Chapter 38 - Very Attractive #2
I immediately knew I wasn't going to like whatever came next.
"You might actually see him dressed up."
I stared at her.
"Shut up, Claire."
She laughed.
"No, seriously. Convince him to dress up. It'll be fun."
"No."
Ben immediately looked over.
"Yes."
Daniel joined him.
"Absolutely."
Nicole nodded.
"Yes, Angel. Please."
Maya leaned against her desk.
"You have to."
Suddenly everyone was looking at me.
"What the hell?"
"Convince him," Ben said.
"Why is this my responsibility?"
"Because you're our best chance," Nicole said.
"Our only chance," Daniel corrected.
Claire pointed at me.
"Exactly."
I stared at all of them.
"Why would he be convinced just because I say it?"
Maya gave me a look.
Then-
"Come on, Angelica. Is it possible for him to not do something you asked?"
Oh, for God's sake.
Across from me, Emma looked down.
The excitement she'd been wearing all afternoon faded slightly.
I noticed.
But before I could think much about it, Ben started counting on his fingers.
"Coffee."
"No."
"Food."
"That's not-"
Maya joined in.
"Your ridiculous Demodog in his car."
"Maya."
She raised her eyebrows.
"I was there."
"That doesn't make it evidence."
"Emma was there too."
Maya looked at her.
"Am I wrong, Emma?"
Emma looked up.
For a second, she didn't answer.
Then she smiled.
"No," she said.
But there was something in her eyes that didn't match the smile.
I noticed it.
I just didn't know what it meant.
Ben continued counting.
"Keeping you employed after you insult him approximately six thousand times."
"I resigned."
"And he begged you to stay."
The room went quiet for half a second.
Emma looked up.
"Wait."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"You resigned?"
Oh.
Right.
She didn't know that.
"Yeah."
Emma stared at me.
"You actually resigned?"
"For fourteen days."
Her eyebrows went up.
"Fourteen days?"
"Long story."
"And Adrian begged you to stay?"
"He didn't beg."
Ben made a sound.
I looked at him.
"Don't."
He lifted both hands.
"I said nothing."
Emma looked between us.
"But he asked you to stay?"
"Yes."
"And you stayed?"
"Yes."
She was quiet for a second.
"How did he ask?"
Oh, absolutely not.
"We are not doing this."
Maya pressed her lips together.
Ben suddenly found his computer fascinating.
Daniel looked suspiciously interested in absolutely nothing.
Emma looked around at all of them.
"You all know?"
"We were here," Nicole said.
Emma looked back at me.
"And I don't?"
"You weren't here."
Technically true.
She'd started in August remotely, but she'd never been in the office for any of it.
Emma looked back at me.
"What did he say?"
"No."
"Angelica."
"No."
"Now I want to know."
"And you will continue wanting."
Ben laughed.
Emma smiled too.
But it wasn't the same smile she'd had five minutes ago.
The excitement was gone.
I pointed at Ben.
"We are not discussing that."
"Fine."
He lowered his hand.
"But my argument remains statistically compelling."
"It isn't."
"It is."
I looked around at all of them.
"You guys think way too highly of me."
Claire smiled.
"Because you deserve it."
I stared at her.
That was considerably harder to argue with than whatever nonsense Ben had been producing.
So naturally, I ignored it.
"I am not promising anything."
Maya smiled.
"That means you're going to ask him."
"No, it doesn't."
"It absolutely does."
"I said I'm not promising anything."
"Exactly."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're annoying."
"Ask Adrian to fire me."
Ben made a thoughtful sound.
"He probably would if you asked."
"BEN."
Everyone laughed.
Almost everyone.
Emma smiled too.
But it came a second late.
And somehow, the girl who'd been the most excited about the Halloween party ten minutes ago had gone very quiet.
I waited until four-twenty before beginning Operation Make Adrian Vale Participate in Workplace Culture.
Mostly because everyone had spent the afternoon harassing me about it.
Partly because now I wanted to know if I could actually do it.
I walked to Adrian's office.
Adrian looked up from his computer.
"No."
I stopped.
"I haven't said anything."
"You have that look."
"What look?"
"The one you have when you're about to ask me for something."
I stared at him.
"I don't have a look."
"You do."
"Well, you're wrong."
"Okay."
I walked farther into his office.
He went back to his screen.
"Are you coming to the Halloween party?"
"No."
That was fast.
"You didn't even think about it."
"I've had several years to think about it."
"And?"
"No."
I pulled out the chair across from his desk and sat down.
"Why?"
"I don't go."
"That wasn't the question."
"It answers the question."
"No, it doesn't. Why don't you go?"
"Because I don't want to."
I stared at him.
He kept working.
"It's your company's Halloween party."
"I know."
"Your employees go."
"I know."
"You organize it."
"I don't organize it."
