I want the ground to swallow me up, but I try to front it out. “He doesn’t, but I’ve told him he should. He’d need a book for Darius.”
“He certainly would. Shall we walk to work together?”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
Zuri leans over the counter. “By the way, as her new boss, you’ll be excited to find out that your employee took these amazing pictures on the walls. This one is my favorite.” She points over at the picture by the door, which shows Zuri in a cloud of steam from the coffee machine. She’s wearing a sequined jacket and sparkly makeup, looking like she could be dancing at a festival as well as making lattes.
Raff walks over to take a closer look. His shoulders are so broad that I have to peer round to peek at my photo. “This is incredible, Billie! You have real talent.”
I smile. “Thanks, boss. I’m still embarrassed you heard me say you were gorgeous.”
He holds the door open for me as I wave goodbye to Zuri. He leans down, closing the difference in our heights. He smells so good, an expensive scent that I can’t put my finger on. Something like musk and firewood.
“I think you’re absolutely gorgeous, too. I hope this isn’t workplace harassment.” His tone is jokey.
“Doesn’t count if it’s not in the workplace.” A warm thrill runs through my core. He thinks I’m gorgeous? I try to talk myself out of feeling so delighted by it, but my no man mantra appears to be malfunctioning.
Raff’s staring at me. He must have asked me something.
“I’m sorry, I missed that?” I trudge through the snow, thankful for the grippy soles on my neon pink snow boots.
“What’s your account? For your photography? I have a secret Instagram account. I’d love to follow you.”
“A secret one? How many do you have?” I tease.
He looks away and runs his hand over his hair. “Two. But one’s–”
“Your favorite? I know what you mean. I have a few accounts that all do different things. One is for stalking other photographers. One is just for my photography and promoting it. And one is friends, family and silly stuff.” I get my cell out and show him my photography profile.
Raff takes out his cell, which is an iPhone model that I didn’t even realize was released yet, and taps my profile name in. “You should really do this as a career, you know.”
“I’m trying! After I went to college, I did a bunch of internships, but I didn’t have the funds to support myself in the city long term. And the festival stuff I’ve done hasn’t worked out yet. But I keep applying and I’m working on a bunch of projects.” I steal a glance at Raff, and he’s looking directly at me, his head to one side. A thrill runs from the tip of my head right down to my toes.
“I hope you don’t mind me mentioning it, but I couldn’t help but overhear–”
“Me admiring you. Yes, I know.” I stare at the ground.
“No, when you talked about last Christmas. The King of Assholes?” His voice is amused.
“That’s a story for a different time. Actually, it’s not a story anyone should hear if they don’t want to either laugh hysterically or think I’m the biggest Christmas loser in Snowflake Falls. I’ve had both reactions.” I look up as Darius wrenches open the door of FaLaLa.
“Guys! Wait until you see what I’ve done for tonight!” Darius’s voice has risen an octave with excitement.
I groan. “It’s not a drone, is it, Dare? Or a fleet of drones?”
He shakes his head. “No, we decided that wouldn’t be practical, right? No, I spent last night writing a script that fully automates the entry and exit process. I’m going to test it out tonight.”
“You know we have a big party from Actual Accounting coming in? This might not be the best time to experiment…”
“What do you think, Raff?” Darius asks as we walk into the building. I need to remember to turn the Christmas lights on outside before it gets dark.
“I say go for it. They’re accountants. If something happens, it’ll be the most exciting thing that’s happened to them all year.” Raff holds the inside door open for me again.
I get the feeling he’s not taking this seriously. Wyatt’s a laid-back boss, but even he would think twice about giving Darius full approval to test out his code on some unsuspecting clients. Should I say something? Warn Raff again that Darius tends to go a little rogue, left to his own devices?
I glance up at him again and admire his sculpted jawline, high cheekbones and the curve of his lips. Even in a big coat with a hood, he manages to look put together. By contrast, I’m wearing a neon pink and black parka to match my boots, and you could probably spot my outfit from space.
I’m going to keep quiet. I’ve said enough today already.
