Come Work For Me

by Weston Parker

  Reaching up to take Lilac’s hand, I wound my fingers around hers and gave a tight smile. “Yes, let’s go home.”

  Chapter 34

  Lilac

  It almost felt weird to be back in the office on Monday morning, but there we were. Despite Kurt’s unexpected appearance at the park, we’d had a pretty good weekend. I still hadn’t given Joseph an answer about moving in with him permanently, but things weren’t awkward anymore. He’d made his arguments and now he’d let it go, giving me time to make my decision.

  Sighing as I rested my elbows on my desk and plopped my chin into my hands, I tried not to think about it as I waited for my laptop to finish its security update. It was uncanny how the thing always had to do it right when I most needed to get to work.

  “Those daggers coming out of your eyes aren’t going to make it start faster,” Ollie said, walking into my office with a mug in his hands. He grinned as he set it down, dreads shaking on his silent laughter. “You’re worse than the boss. Just relax or that scowl on your face might become permanent.”

  Tearing my gaze away from the blue donut of doom on the screen, I cracked a smile. “I know, but I just feel like the machines are conspiring against us.”

  His black eyes rolled. “Of course they are. They were sent here on a mission by the future to fuck up your work on the Sacred Heart account.”

  “I just really wanted to dive in now that things are normal again,” I complained, then shrugged as a smile lifted the corners of my lips. “Well, somewhat normal anyway.”

  Ollie’s eyebrows rose with the look he gave me. “Our big bad boss just kissed you all sweet and tender-like before he went to his office. There’s nothing normal about that.”

  I tipped my head back as I laughed, bringing my arms out to raise them at my sides. “I said somewhat normal.”

  “True.” He smiled, his eyes softening as he flicked a look at Joseph before turning back to me. “It’s good to see him happy.”

  He paused for a moment before adding, “But you really need to get to work if he’s going to stay that way. He looks like he’s already doing a deep dive on this account.”

  A quick glance in Joseph’s direction confirmed that Ollie was right. “Shit. Yes. Thanks for the coffee.”

  He shot me a thumbs-up. “Hope the machine forgets about its mission soon.”

  “So do I.” Thankfully, by the time I’d taken the first few sips of coffee, my laptop had forgotten that it was supposed to be conspiring against me and booted up.

  I worked hard for the next couple of hours, sending emails back and forth between my office and Joseph’s every time one of us had finished reviewing something. After sitting so still for so long, I felt a crick developing in my lower back.

  “Coffee break time,” I muttered, pressing save on the document I’d been working on before standing up and stretching.

  Once I’d grabbed a fresh coffee, I went to sit at Joseph’s desk. If I needed a break, so did he.

  Those hazel eyes found mine when I walked in, an annoyed line between his dark eyebrows. “I just read your last email. I can’t believe their old firm allowed a clause like that to be in there.”

  “This is stupid,” I declared as I wrapped my hands around my cup and lowered myself into my usual seat at his desk.

  The line between his eyebrows deepened. “What’s stupid?”

  “Sending all these emails between us.” He kept his eyes on mine, leaning forward in his chair. “We should just make one big office space with our desks next to each other, a sitting area and that play area for Lincoln. This account is going to mean a lot of late nights again, so he’s going to need somewhere to stay while we’re working.”

  My breath caught when I was done, my heart fluttering in my chest. I hadn’t even really been thinking about suggesting that. Sure, the idea had been rolling around in my head since I’d received his thirteenth email to me only an hour into the day, but I wasn’t really planning on pitching it to him.

  I waited for him to tell me it was a stupid idea, but he didn’t. He just nodded. “Tell Ollie to get the designer on the line.”

  “Okay.” I was a little stunned that he was on board with this as I stood up, walking around his desk to give him a kiss on his stubbled cheek. “Thanks for not laughing at me.”

  He turned his head at the last second, causing my kiss to land on his lips instead. It was just a peck, but my eyes closed anyway. I loved being able to do that whenever I wanted.

