Chapter 10
FELIX
As I walk through Holly’s workplace, I can’t hide my smile. I’ve purposely avoided telling Joy that I’ve been seeing her boss.
I want to see her reaction in person; it’ll be so much better that way. She asked where I went after her work party, and I just fired the question back at her.
She blushed, and neither of us answered. Though, her blushing was definitely an answer.
She went home with Tulip. That much is clear.
I don’t want her to think that I’m just banging her boss just to bang her boss. We have a connection, and I’ll prove it—to both of them.
Disappointment floods me as I pass Joy’s empty desk. Later, I’ll tease her about being a shitty secretary and letting people sneak past.
Knocking on Holly’s office door, I wait to hear her call out, “Come in.”
As I enter, her eyes open wider, and she lets out a breath of surprise. “Felix—I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?”
“I brought you lunch.” I grin, holding up two large bags. “Since you said you couldn’t do dinner tonight, I thought I’d bring dinner to you…but for lunch.”
Now that I say that out loud, I feel a bit silly. It sounded much more suave in my head.
I perch on the edge of her desk, resting the bag on my leg. Her eyebrows are furrowed, a slight frown on her lips.
“Felix, I don’t really have time…” She takes a whiff of the air, and her pupils enlarge. “What did you bring—are those festive meals?”
It’s cute that she knows what they are from the scent. There really might be a former Christmas enjoyer somewhere inside her.
Nodding, I set the bag down on her desk. “Yes, they are, and from my favorite place in town.”
She pries her eyes from the bag, meeting my gaze. Is she going to try to guess where my favorite place is?
“The Italian place, Giordano’s, right? I think you told me while we were putting up ornaments the other night.” She raises a brow at me.
The sheer joy that floods me is more than I expected. But it makes me weirdly happy that she remembers things I tell her. My snakes are happy too, wriggling and softly hissing as I grin. “Yes, that’s the one.”
Opening the bag, I pull out the two meals. She sits down and digs right in, her shoulders falling as she tips her head back.
“Is it good?” I chuckle, holding my dish beneath my chin in case of any unfortunate fallout.
She nods, giving me a small smile. “Very. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, dollface.” I wink.
There’s a knock at the door, but not enough time for Holly to answer before it flies open. Joy’s eyes are locked onto a Post-it note between her fingers as she enters absentmindedly.
“Boss, Maryanne is on line one, she wants to talk to you about…” Joy’s voice trails off as she spots me leaning on Holly’s desk. “Felix?”
Giving her a smile, I glance at Holly. Her eyes are wide, and those soft, plump lips are parted to form an O shape. Her fork is raised, but frozen before it reaches her mouth.
She sits straight, her shoulders tight once more, setting the fork down. All that work to get her to relax is ruined simply by Joy’s entrance.
Holly’s shock can’t be hidden as she asks, “You two know each other? He wasn’t just a random stripper?”
I look to Joy, who shifts on her feet where she stopped abruptly. “We’ve known each other since we were, what, five years old?”
“Around there. Mr.Glase’s kindergarten class,” Joy confirms.
Nodding, I let out a laugh. “We’ve been there for each other’s first…everything. First boyfriend…”
“First girlfriend…” Joy relaxes more, reminiscing.
“First girlfriend, first heartbreak…” I shoot Joy a smirk, and her jaw drops—wait, did her boss not know she’s a lesbian?
I guess that wouldn’t ever come up in a professional setting, and Holly is almost exclusively professional. Even at this point, I’ve only seen her fully relaxed a few times.
Holly clears her throat, and I watch Joy’s eyes dart to her as her face pales. Turning my head, I try to gauge Holly’s reaction to my accidental outing of Joy.
I will so have to apologize for that later.
Holly takes a deep breath, her eyes darting between the two of us. “I had my first girlfriend when I was sixteen—we were together two years. I’ve dated a mix of men and women since then.”
My jaw drops, but only for a moment before I collect myself and snap it shut. I had no idea.
Then again, I have to fight to get her to open up to me about anything at all.
