He snorts, holding out the flowers. "You are finished now, rabbit, I require your presence."
The ladies behind me are cooing about his nickname for me, the way he talks, and how handsome he is. All I can see is that he's hiding something, and I need to know what it is.
"That's very sweet." Where did he get this paper from? "Thank you for the flowers, but I still have an hour left."
He narrows his eyes at me, looks around, and then past me. "I can wait with you, surely these hu-ladies, would not mind? I'll be quiet. I just want to be around you, Ione."
Maria pretends to faint and Claudia begins fanning her. He's laying it on thick. He blew up my kitchen. My bathrooms are flooding. I'm panicking!
"No one minds, Ione." Maria squeaks. "What's your name? Ione's boyfriend?"
He tips his head to the left. "Boyfriend." He tests the word on his tongue. "That would imply we have sexual relationship—" I can see the smile spreading on his face. I know what we did before I left. "Yes, we have fu-"
"Come see my office, Athanasius." I reply quickly, cutting him off. Why does he have to do that! Reaching for his hand, he clamps down on mine, as I lead him to my workspace. No windows, except to see the parking lot. No frosted glass or anything belies what's behind my closed door.
Leading him inside, I close the door behind me, and shake the flowers at him."Spill now."
"Spill what? Do not command me and do not raise your voice, the other humans are probably listening." He sits in a chair, interlacing his fingers as he crosses his legs.
Where he got the idea for this outfit is beyond me. I am not mad at him, but damn, this is not a time to be distracted. His black slacks hugged his ass in all the right areas, the wide, black belt has a gold buckle that matches the buckles on his leather armbands and chest piece that fits solidly over his muscled chest. His white shirt is crisp and fits well, buttoned all the way up his neck. His black hair is slicked back, and his earrings are gold to match the buckles.
"What did you do at home? You apologized and went quiet for two hours." Walking to my desk, I open a drawer to grab a vase, placing them inside.
He watches, a smirk on his face. "Nothing interesting."
I can't stand this. "Don't you fucking lie to me, I'll be right back."
Exiting the office reveals Maria and Claudia talking in the break room. As I head towards them, they smile at me, with Claudia talking first. "These alternate work from homes days means less people in the office."
"Mhm," Maria smiles slyly. "Everyone is on the second floor in production, or on the third where C-Suite stays."
I shake my head, filling the vase with water. "HR is in the building, and I, for one, would like not to get fired."
"Who is going to tell on you?" Claudia chuckles. "Work is stressful."
"If I had a man at home?" Maria echoes. "I'd get some stress relief." She plays with her hair. "I will be calling my best eater after work."
"I need a massage and a womb rearrangement." Claudia nods. "I know exactly who to call."
"Long dick Paul." They say at the same time, cracking up.
I shake my head. "You gonna have to put Paul out to pasture or bring him in the barn one of these days, that's a horse I hear about often."
"I'll see what I can do."Claudia says, wiggling her fingers as she walks up to me. "Until then, how about you go home early?"
Maria places her finger over her lips while nodding.
"The devil, both of y'all." I smile, leaving the break room. I'm on my way back to my office, where the devil currently awaits.
Athanasius is still in the chair, same position, eyes glued to the door. "Do you want to ride and relieve stress?"
"No," I snap, setting the flowers on my desk. "I'm being serious, Athanasius, did you damage my home in some way?"
He chuckles. "I broke the television." Holding up his finger he stops my rant. "I replaced it with one that is better. I apologize."
"How?" Rubbing my forehead, I can only imagine what he did with the broken one.
"How does not matter." He rises quickly to stand behind me. "If I tell you I've been tasting you on my tongue, will you forgive me?"
