If he gave me any indication of interest, that rule would fly out the window.
“Do you ever wonder if we took the wrong path?” I ask him.
He frowns. “What do you mean? I know you don’t love the new green initiative that I started, but straws are really bad for the environment. People will get over not having a straw in their drink.”
I shake my head. “Not that, although we are seeing a dip in sales from the restaurant from it.”
He sets down the papers he was reading and comes to sit next to me on the loveseat.
“Talk to me, Goose,” he jokes, referencing one of our favorite movies,Top Gun.
“I wonder sometimes if I didn’t wait too long. Should I have been living my life outside of this place all of these years? I feel like my future is slipping away from me. All I have is this place. I have nothing to go home to every night.” I grab the pillow next to me and hug it to my chest.
He reaches out, brushing his hand on my elbow. “Hey. You’re not alone. You have me, and you know my door is always open.”
My heart is beating faster in my chest. Is this the moment I have always been waiting for?
“I want a family, Max. Babies. I can’t do that without someone to do it with.”
He moves closer and lays his head on my shoulder. “You want babies?”
“I do…and a husband. And the white picket fence I pretend is stupid. I’m thirty-three, Max. I need to start dating.”
It is silent in the room. I can feel Max swallowing against my shoulder.
This is it. Proclaim your love for me. Please.
“If that’s what you need to do, you know I will support you. You’re my best friend, and all I want is to see you happy.”
My heart deflates. In fact, it feels like it shatters all around me, and I force myself not to cry.
Ten years of crushing on this man, and I really had myself convinced that one day he would see me as more than his friend.
Enough is enough, though. I can’t keep living in a stalemate.
I need to move on.
“Thanks, Max. I know we are supposed to meet, but I think I want to work alone for a bit. Is that okay?” I ask him, praying he doesn’t hear the shakiness in my voice.
He moves to stand before helping me up, and he pulls me into his arms for a hug. “Of course. We can meet later. These budgets aren’t going anywhere.”
As I let go, I force a smile. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
I only wish he hadn’t just crushed my dreams.
MAX
She wants to date.
Fuck.
She wants to go out on dates with men who aren’t me.
I don’t know how to handle this. She has worked for me for a decade, and it has taken all my willpower to constantly push away my feelings for her. In that time, she has never once dated anyone, and neither have I. Our friends always joked that we would get married one day. Even I always thought that one day maybe something would pan out, but how?
Iris is the epitome of a professional woman. I know without a doubt she would never cross the boundaries laid forth by society. It is taboo to date your boss, even if it is becoming more prevalent these days.
I mean, shit, technically all of my friends have ended up with someone that worked with or for them. My brother Mason had a one-night stand who ended up having his baby before she worked for him at the hotel. He didn’t know about the baby, which was a fiasco on its own, but they are now happily together.