  Joseph pulled away, but his fingers curled around my hip and lingered there. “I’d never laugh at an idea that involves having you closer to me.”

  Swoon. I brought a hand up to cup his face, stroking his angular cheekbone with my thumb. “Who knew you’d turn out to be so sweet?”

  “I’m not sweet,” he grumbled, releasing me and giving me a playful shove away from him. “I’m terrible and mean and intimidating.”

  I rolled my eyes, unable to stop the smile spreading on my lips. “Sure. Let’s go with that. What do you want to do for lunch, meanie?”

  He shrugged, his eyes bright and happy. “I thought we could work through so that we can leave at a reasonable hour. I’ll order something up.”

  “Yeah, you’re not sweet or considerate at all.” I winked at him, then turned to head back to my office. “I’ll be emailing you soon, meanie.”

  Joseph ordered my favorite meal from the cafeteria up for lunch. It wasn’t even on the menu today, I’d checked. The shepherd’s pie was delivered piping hot with a note from Joseph that read: “This doesn’t count as being sweet either.”

  I held it up to the window, waving my arm to grab his attention. When he looked up, I rolled my eyes and laughed. Joseph shook his head, winked and went back to work.

  Lincoln came up from the daycare center at five, but despite working through lunch we weren’t quite ready to leave for the day yet. It was okay though, since I had a surprise for him.

  His eyes just about bulged out of his head when Ollie led him into my office. “Is that for me?”

  Without sparing so much as a glance to me, he walked to his new area in the corner of my office. The stuff I’d ordered had been delivered while we were out on Friday, and Ollie had taken the liberty of setting it up for us.

  “Yes, baby. That’s for you.” I walked over to him, running my hands through his soft hair as he took it all in. “What do you think?”

  His jaw was literally hanging open, so I had a pretty good idea what he thought but I still wanted to hear him say it. I felt more than saw Joseph getting up from his desk and coming to my office for the big reveal.

  There was a sofa against the wall with a thick red cushion on it. It was one of those that could turn into a bed if you pulled a lever underneath it, which would come in handy on nights we had to work really late.

  A fun, yet tasteful brightly patterned throw was draped over the back of it for now, but it was soft and warm. It would make for the perfect blanket if Lincoln ever needed to sleep here.

  Of course, he wasn’t looking at the space in terms of the practicality of it like I was. All he was seeing was the teepee next to the sofa bed, the trucks and toys scattered around it.

  Ollie had gone above and beyond when he set all this stuff up, arranging everything I’d ordered in a way that made it look comfortable and fun to be there. He’d also set it up along the front wall of my office, so that it wouldn’t be the first thing you’d see when you walked in.

  A low wooden fence surrounded the entire area so that, hopefully, the toys would stay in their designated space. Ollie had gone so far as to thread fairy lights—which I hadn’t ordered—around the top of the teepee to “look like stars from inside.”

  Inside the play tent, there was a plastic table with four chairs and a bookshelf laden with reading and coloring books. Neatly packed, for now, plastic containers held the crayons and other stationery I’d ordered.

  “I think it’s awesome,” Lincoln said when he finally stopped gapi
ng. He spun around to face me, disbelief in his wide eyes. “Is it really for me?”

  “It’s really for you,” Joseph replied, coming forward to stand at Lincoln’s other side. His hand went to Lincoln’s shoulder and I saw his fingers tighten on a squeeze. “Mommy and I have to stay late some nights. We wanted you to have somewhere to play while we work. Remember when we talked about it? I know there’s no rollercoaster, but even I couldn’t pull that off.”

  Lincoln turned his adoring, wide-eyed stare up at Joseph, then threw out his arms to hug his leg. “This is better than a rollercoaster. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  Joseph chuckled, sliding his hand into Lincoln’s hair to ruffle it. “Don’t thank me, buddy. All I did was say yes. Your mom and Ollie are to thank for this.”

