I look around. “I don’t see any old guys here, Alex. Thoughif you’re convinced you’re old, I should probably insist on calling you Mr. Delgado,” I tease.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Alright, but only on one condition. Well, two.”
“I’m listening.” He cocks one eyebrow and leans back in his chair.
“Number one, stop saying you’re old. You’re really not.”
“I’ll think about it. What’s the second condition?”
“You have to give me a couple bites of that sandwich because this yogurt and granola parfait is bullshit.”
He laughs loudly. Loud enough for the other employees outside to look our way with shocked expressions on their faces. I know they all still think of him as grumpy and cranky most of the time, but I hardly ever see that side of him.
He slides the sandwich around the table so it’s in front of me. There’s still about half of it left on the wrapper. “Eat as much as you want.”
I smirk because we both know I can eat the whole damn thing. I take a bite and moan, savoring not only the sandwich but also the fact that my mouth is touching where his mouth just was, and not even caring if that makes me a weirdo.
He shifts in his chair. “Better than the yogurt?”
“Somuch better than the yogurt,” I say before taking a second bite, making him laugh again.
I love those laughs. I love all his laughs. Those big, booming laughs can brighten even my worst days. Because of him, those bad days are few and far between. He’s my boss, with whom I’m hopelessly in love, but he’s also one of my best friends.
I love our relationship. I’m terrified of ruining it by trying to be more. But the urge to take the chance grows stronger every single day.
Chapter 8
Fighting the good fight?
Alex
When I started Delgado Technology Corp., I was a young, single dad with a daughter who lived far away. Before Lizzie was old enough to fly alone, I flew out to pick her up and then flew back to New York with her. At the end of our visits, I did the same thing in reverse.
The flights I took alone were the cheapest I could find, which meant I spent a whole day traveling all over the damn country, stopping four or five times, but I made sure the flights I took with Lizzie had as few layovers as possible. Spending time with her was always worth the cost and effort, and made me quickly realize that I wanted my business to be family-friendly, and not just when it comes to livable wages and decent insurance.
It didn’t all happen at once, but we added what we could as the company grew. Now, there’s on-site daycare. We close the entire office down for at least the last week of the year. Every month, we close on a Friday or Monday, even if there isn’t a holiday. All the employees are paid for the days we’re closed.
Amelia often visits her family during those long weekends, but this is the first time she’ll be gone for more than a few days since Christmas.
She deserves the time off. More than deserves it for everything she does around here and putting up with me. I’ll be fine.
At least that’s what I told Amelia at lunch as she ate my sandwich.
Now, I’m sulking in my office. Because I won’t be fucking fine, but I’ll pretend to be. An entire week without her will be torture. I hated every goddamned minute last December.
And the timing is a cosmic joke. Would I work up the nerve to ask Amelia to come to Lizzie’s wedding with me if she didn’t already have plans? Would she say yes? We’ll never fucking know.
But if she did say yes, what would she wear? Maybe that dress she wore at the Christmas party.
Leaning back in my chair, I let myself get lost in the memory of that night. How the sapphire fabric shimmered as she moved, the hem grazing the skin just above her knees. Her dark red hair fell in waves past her shoulders, bouncing when she laughed with coworkers, danced with kids, and sang Christmas karaoke as I drank whiskey and watched her from across the room. Every time our eyes met, she smiled, and my own lips turned up in response.
I was already falling for her. Had been for four months by then. But that was the night I landed fully in love with Amelia.
Some days, it’s hard to remember why we’re a bad idea. Why we can’t be together. Today, it’s almost impossible.
Chapter 9