“You’re…bi?” Joy hesitantly asks.
Holly nods. “Yes, though I think I’ve had more boyfriends than girlfriends. I have a very specific type when it comes to women.”
Joy lets out a laugh, “That’s fair. I’m usually drawn to really feminine women.”
“For me, it’s the more muscular women. And shorter hair. Though…I like those traits for men too.” Holly opens up more, and I can literally see it in the way her shoulders fall and she leans back in her chair.
They share a little laugh before Joy’s eyes widen and her smile drops. “Oh my God, Maryanne is still on the line.”
“You said she wanted to talk about Felix. Why did she want to talk about me?” I joke.
Holly lets out a scoff-like laugh, and Joy just shakes her head before bolting out of the office. She returns seconds later, grabbing the door handle and closing it behind her.
“I guess we’ll never know what Maryanne wanted…” I let out a dramatic sigh, looking away from the door just to see Holly rubbing her temples. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t realize you were my secretary’s childhood best friend,” she grumbles. “I feel so inappropriate…”
Reaching across the desk, I take her empty hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. “Why? It’s not like I’m her ex or something.”
Her eyes narrow slightly at me. “I’m her boss—and much older than you, in case you’d forgotten.”
“Don’t go getting all serious on me now, Holly.” I lean closer to her, watching as her eyes flicker between my lips and my eyes. “And besides, I told you I like that you’re older than me, in case you’d forgotten.”
She begins to lean in, her warm breath dancing across my lips. Much to my dismay, she stops there, only an inch or two away.
“You make it so hard to be logical,” she says, tilting her head slowly and letting her curls cascade around her. “But I am at work, so cool it, hot stuff.”
With an exaggerated sigh, I lean away. “Fine, I get it. Let’s eat, then?”
Her mouth already has another bite in it, and she gives me a small smile as her cheeks flood with color. I love the way she has this weak spot for holiday meals.
It shows that she can’t truly hate the holidays. I think she knows that, too. Must be why she didn’t reveal it at first.
“We should have a date night in tonight,” I say, watching for her reaction. “It can be later, since I know you’re staying late in the office.”
She narrows her eyes slightly. “You have something in mind?”
I nod, wriggling my eyebrows. “Yes, but it’s a secret. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“The last time I trusted you, I ended up with a Christmas tree,” she reminds me, pausing before letting out sigh. “But…fine.”
Giving her a smile, I try to hide just how happy the yes makes me. My snakes, on the other hand, make no attempt to hide their glee, actively wriggling and softly hissing. Every moment spent with her is one step closer to unlocking the secrets of her heart…and hopefully earning her love.
I’ve got just the cozy idea in mind for tonight. For now, though, I’ll enjoy lunch and hope that she doesn’t change her mind.
As I exit Holly’s office, I accidentally make eye contact with Joy. Damn it, I wanted to slip out of here unnoticed.
“Hey—” she whisper-shouts, and I slow my steps. “You didn’t think to tell me you’re banging my boss?”
I blink at her. “Can we discuss this another time?”
“Oh, you’re so busy right now?” Joy mocks, standing up and leaning on her desk.
Her wings flutter behind her as she stares me down. While I actually do have time to explain this, I don’t think this is the right location for that conversation.
“I’m about to go set up a surprise for Holly, so yes, I am busy. We can talk later, I promise.”
“It’s not…just fucking?” Before I can fully turn my attention away from her, her eyes soften. “You seem pretty serious about her.”
My heart beats a bit faster in my chest. “I feel pretty serious about her.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this,” Joy says, sitting back down. “Does she feel the same?”
All I can do is shrug. “We’ll find out soon enough. I hope so, though.”
“I hope so too.” She gives me a reassuring smile.
Walking away, I dart into the elevator. There’s one stop I want to make before I go to Holly’s house to wait for her.
One I know she’ll hate initially, but end up loving.
I can hear it now, the way she’ll tell me she’s absolutely not watching a Christmas movie.
How will I convince her?
Simple—hot chocolate, and using every ounce of my charm.