  Lincoln squeezed Joseph’s leg anyway, then broke away from him to launch himself at me. He thanked me profusely as well before approaching Ollie with a shy smile on his face. “Thank you.”

  He held his hand out for Ollie to shake, but Ollie dropped to his haunches and opened his arms with a wide grin on his face. “Where’s my hug?”

  My little boy ran into his arms then, hugging him tight while also whispering his thanks to him. When they broke apart, he looked up at me with questions in his eyes. I smiled and held out a hand to the play area. “Go ahead, bud. It’s all yours.”

  The grin he gave me warmed my heart all the way through and melted away any worries I might have had about the impression people would get of a CFO with toys in her office. It didn’t matter what they thought; it only mattered that Lincoln looked like he’d just been given the greatest gift of his life.

  Which I supposed, if I thought about it, he had. Even our Christmases had never come close to this before. I grinned as I watched him run into the teepee, sliding an arm around Joseph’s waist and hugging him close as I rested my head against his arm.

  “Thanks for saying yes,” I murmured.

  His arm came around my shoulders, his fingers curling to hold me. “I’m not even kidding when I say it’s a real pleasure.”

  Behind us, Ollie let out a quiet chuckle. “Yeah. It’s amazing the kick you can get over making a kid happy. I’m starting to think I should go to work for a children’s charity.”

  I spun around to face him. “Don’t you dare leave us.”

  Having already thanked him over and over again this morning, I didn’t feel like it was necessary to do it again. What I would do again and again was threaten to cut off his balls if he ever thought about leaving us.

  He laughed at my finger wagging in his face. “Okay, oh murderous one. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good.” I smiled, but as I looked into the eyes of the man I now considered one of my closest friends, I was struck by a sudden thought. What he’d done wasn’t at all part of his job description, and yet not only had he done it, he was genuinely happy to have done it.

  If ever anyone deserved a bonus, it was him. I figured I’d talk to Joseph about giving him a bonus, or maybe I’d just give it to him out of mine since Joseph wouldn’t let me pay for anything anyway.

  Either way, he would be happy. I knew he didn’t do all he did for the money, but I also knew it was a very nice way to show someone how much you appreciated them.

  “If we want to get home before Lincoln’s bedtime, we’d better get back to work.” Joseph’s voice drew me out of my thoughts, but I vowed to speak to him about it later.

  For now, though, he was right. “Let’s get to it. I really don’t want to have to sleep here tonight.”

  Chapter 35

  Joseph

  Routine had always suited me well. I knew that some people found it rigid and stifling, but it wasn’t like that for me. Routine anchored me, providing structure and a logical sequence to my life.

  Lilac, Lincoln, and I had settled into a routine and I was pretty much the happiest I’d ever been. Life was hectic and we were busy, but I loved every single minute of it.

  The Sacred Heart account was a lot of work and it was important that we do it right, but with Lilac by my side I knew we would get it done. We worked through lunch every day, and then Lincoln came up from daycare at five. Around six, we went home, grabbing dinner on the way. After that, it was time for the three-year-old’s bedtime routine and a few minutes of relaxation for the adults.

  The only thing I really missed from my life before all this was making the time to work out, but I had an idea about that. If I’d ever even imagined living life the way I was now, I’d have thought that I’d also miss solitude. Alone time had always been a big thing for me, but I was almost never alone now.

  I’d even adopted Lilac’s open-door policy at the office—for the time being, anyway. Between her and Ollie, there was almost always someone in my office. Add to that the rest of the team members who now popped in to give updates, ask questions or gather information and there were no more than a few minutes a day when I was truly alone.

  Oddly enough, however, I wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, I was looking forward to knocking out the wall between our offices so I wouldn’t be without Lilac even those few minutes.

  “What are you thinking about that’s making you smile like that?” Lilac’s voice asked from my door, stealing my attention away from my musings.

  I looked up at her walking into my office with that now-familiar sway to her hips. A grin I wasn’t at all in control of spread on my lips. She’d twisted her long hair into a messy bun secured by a pencil, her blue eyes seemingly even bluer surrounded by fading charcoal liner.

