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“It’s all for you, Kate. I really appreciate how patient you’ve been with me. I know it’s not been easy having to teach me everything from scratch. I don’t take it lightly, believe me. I let you down and then I tried to apologize and I only made it worse, but this time, I think I’ve nailed it.”
He produced a bunch of flowers from behind his back. They were bursting with bright colors and greenery, the most beautiful bouquet she’d ever seen. Sunflowers and orange roses and pink carnations and some kind of purple flower with delicate petals that she didn’t know the name of but loved immediately upon sight. It was the most ‘Kate’ bunch of flowers that she could imagine, and the sight of them made her want to cry.
“They’re gorgeous, thank you.”
“I know you like bright colors.”
“I do.”
Emile handed her the bunch and she took them gently, careful not to crush the bouquet. They stared at each other for a moment. Kate’s heart was in her mouth, she was so overwhelmed by the gesture. She would have been happy enough if he’d just tidied up after himself, but this was so thoughtful.
“How was your meeting?” Emile asked, breaking the tension. She’d mentioned it to him, though she hadn’t told him exactly what it was in regard to.
“Oh, utter crap.” Kate shrugged, heading to the sink to find a vase. She busied herself adding water and arranging the flowers to distract herself from the memory of the meeting.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Kate hadn’t had someone to share the ups and downs of her day with for a long time. It felt… good. Right, somehow. Part of her wanted to offload the whole story onto Emile, but they were still feeling out the boundaries of where ‘boss and employee’ ended and ‘roommates and friends’ began, so she decided to keep the details to herself.
“Can’t be helped now.”
“Still, let’s see if we can cheer you up. Want to watch a movie?”
Over dinner a few weeks ago, Kate had discovered that Emile had seen none of her favorite movies. In fact, he’d barely seen any movies at all. The two of them had made a list to work their way through — classics that he had to see if he wanted to be a functioning member of society. They’d slowly been watching them when they had a free evening together and at that moment, Kate could think of nothing better than sitting on the sofa and switching her brain off.
“Okay, but I get to pick.”
“Don’t you always?” he teased, but he looked pleased.
Kate made up a bowl of popcorn and the two of them settled onto the couch, the bowl between them. She took pity on him and opted for a superhero movie that she thought they’d both enjoy. Hot guys in tight suits saving the world? Yes please.
Emile was a good person to watch films with. He didn’t ask too many questions, but his occasional exclamations made it clear he was engaged and she found herself watching his reactions more than the actual movie. Occasionally, he would look over and smile at her, catching her watching him, and she felt herself going gooey at the casual intimacy that they’d created between them. Every now and then, their hands would brush as they both reached for the popcorn at the same time, and her heart kicked at the contact. This was innocent enough, wasn’t it? They were just two friends watching a movie. If she enjoyed the touch of his fingers more than the popcorn, he didn’t have to know.
The sun started to set as the movie went on, shadows falling across the floor of the apartment. Kate felt cozier than she had in a long time, snuggled on her squishy blue sofa, enjoying Emile’s company, the salty taste of the popcorn still on her tongue. If she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, the scent of him filled her senses. He smelled the way he always did, of expensive cologne and coffee and spice. It was becoming so familiar to her now…
“Kate…”
She blinked her eyes open, disoriented. She’d only just closed them, but somehow it was pitch black outside now.
“Kate?”
Emile’s hand gently shook her arm, and she startled, realizing that she’d fallen asleep.
On his lap. She could feel the rough denim of his jeans and the hard muscle of his thigh underneath her head.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Fully awake now, she bolted upright.
“Sorry for what?” Emile didn’t seem at all bothered that she’d been using him as a pillow. He was grinning at her affectionately, a look which did something strange to her stomach.
“For falling asleep on you. I… didn’t mean to. Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Kate. I know you’ve been working hard recently, and this wasn’t the best movie.”
“It wasn’t?”
“I’d give it a solid seven out of ten. You didn’t miss much.”
He was still grinning, and she could feel her cheeks growing hot. You didn’t fall asleep on your employee’s lap. That had to be top of the list of how to behave as a boss. No, it probably wasn’t even in the manual, it was so obvious.
