Chapter 18 #2
His hands slide to my neck. “Sometimes you will recognize people you know at Edge. If it hasn’t happened yet, that’s a fluke.
It’s a popular club. It will eventually happen.
You have to be able to let it slide off your back.
They can look all they want if that’s something that gets you hot, but you’re mine, Kelsey. They can’t have you.”
I lower my head and press the top of it against his chest.
Hendrix pulls me into a hug and kisses my temple. “Baby, everything is going to be fine. I promise.”
I’m staring at my phone when Hendrix pops into my office that afternoon.
“You okay?” he asks.
I look up. “They still want me to go?”
His brow furrows. “Who wants you to go where?” Then his face relaxes. “Oh, your friends from downstairs want you to go out after work. Kels, you should go.”
I sigh and lean back in my chair. “It’s awkward now.”
“Actually, you could look at it the other way around. According to Beckett, they’ve known for at least a week. No one has looked at you funny. They knew when they invited you in the first place. It’s not a revelation to them.”
I chew on my bottom lip. He’s right. Still… The idea makes me uncomfortable. I need to do this, though. I need to face them. I don’t have a choice.
The truth is, I’m still in shock that any of this is happening. Am I really sleeping with my friend’s dad? Living with him? Working with him? It sounds like a convoluted romance novel.
Hendrix continues across the room until he’s next to me.
My breath hitches even before he gently threads his fingers in my hair and angles my head back.
I get a bit glassy-eyed when he does that, especially when he’s hovering over me like this.
Our dynamic is potent when I’m sitting and he’s standing.
“You should go, baby. As much as I’d love to have you all to myself twenty-four hours a day, it’s not healthy or sustainable. You need friends, people you can do things with.”
I’m so ridiculously enamored with Hendrix that I don’t want to do things with other people. I want to go home with him, sit naked on his island while he chops vegetables between my legs before eating me instead. That’s how rampant my imagination is.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe I would eventually feel the loss of friendships I didn’t maintain. As time goes by, I might wish I had girls I could go out with. I’ll have Maddie, of course, when she gets back from her honeymoon, but it would be nice to have coworkers who liked me.
Do they, though? How can I know what they’re really thinking?
Now that I have more information and realize they’ve probably known for at least a week, what does that tell me?
Are they asking me to go have drinks because they like me?
Or do they think they’d better be nice to the owner’s girlfriend?
That sends a chill down my spine. How the hell will I ever know if anyone genuinely likes me?
Hendrix tugs my hair a bit harder. “Kelsey…” he warns. “I don’t like the look on your face. Get out of your head. Go have drinks. I’ll stay here. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll come get you.”
I take a deep breath. This has disaster written all over it.
Hendrix releases my hair, opens my drawer, and hands me my purse.
I stand and take it from him. “I’ll blame you when this goes south.”
“Fair enough.” He gives me a smile and kisses me briefly.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m pushing through the door to the bar. It’s only a block from the office. I’ve been here a few times before, but not since my job description moved me upstairs.
Glancing around, I spot Lara and Marian waving at me from a cluster of high-top tables. Several other people from the thirteenth floor are already here. I hold my head high and make my way toward them.
Marian pulls me in for a quick hug when I reach them. “I’m glad you came. We haven’t seen much of you lately.”
I force a smile, trying to stay strong.
Lara frowns. “You okay?”
I need to clear the elephant out of the room. Pretending it’s not there is madness. We can’t go on like this. If it goes badly, I’ll text Hendrix to come get me. I’ll be disappointed, but I suddenly realize I don’t need their approval. It changes nothing for me.
After fighting my feelings for almost two weeks—longer if I count the two months before Hendrix returned from Germany—it’s time to admit how important he is to me.
I can’t give him up. I won’t. Nothing else matters.
Not my parents or Maddie or my coworkers.
I can’t live to please other people. If they won’t support me, they don’t get to be in my life.
I’m in love with Hendrix Kennedy.
Holy shit.
I’m in love.
This isn’t a passing thing. He’s in love with me, too. He’s being as patient as possible. I believe he would have waited ten years if it took me that long to get on board. He also would have withheld sex, evil man that he is. It was effective, though.
I inhale deeply, square my shoulders, and smile with more conviction. “I’m great.”
Marian grins in return. “I should think so.” She winks at me. “I assume the rumors are true?”
“Depends on what the rumors are. If the gossip is that I’m in a relationship with Hendrix Kennedy, then yes. It’s true.”
Lara squeals and throws her arms around me. “I knew it. Girl… Damn, that man is hot. Smoking hot. You’re so lucky.”
Her response is a bit startling. I glance around because several others from the office are looking at us now. They heard her, and I’m the primary subject in the gossip mill. They step closer, leaning in.
I look at Lara and then Marian, who’s also giggly. It’s hard to trust that they aren’t yanking my chain. “I didn’t plan it,” I mutter. I don’t know what to say to make this better.
Lara rolls her eyes. “Nobody plans to fall in love. It just happens. It’s adorable. Maybe we should chip in and get you a gift card or something.”
Marian jabs Lara in the ribs with her elbow. “Lara!”
“What?” Lara exclaims. “It’s true.”
“Why…exactly?” I ask.
“Mr. Kennedy is a totally different man since he got back. Apparently, you’re to thank for that. Plus, a lot of us were concerned about being chosen to be his assistant. We were secretly hoping he would return and decide he didn’t need one.”
Marian winces. “We felt bad when HR sent you upstairs. You had no idea what you were stepping into. It turns out you were the perfect person for the job, and…thank you.”
It’s so weird for people to insinuate Hendrix was a grouch. I’ve never seen evidence of that. Do I really have that much sway over him?
“No one was mad? I mean, I’ve only been with the company two months.” I’m still skeptical about their reactions.
“God, no,” Marian says, shaking her head. “It’s not like you aren’t qualified. You’re a hard worker. You’ve tackled some really big projects this summer. You earned that spot, even if you weren’t sleeping with the boss. It’s not like you were in a relationship and then he had you transferred.”
I nod slowly. That’s true. Granted, I had met him at my graduation party, but it’s not like we fucked that night. Our “relationship” consisted of each of us pining over the other from a distance for two months with no communication. We had no idea we were both thinking the same lustful thoughts.
Lara leans in closer. “So, is he always happy and smiling like we’ve seen since he returned?”
“Uh, I guess.” Except when he’s about to come in my mouth. Then his expression is slightly different. I keep that to myself.
“I’m heading to the bar. What do you want to drink?” Marian asks. “My treat.”
I hesitate, looking at her for a moment and then at Lara, and finally scanning the rest of my coworkers.
Several have returned to their own conversations.
No one is glaring at me like they’d rather stab me.
Maybe Hendrix is right. Or perhaps Mr. Hollenbeck is correct.
Everyone is so grateful that they don’t have to be Hendrix’s assistant that they have no ill will toward me.
Shifting my attention back to Marian, I say, “Thank you. Gin and tonic.”