"Your company organizes it."
"Yes."
"And then you don't attend."
"Correct."
"That's antisocial."
"I'm comfortable with that."
Of course he was.
I leaned back.
"Everybody wants you to come."
"No, they don't."
"Yes, they do."
"They want to see what I'll dress up as."
I paused.
Okay.
Apparently he knew his employees.
"That too."
"No."
"Adrian."
"Angelica."
"Come on."
"No."
"It'll be fun."
"For you."
"For everybody."
"Exactly."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means my presence doesn't generally increase people's ability to relax."
Oh.
That was-
Actually probably true.
Still.
"You don't have to CEO everybody."
He looked at me.
"I don't CEO everybody."
"You absolutely CEO everybody."
"That isn't a verb."
"It is now."
"No."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're extremely annoying."
"So I've been told."
"By me."
"Frequently."
I leaned forward.
"Just come for an hour."
"No."
"Thirty minutes."
"No."
"Twenty."
"No."
"Fifteen."
"Are we negotiating my attendance at my own Halloween party?"
"Yes."
"No."
"You're not even negotiating."
"Correct."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
This man had begged me not to leave him.
Three times.
Apparently a Halloween party was where he drew the line.
"You know everybody thinks you'll come if I ask you."
Something changed in his face.
Barely.
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because apparently you can't say no to me."
Adrian looked at me.
Then-
"No."
Asshole.
I pointed at him.
"You enjoyed that."
"I did."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
Oh.
My finger stayed pointed at him.
His eyes stayed on mine.
For one stupid second, my brain forgot Halloween existed.
Then I lowered my hand.
"I'm going to keep asking."
"I assumed you would."
"Every day."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"You won't be."
"I already regret asking you to stay."
I smiled.
"No, you don't."
His mouth twitched.
"No."
I blinked.
"What?"
"No, I don't."
Oh.
I looked away before my face could betray me.
"Whatever."
I reached for my phone.
"If you won't cooperate with Halloween, you can at least help me with something else."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It isn't."
I opened my photos.
I'd saved several pictures earlier.
Then I stood, walked around his desk, and held my phone toward him.
"Which one?"
Adrian looked at the screen.
Two black vampire wings stretched across a woman's upper back, sitting just below the base of her neck.
He frowned.
Then swiped to the next one.
Another pair.
Slightly sharper.
Then another.
"What am I choosing?"
"The wings."
"I gathered that."
"Which ones do you like?"
He looked through them again.
Slower this time.
Then he stopped on one.
The one I'd liked most too.
Two separate vampire wings.
Dark.
Simple.
Just enough shading.
"This one."
I smiled.
"I knew you'd pick that one."
"Then why did you ask me?"
"Confirmation."
He handed my phone back.
"Confirmation of what?"
"That I have excellent taste."
"You needed me for that?"
"Yes."
I started back toward the other side of his desk.
"Why are you choosing bat wings?"
"Vampire wings."
"They're bat wings."
"They're vampire wings."
"They're anatomically bat wings."
I looked at him.
"Do not bring anatomy into my vampire wings."
"Why are you choosing them?"
I glanced at my phone.
"Oh. I'm getting them tattooed this weekend."
Silence.
I looked up.
Adrian wasn't looking at my phone anymore.
He was looking at me.
His eyes dropped briefly to the picture again.
"Where?"
I turned the phone toward him and pointed at the placement.
"Here."
The picture showed the wings sitting high across the upper back, just beneath the nape, spreading toward the inner shoulder blades.
Adrian studied it.
Then his eyes lifted to me.
"On your back?"
"Yeah. Right here."
I reached behind myself and touched the base of my neck, then moved my fingers slightly lower.
"Across here."
His eyes followed the movement.
For some reason, that suddenly felt considerably more intimate than showing him a tattoo picture should have.
I lowered my hand.
"Do you like it?"
He looked at the picture again.
"Yes."
That answer came surprisingly easily.
I headed toward the door.
"Angelica."
I turned.
He looked at me.
For a second, I thought he was going to say something about the tattoo.
Instead-
"No."
I frowned.
"No what?"
"Halloween."
Oh, for God's sake.
"I wasn't even asking!"
"You were going to tomorrow."
"I still am."
"I'll save you the time."
I smiled.
"See you tomorrow, Adrian."
"No."
"We'll see."
I walked out.
Tuesday: unsuccessful.
That was fine.
Halloween wasn't until next Friday.
I had time.
And Adrian Vale had already made the mistake of teaching me that sometimes-
No wasn't his final answer.
I did ask again Wednesday.
He said no.
Thursday-
No.
Friday morning, I stopped at his office door, looked at him, and hadn't even opened my mouth before-
"No."
"You don't know what I was going to ask."
"Halloween."
"Maybe."
"No."
I stared at him.