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Leo was quiet as he opened the passenger door of his truck for me. The black vehicle was massive but weirdly bare of all upgrades. It had cloth seats, a stick shift, and no fancy features. Not as if I minded, but I’d expected more bells and whistles given the nice trucks the other guys at work drove.
Once he cranked the ignition, the sound of the engine made it impossible to hear anything else. Knowing him, he probably kept it noisy in order to ward off all chance of conversation.
We drove across town and outside of the city limits to a neighborhood I wasn’t familiar with.
“You know, I could save you the trouble of murdering me and burying the body by simply resigning.” I had to shout for him to hear me over the motor and road noise.
I’d meant it as a joke, but his eyes went wide, and he muttered what sounded like “Jesus” in response. “You’re not quitting your job. And I’m not killing you.”
“There’s a relief. I might not appear strong, but I’d put up a hell of a fight, make lots of noise, and end up making a big old mess on your cloth seats. Blood stains are impossible to get out.”
He shook his head, but at least I had his lips twitching.
Today he wore a dress shirt since he’d come from a sales meeting earlier. With his sleeves rolled up, showing off the tattoos on both his forearms, he made me hyper aware of his presence and how close we were to each other in the truck’s cab. I wasn’t typically a fan of long hair on a man, but the way Leo wore his tied back was incredibly sexy. I felt the same way about his beard, which he kept trimmed in an inexplicably attractive fashion.
Good thing I’d rejoined the world of online dating. My date Friday night would serve as a distraction, so I could quit the imaginary dry humping of my boss’s boss.
After driving a few more minutes, he pulled into the lot of a strip mall. One of the stores was decorated with Christmas trees in the window and a sign which said, “A Christmas Story.”
“What is this?”
He cut the engine and turned toward me. “This is an apology. We’ll go in, and you can select all the decorations you want to spiff up the office and warehouse for Christmas. I shouldn’t have said what I did. Truth is, most of the guys who work at Delta missed holidays while deployed overseas and away from their families. So having some cheer in the office is a good thing. I’m sorry I’ve been grumpy about it. Or questioned you about doing real work. Dominic told me everything you’ve been doing with the new hire orientations, the website, and the new software. I should’ve been more appreciative, and I’m sorry.”
Dang. Leonardo Chambers gave one sincere apology. Still, the burning question had to be asked. “Why are you grumpy about it?”
“Just how I am about most things. But my moods shouldn’t dampen your enthusiasm. In only a few weeks, I’ve noticed morale way up and my employees happier than I’ve ever seen. You’ve done a great job, Addison.”
Oh, man, my eyes started to get misty. My last boss had never given compliments, and my parents were scarce with them too.
His expression showed impending panic. “I swear if you cry, I’ll take back anything nice I’ve ever said.”
“What, all two things?” I quipped, his distraction doing the trick of returning my composure.
He rubbed his chin. “Damn, that was one more nice thing than intended. I’ll have to be more judicious next time.”
Now I did smile. “Maybe, like, once a year?”
His lips curved up. “Deal, but if you tell anyone, then the whole murder plot idea is back on the table.”
Proof Leo did have a personality under the layers of grouch. I made a motion of locking my lips.
“Ready to go inside?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
Once I stepped into the Christmas shop, I marveled at the selection. And although I doubted shopping for holiday decorations was Leo’s idea of fun, not once did he hurry things along or grumble. In fact, he picked out a couple Grinch items to go with the décor I was selecting. Would be fitting to put those in his office.
By the time we were done, we’d loaded up two trees, boxes upon boxes of lights, wreaths, and decorations galore.
When we arrived back at the office, Leo turned toward me. “Don’t worry about dealing with the stuff we bought. I’ll pull the truck around to the warehouse and unload it there.”
“Thanks for today. I’m excited about putting it all up.”
“Can it at least wait until we hit Thanksgiving?”
His pained expression made me laugh. “You’ve got it.”
* * *
