He meets my gaze evenly. “I don’t ever want to be the reason your career gets called into question. You’ve worked too hard to get here, Kaori. And you’ve earned every bit of it.” His voice softens. “I want people to know that. That you’re here because you’re talented, not because of me.”
Or because of my title,I think, the guilt pricking at me again.
He exhales, leaning his head back against the sofa. “I’ve given Excelsior nearly everything these last few years. Being back in London has reminded me how empty it can feel when you’ve got no one to share the view with.” His thumb traces slow, grounding circles on my wrist. “I’m happy in Orlando. With the team. With you.”
Yes, Theo!I couldn’t be any happier to hear him say that. He has given up more than he should for a company that clearly doesn’t appreciate what it has in him. He deserves this.
I push the heavy weight of my secret aside. Just for tonight. I’ll deal with it in the morning. For now, I just want to exist here, in this flat, with this man.
A warmth spreads through me like I’ve been sitting next to a toasty fire, draped in a soft, fluffy blanket. “You mean with yourgirlfriend?” I tease, the word feeling light and dangerously sweet on my tongue.
Theo’s mouth curves, that half smile that manages to be both smug and shy at the same time. “Yes. With my girlfriend.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “We can go as slow as you want. You just have to tell me if something doesn’t feel right. Deal?”
“Deal,” I whisper.
He reaches for the remote. “Right, then. If you’re good with the terms and conditions, Jim and Pam and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin lot are waiting for us.”
We turn onThe Office. Somewhere between Dwight’s latest chaotic scheme and Jim’s iconic smirk to the camera, the adrenaline of the night finally starts to ebb. My eyes grow heavy, the weight of the day pressing down on me in the best possible way.
Theo murmurs something low beside me. It might be my name, or just a soft, sleepy sound of contentment. All I know is that myboyfriendmakes the world’s best pillow.
Eighteen
I’m starting to understand why everyone calls this place Excelsior Parks and not Excelsior Paradise. The last forty-eight hours have been absolute carnage. I don’t know what I did to anger the universe, but it seems it decided that after Monday night’s magic, we needed a healthy dose of reality.
On Tuesday, the London team hit a snag that turned into a sinkhole—a software glitch in the launch mechanism’s logic. What started as a “simple sync issue” morphed by nightfall into a nightmare.
Theo was a ghost in the machine, haunting every department at once, while Leon and I reran simulations until my eyes felt like they’d been scrubbed with sandpaper.
By Wednesday, the atmosphere in the office was stifling. I arrived at eight, an hour early, and wasn’t even slightly surprised to find Theo already at his desk, looking haggard.
I invoked my girlfriend privilege and dragged him out of the conference room and to a nearby restaurant to make sure he received a dose of vitamin D and wouldn’t collapseon the job. He inhaled a full English breakfast and triple-shot espresso in record time, barely pausing for oxygen.
Around midday, he managed to carve out ten minutes for me. We slipped out for a walk along the Thames. We didn’t say much. He looked too drained for actual syntax. But I knew better than to think it was just a stroll. Time is the most expensive currency Theo has right now, and spending a few minutes of it just walking beside me felt like the most extravagant gift he could give.
Back at the office, the code still refused to cooperate. Every test failed at the same point. At five o’clock, my head was pounding, and Leon looked about ready to hurl his laptop across the room. We broke for dinner and made a quick run to Nando’s.
“Theo...?” I call out softly as we enter the conference room with food.
He looks up from his laptop, a pair of brown reading glasses perched on his nose. Something I’ve never seen before. And I have to say, they’re not a look everyone can pull off. But Theo? Cue the fire alarm.
“Since when do you have glasses? Is this a new development?”
“Only when I’ve reached the point of seeing double.” He slides them off and rubs the bridge of his nose. There are small red marks from the frames. “I usually stick to contacts, but fifteen hours of blue light has caught up with me. I had to dig these out of my desk drawer for the sake of my sanity.”
Well, I definitely approve. Especially since he looks like a sexy-academic, I think to myself.
I clear my throat. “Where is everyone?” I set the bags of food down.
“I sent them home. It didn’t make sense to keep them here when we’re spinning our wheels. We all need a mental reset.”
“Does that include you?” I ask, hopeful. “Leon and I can handle this for a bit.” We’ve been working separately in our own conference room.
Theo shakes his head, though his attention is already fixed on the brown paper bags. “No. But I will gladly accept a bribe. What did you get?”
Leon drops into a chair opposite him. “Peri-peri chicken. Can’t go wrong with a classic.”
Theo sits taller. “With chips?”
