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“Fine.” He did a great fake pout. “I guess I can wait.”
“You can. Good practice for you.” I sat back as he put the car in drive and headed out of the Malibu mega-mansion neighborhood.
“Practice?” He sounded confused.
“Not like we’re gonna be able to be climbing all over each other at work next week,” I pointed out as I tried to find a comfortable position for my foot. I very much wanted to give Avery his reward, but my various aches and pains were letting me know it had been a long evening. “I might be on light duty at the office, but still, people are gonna talk if we’re screwing in the break room.”
“Crap. Work.” Avery made a pained noise as if he’d only that moment remembered we worked together. “Did Duncan say something to you while he was in Denver?”
“No, surprisingly.” He’d fetched food, eaten with us, been charming to my mother, and smiled at Avery sitting next to me. Duncan was too damn smart to have missed Tiffany’s and Keely’s none-too-subtle teasing, but he hadn’t pulled me aside for a serious chat like I’d been bracing for. He’d headed back to LA several days prior to Avery and me, telling me to rest up, but I had a feeling the issue of Avery and me dating would have to come up Monday.
“Yeah. Surprising. You don’t think he’s waiting to can us?” Avery sounded a lot more suspicious than I was. “Or make Harley give us the bad news?”
“I don’t think he’d do that. Either of them. I’m not worried.” Outside the car, lights sped by, Malibu mansions giving way to typical LA-area traffic. “Wait. Are you worried? Are we cool? I was assuming…” Trailing off, I twisted my mouth. I’d never dated a coworker before and didn’t want to undercut any worries of Avery’s. “Maybe we should talk about work.”
“We’re cool.” Avery merged onto the highway that would take us back toward my apartment. “If Duncan tries to say no fraternization, I’ll quit.”
“You will not.” I made my voice officer-stern. “This isn’t the navy. The enlisted/officer thing doesn’t apply, neither of us was supervising the other, and while coworker flings aren’t usually a great idea, I don’t think it’s gonna get us fired.”
“Good.” Avery released a long breath.
“Why do you sound down about that? Do you want to quit?”
“Is working for A-List what you want to do with the rest of your life?” He maneuvered around two slow-moving semis.
“Have you been talking with my mom?” I managed a laugh but couldn’t completely keep the edge out of my tone.
“No. Your mom scares me.” Avery chuckled nervously. “I meant more…you think you can be happy with A-List long-term?”
“I think so, yeah.” Nodding slowly, I looked out the window at the other traffic, cars full of people looking for weekend fun, jockeying with trucks out trying to do their jobs. Was I finally okay with my life direction? Fun versus purpose. A job versus a calling. After my conversation with my mom, I continued to ask myself these questions. “I’d like to talk to Duncan and Harley about doing more management, work more on veteran’s outreach, earn enough time off to do volunteer work.”
I was willing to bet that I could find my purpose with the mission of A-List, find new ways to give back, and stop worrying so damn much about what I should be doing according to my mother or anyone else.
“Wow.” Avery whistled. “You’ve got a whole plan.”
“It’s okay if you don’t.” I wished he wasn’t driving. I wanted to pat him or meet his gaze, show him that simply because I was happy with A-List didn’t mean he had to be the same.
“Eh. Probably best to not rock the boat if Duncan’s not inclined to discipline us. I was thinking about asking about going assignment by assignment.” Avery shifted against his seat. “Take some time to work on that movie with Liam and Andre, but that’s maybe a stupid plan.”
“Damn. You really do want that spanking tonight, don’t you?”
“I’m not playing.” He frowned, moving back to the slow lane before giving me a hard stare. “Turning down guaranteed work with A-List to go play dress-up—”
“Correction: turning down a job you don’t entirely love to pursue something that might turn out to be your passion and that you’re damn good at is neither silly nor stupid. Do it.” I kept a firm tone, but when he didn’t respond, I lightened my voice. “Unless you’re chicken…”
“I’m never chicken.” The glow from the highway lights highlighted his blush.
“Exactly. You’re great at taking risks. And I don’t think you’re scared of failing. You’re afraid you’ll love it.”
“Gah.” Avery made a frustrated noise. “You’re not wrong. But the failure thing is still a possibility. I could hate it. Be terrible at it. Get fired. Plenty of bad shit.”