  Despite having been there when she got dressed in that simple black wrap dress this morning, having seen as she leaned in over the vanity and applied the liner to her eyes, I still couldn’t keep mine off her. What I’d done to get lucky enough to have her and Lincoln in my life, I didn’t know.

  “You,” I replied honestly, spreading my arms out and tugging her into my lap when she rounded my desk.

  I heard her sharp intake of breath when she landed on me, saw the mischievous amusement dancing in her eyes when she looked down at me. “Much as I wouldn’t mind giving this a try some time, I hardly think it’s appropriate while there are other people who can see us and your door is open.”

  “I can take care of both of those concerns if you want.” Hitting a button to turn the glass opaque and getting Ollie to close the door seemed like the least I could do. I tilted my head, unable to stop looking into those eyes. “So?”

  “So nothing.” She laughed, shaking her head at me as she scooted back a bit. Still on my lap, she put her hands on my shoulders. “What’s gotten into you today?”

  “We can see the end of the first big push of contract work for Sacred Heart. I’m in a good mood.” Among other things. “Why?”

  “You look really happy.” Her hands drifted from my shoulders to my neck, her fingers playing with the ends of my hair.

  I shrugged, leaning forward to plant a kiss at the hollow of her neck. “That’s because I am. No reason not to be.”

  “True.” She smiled, narrowing her eyes slightly on mine. “But most days there’s no real reason not to be, and you’re in a much better mood than you’re in most days. Makes me think there’s more to it.”

  “Maybe having you guys in my life is just that good for me.” God, I did not see myself getting like this over a girl. Ever.

  The corners of her mouth pressed in as she peered down at me. “Flattery will get you everywhere, but I still think you’re being deliberately mysterious.”

  “Hey, chicks dig mysterious guys. Don’t they?”

  One of her eyebrows lifted. “Chicks. Seriously?”

  “Okay, only one chick for me.”

  “Gee.” She batted her eyelashes before rolling her eyes. “Thanks.”

  I flashed her an impish smile. “You’re welcome.”

  Her arm shot out to punch my shoulder as laughter rolled through her. “You’re an ass.”

  “How am I possibly
being an ass?” It was my turn to flutter my eyelashes innocently.

  With another shake of her head, she climbed off my lap. “What I actually came in here to talk to you about was lunch.”

  My stomach grumbled as if on cue. “I’ll order something up for me, but why don’t you go do lunch with Lincoln downstairs?”

  “Are you serious?” Her eyebrows lifted. “I haven’t had lunch with him all week, so this is not the time to mess around.”

  “I’m not messing around.” I reached for her hand and planted a soft kiss on her palm. “Go spend some time with him, I know you miss him. We really can see the light at the end of the tunnel with these contracts, so you might as well take the gap while you’ve got it.”

  “I’m not going to say no to that.” Smiling as she bent over, she dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Are you sure you want to order something up? I can bring you something when I come back.”

  I waved my hand with a flick of my wrist. “Don’t worry about me. Special of the day at the cafeteria is a Moroccan Couscous salad, so I’m good.”

  I caught her starting to roll her eyes, but then she started laughing. “Only you would be excited about that. Okay, I’m going to take Lincoln to grab a grilled cheese. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  After another kiss, Lilac practically skipped out of my office in her excitement to get to Lincoln. As soon as she was gone, I called Ollie in.

  “What’s up, boss?”

  I motioned for him to take a seat. “Do you have plans for lunch?”

  His dreadlocks swayed with the shake of his head. “Not really. I was just going to order up. I’m waiting for the machine to complete those copies you asked for.”

  “Let’s eat together,” I said. “There’s something I need you to do for me.”

  “Sure thing.” Ollie pulled his phone out of his pocket and put in our order, then looked at me with expectation twinkling in his black eyes. “Fire away. I’m ready for you.”