happened at work this morning,” I said. “I’d like to apologize. You were right.”
Her jaw dropped. “So you were harassing me?”
My head lowered for a second. “No, Perry. That’s not what I’m saying. Just hear me out, okay?”
“I’m just going to rest my head against the window. All right, go ahead.”
I glanced over at her, the way she was curled up in my truck. I hadn’t crossed any lines by driving her home, but it felt borderline because I liked seeing her there way too much.
“First off, I never want to affect your job. To hear you say that you loved it until I started fucking it up for you really got to me. I never want you to feel that way because of me. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m on your ass all the time, because you’re a great operator and you don’t deserve that. You fit in really well, and I don’t know… maybe too well at times? ”
I ran my hand through my hair. Fuck, I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. I definitely didn’t want to admit that what I felt when I saw the way she acted with others, the way others acted with her, was something akin to jealousy.
“And while the policies were made for a reason, I’ll admit that I seemed to be imposing them a bit harder on you. The thing is, Perry, I want us to get along. I want us to be friends. You’re very guarded with me, and that’s not how you are with everyone else. Yes, I understand that you’re reporting to me at the moment, but I don’t want that to change how you express yourself. If I piss you off, I want you to tell me, okay? You wouldn’t take that shit from anyone else, so why do it with me?”
I pulled down her street, wishing I hadn’t let so much time lapse in silence earlier. But what if I did have more time? What would I say? I needed to be careful. I couldn’t explain how she’d captured my interest from that first night, how I’d been trying to sort through feelings I shouldn’t be having over a connection I didn’t understand.
It should’ve been simple. I was her boss, and she was unavailable. End of story.
I hit a bump when I pulled into her lot, and she bolted straight. “Hey, we’re here,” she said. Had she fallen asleep? And when? “Um, thank you for the ride.”
“You’re welcome. Can I see your phone for a sec?”
“Why?” Her face looked blank. “Did you lose yours?”
“No, I want to send myself a text so I have your number. I’d like to check on you tomorrow and see how you’re doing.” I could easily get her number from work, but I wanted her to be fully apprised of what I was doing. If she didn’t want me to have it, she could tell me no.
“But why?” She handed over the phone as she said it and I smiled.
“Because that’s what friends do.”
“Friends?”
Man, she seemed out of it. I gave her phone back after I’d finished. “ Yes, Perry.” I guess I could safely assume she’d missed that section of my talk. “From now on, I’d like us to interact as friends. You’re doing a great job, and I want you to look forward to coming into work every day. If anything I do bothers you, I don’t want you to hesitate to speak out just because of who I am. I’m officially calling a truce. Sound good?”
I stuck out my hand, and she stared down at it. I was walking a slippery slope here, I realized that. One that could easily take me down hard. But I could handle it. I was being sincere. I had a strong need to get to know her better, but I had to do it in a way that wouldn’t fuck up her life. Any part of it.
“Truce,” she finally said.
She placed her hand in mine and the contact affected me. I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. But I shook it, and then I let go.
I offered to help her to the door, but she refused. I judged her ability to walk on her own by the way she’d exited the truck. When I was satisfied that she was doing much better than before, I waited until I saw her go inside. Then I waited a bit longer.
I rested my head on the seat. Maybe I should’ve gone with her to ask for the necklace back. I had a feeling I was going to need that luck a hell of a lot more than she would.