Page 34 of Feel It in the Air

10

MARGEAUX

The universe givethand the universe taketh away. Apparently that is the theme for this season of my life.

Case in point. Giveth: meet a wonderfully charming, incredibly sexy man in an airport bar, with deep soulful eyes and a jaw so strong and defined you could grate cheese with it.

Taketh: He doesn’t call.

Giveth: I land my dream job with a Fortune 500 company. Turns out, said wonderfully charming, incredibly sexy man also happens to work here.

Taketh: He’s the owner’s son, and the company’s second-in-command.

Giveth: I’m assigned the biggest project of my career. The kind of project that someone in my position could only dream about being gifted their first month on the job.

Oh yeah, and Gus kissed me.

Kissed me like his life depended on it. Like I’ve never been kissed before. And fuck if it didn’t take every ounce of resolve that I have—and some extra special powers that I magically called upon—to not jump him right there on the front steps of Hayes House. I was ready to climb him like a tree and dry hump him until the both of us begged for mercy.

Which lands us right back here, in taketh territory.

Because right along with being handed the opportunity to handle the renewals for multiple trademarks Hayes has in place came the news that Percy would be stepping away to handle a family emergency. And in his place, Gus would temporarily be overseeing the department, making him my actual boss. And even more off-limits than before.

I thought nothing could be worse than dealing with Gus not calling after our JFK encounter. Then I experienced these last two weeks of working with him. Especially now that I know how dangerous his kiss is.

But everything is totally fine. Because Gus Hayes is not why I’m here. Nope. Not even close. He wasn’t the reason I took this job. I didn’t even know who he was when I interviewed with Hayes. When I applied to law school. When I set my sights on one day working for a company like this, handling their IP and patents. So keeping focus on work, on the project before me, is what I need to do.

If only it were that easy.

Sighing, I flip the page, blinking a couple of times, trying to understand the drawing in front of me. I won’t lie; there’s not a whole lot about rifles that make sense to me, much less what makes these particular ones so special. That said, there must be something, because Hayes rifles are still one of the best-selling on the market. And at a pretty penny.

“It’s four forty-five on Friday, Finnegan,” Aaron Howard, the only colleague left in the office, says, pausing at my desk on his way toward the door. I look up from my screen, registering just how sunny his disposition is. Especially considering I don’t think he’s been this cheery the entire month I’ve worked here. “Time to head out.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ve got a few things I want to finish up,” I tell him.

It’s not a lie. I do want to get through more of this. I want to have a better grasp on the history of Hayes Armory before I fully file the trademark extension next week. Which means scouring a lot more of these documents. It’s a very convenient excuse to not have to leave with him.

Not that I think Aaron is a bad guy. The few conversations we’ve had led me to believe he’s a perfectly fine human being. Much better than the only other colleague close to our age—although both of them have a few years on me—Teresa Parrish, who seemed to dislike me the second I was introduced. But that’s fine by me. I’m not interested in socializing with coworkers. In my short time in Hickory Hills, I’ve already gotten myself into enough trouble in that department. I’m cutting myself off. Technically, Aaron hasn’t officially asked, but I can tell it’s coming.

A woman can always tell.

“C’mon. It’ll still be there Monday. Let’s head to Pour Decisions. I’ll buy you a drink.”

And there it is. Right on schedule.

I force more politeness into my smile. “I’m good, really. I need to understand some of this better. I come from a very different world and have a lot of catching up to do. And then I have plans.”

Aaron opens his mouth to respond—I’m sure to try and tell me that whoever I’m meeting up with can just meet us at Pour Decisions—but he’s cut off by the sound of the office door opening. We both spin to look, my heart stopping, my brain taking another second to catch up.

Gus.

Butterflies swarm around me, my skin prickling as the air buzzes with electricity. Same as it did when he first asked to sit next to me at JFK. Same as it does every time he’s around.

Stop it, Margeaux…we’re not doing this…

“Headin’ out?” Gus asks, not bothering to greet either of us.

It’s the first time we’ve seen him today—or at least the first time I’ve seen him today—leading me to believe that his schedule was more packed than usual. Adding in the responsibility of our department was not something he saw coming, or really had time for, but he’s made it a point to spend at least some time down here every day since Percy had to take leave.