I had pawned Henry off on Garrett while I met with Willow and the rest of the marketing team that morning on the promise that I would take him to the park with the dinosaur slide for lunch. When I returned and peeked into Garrett's office, he and Henry were deep in conversation.
I smiled and left them be so I could take a breather for a minute. I loved marketing, but Tara was making it very stressful. She would challenge every one of my ideas and complain nonstop.
Mace wasn't in his office thankfully, so I sat down at my computer and checked my personal email. My heart dropped when I saw the message from Anke.
Dearest Josie!
Many apologies. Life is like that sometimes. You're my dearest friend. Please don't think poorly of me. I've sent some of the money I owe you. Don't worry. I have a plan for the rest. I'll need your help though, but I know we'll make it work. You are a beautiful spirit! I'll be in town soon. We should get together.
xoxo
Anke
Wait, did she actually send me money? What did she mean she had a plan? My hands shook as I scrolled down and opened the email from PayPal.
Anke sent you $5000.00.
I clicked on the link. Maybe it was imaginary money? But no, the website said it was available to transfer. I sent it to my bank account then slumped at the desk, my mind reeling.
Maybe Anke hadn't been lying, and it was all a big misunderstanding. Maybe things were going to work out!
A flush of relief swept through me. Everything was going to be okay. Anke had paid a chunk of the money she owed me. It wasn't out of the question that she had a legitimate plan for paying me back for the rest. All of my problems would be solved.
I grabbed my bag and skipped out the door, feeling as light as cotton candy until something grabbed my purse strap and jerked me back. I yelped as I fell backward and squished my eyes shut, bracing for impact.
"I thought our high-powered marketing person wasn't going to keep falling down everywhere."
I opened my eyes to look up into Mace's gray ones.
"It wasn't my fault," I said. "Your door tried to kill me."
"It's probably revenge for the window you broke," he said, tipping me back up and disentangling my purse from the metal door handle that was at perfect purse-grabbing height. "Why are you looking at the door handle?" Mace asked and reached over to tilt my chin up. "Did I do something?"
"What? No. You've been great."
"I didn't start off that way," he said. "And I regret that. You've been a positive force in my life. You know, Josie, I really like you."
I had been holding back because of the anxiety that I would screw up Mace's life as epically as I let Anke mess up mine. But now Anke was paying me back, and Mace said he liked me. I deserved a little treat—a bonus for getting my money back and finally using my degree. I wasn't going to eat the whole box of chocolates, just one little truffle.
Mace was very close to me. I wanted him to kiss me, and I wanted to kiss him.
I reached up on my toes and pressed my lips against the corner of his mouth. His lips were soft, and I smelled a hint of that yummy aftershave or body wash or whatever it was that he used. I seriously needed to steal it.
He grinned when I dropped back on my heels. Then his hands came up slowly on my hips. One stayed there as the other moved up my waist to my lower back. Mace pulled me close to his chest, dipped his head down, and gave me a real kiss. It was like chocolate cake, deep and rich. It felt as good to kiss him as I thought it would. Actually, no, it felt better. I hadn't imagined how delicious it would feel to have the ridges of his abs against me.
When Mace pulled back, he was smiling. His hair was slightly messy from my fingers running through it.
"Did I ever tell you I had a real thing for blond guys when I was a teenager?" I said, sounding slightly breathless.
"I'm glad to see you didn't outgrow it," he said. His hands were still at my waist, and he casually caressed my hips. "You're lucky there are glass walls," he said, his voice low, almost a purr. "Otherwise I'd kneel down and—"
"Eat my jellybeans?" I prompted. "Twirl my toffee? Stick your cake pop in my whipped cream?"
But we were probably moving too fast. I didn't want to YOLO into trouble just when I was starting to find my way out of it. Sleeping with my boss was probably in that category though he was an awesome kisser.
"As much as I'd like to introduce you to the finer side of the dessert menu," I said, fixing his tie, "I already have a hot date lined up with one of your brothers."
"Which one?" he growled. The hands on my hips squeezed possessively hard.
