Chapter Seventeen
Emily
This day has been completelyfrustrating. I’m up to my ears in research and just had a new project slapped on my calendar by Michelle. It’s something that I don’t have the mentality for, but of course, I cannot say no to the boss. One thing after another has hit my desk and I have three staff members who have called out sick. Two of which are supposed to gear up for this new thing.
Throughout the day, I’ve received text messages from Gavin from across the office. He would text and I would look up and catch him standing in his doorway with his phone in his hands and a smile on his face. Or I would walk past him in the break room and receive a text a moment later. Each text made me smile. It was a welcome distraction.
Most of the office is gone. It’s after six and I’m done. I ate lunch at my desk and my eyes are burning after analyzing spreadsheets all day.
I’m waiting for the elevator when Gavin comes to stand beside me.
“What are you still doing here?” I ask.
“I have no clue.” He grins, shaking his head.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“No. Honestly, I wasn’t. But it’s a bonus. Now we can leave together. Dinner?”
“Not tonight. I’m going to grab something on the way home and eat it in the bathtub.”
“That bad of a day?”
“Something like that.”
The elevator doors open and he motions for me to step in first, then moves to my side. His hand reaches for mine.
“We can’t hold hands in here,” I whisper.
“Who is going to see?” He returns, leaning into me, the smell of his body playing with my senses.
“The eye in the sky.” I avert my eyes.
“I seriously doubt security could give a rat’s ass. I bet you they’ve seen plenty of kinky shit in here.”
I move my hand, so our fingers wrap around one another. It’s risky to hold hands, but we’re after hours and there’s barely anyone here.
He squeezes my hand and his touch grounds me. I exhale and turn to him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But what for?”
“I don’t know. But just thank you. Today has been a day. You brought light to the shadow of the day. So, thank you for being here at the right time. And thank you for forcing me to hold your hand right now.”
“I’ll hold your hand anytime that you want me to.”
A glassof Mont Blanc and a slice of heavenly pepperoni pizza surrounded by bubbles. The perfect night to end a shitastic day full of stressful work. I have one of my favorite true crime podcasts, Morbid, telling a story of somebody else’s problems while I unwind.
It was tempting to ask Gavin to come over, but I just wanted to unwind without having to entertain. I needed to be by myself, no matter how badly I wanted him to be here to take my mind off of the day.
I’ve had long days before. I’ve had great days and I’ve had bad days. Today was just a lot to handle, but it was nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. It’s just another Monday.
My phone chirps from the floor. I lean over the tub and see that Gavin has texted me.
I open the phone and see that he’s sent me a meme of Ms. Dountfire with pie all over her face. Another message comes through.
Gavin: I hope your self-care night is going splendidly.
I smile,place the phone back down on the floor, open the lid to the pizza box, and grab another slice.
Yeah, self-care is going great right now.
With the suggestionfrom my assistant, who got the same suggestion from Gavin’s assistant, my staff came in late today - and they will until we finish this planning portion of the project.
A new client came across Michelle’s desk that she was secretly moonlighting on and they started working with us immediately after firing their previous company.
Since our two departments recently worked on a similar project, this one will be easy to manage once we understand the needs of the client. This is what Gavin and I are currently sitting together at lunch, working on. We headed over to a cute little French bistro in the Gaslamp. We’re sitting at a medium-sized table, my legs are intertwined with his, and the sides of our bodies are touching, while we sit with a notepad and a laptop in front of our salads. Sometimes, his hands will graze the top of my thighs and my breath will catch in my throat. Sometimes, I will place my head against his shoulder while he’s reading something off of the screen.
We’re a normal couple, out to lunch together. We’re not co-workers.
I turn my head and look at his profile. He notices my stare and turns to me. His thumb and forefinger fit underneath my chin and pulls me in while his lips part. A lingering kiss is placed on my lips and my eyes close. We move apart, but barely, and I smile.
“As much as I hate that, I’m about to say this, but we need to get back to work. I have a meeting with my team to prepare for this week.” He groans and looks up at the ceiling in remorse.
“What if we did a joint meeting? It’s best to provide the same details to both teams since we will be working together.”
“Can you guys pull together for our meeting?” he asks.
“Can you maybe move it back an hour? I can get my assistant on it immediately and make sure we move everyone’s schedules around.”
He looks off to the side for a moment, then pulls his phone from his pocket. His fingers glide across the screen, then he puts the phone on the tabletop.
“Done. Melinda will contact everyone and that will give us another, maybe two hours.”
“Oh, two hours. That puts us butting right up to getting started tonight. That could give us plenty of time to do our research and actually sound like professionals.”
“What if I have a different idea in mind?” he asks with a hint of mischief.
“Should I even ask?”
“Your place is around here. Let’s do our research from there, tucked away in bed.”
“Not during working hours.” I shake my head.
“We’re going to be working late tonight. Let’s take advantage of some quiet time together before life gets hectic.”
I look at him, bite my lower lip, and hate that I’m even entertaining his proposition.
“I’ll be right back. I need to use the ladies’ room.” I stand and excuse myself from the table.
We can have a little fun. Sure, it’s in the middle of the workday, but we’re already out of the office and my place is less than a block away. I look at myself in the mirror, take a deep breath, and smile at my reflection.
Why the hell not?
I walk through the restaurant, and my hand is grabbed as I walk past the bar.
“Ms. Van Houten. How nice to see you outside of the office.” Regina, from human resources, smiles at me.
“Oh hi. Regina. How are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m fine. I just love this place, don’t you?”
“I do. I’ve only been here a few times, but it’s one of my favorite breakfast spots.”
“I see that Mr. Jacobs is here. Mind if I join you two while I wait for my lunch?”
Nervously, I nod and bring her over to our table. Thankfully, his laptop is open and my notes are visible beside my meal.
“Hey Gavin, look who I ran into.” I step up to the table and then aside, with Regina standing behind me.
He looks up from the screen with a smile, and then he sees her, and the smile disappears.