Chapter 6: Warm Welcomes

The morning sun is bright as hell as I stand at the edge of Allie’s new desk, fumbling to put the strawberry eraser on the back of the mechanical pencil. Why do girls like this kind of stuff? Is it to torture nice guys into wasting money? Probably. I stand up and admire my handiwork, the new desk placed in the perfect spot. As far away as possible without it looking weird. I move the strawberry eraser back and forth with my finger. What if she doesn’t show?

The thought sends a chill down my spine and I retreat back to my desk and pull out the papers on Operation Water Park. No use in wasting the morning worrying. Might as well organize what I already have. I drape my jacket over my chair and spread my notes across my desk. I’m lost in a sea of papers by the time Allie walks through the door, the loud thump of the oak the only giveaway that she had arrived. I can’t help but smile as I take in her homey look. The cutest girl in all of Miami has just arrived.

I walk over and extend my hand. "Allie. You made it."

"Did you think I wasn't going to show?" She locks eyes with me as her small hand firmly grasps mine.

"It was a gamble," I admit, motioning for her to follow me. "Let me show you your new desk." I resist the urge to drag her over and present her new desk. I should’ve gotten one of the big red bows like they put on new cars at Christmas. I pull out the chair and notice she is frozen a few steps away. "Come on. I don't bite. Hard."

A nervous laugh escapes her as she crosses over and sits in her new chair. I admire her wide eyes as she scans the desk, her gaze landing on the pencil holder. My heart hammers in my chest as she plucks the strawberry eraser pencil and sniffs it.

"Strawberries." She looks back at me, those beautiful chocolate swirls full of disbelief. "Did you remember my pencil case, too?"

I can’t get my face to play it cool, the edges of my lips curled in a permanent grin. "I just wanted you to feel welcomed. Let me show you some of the tools you're going to be using. Here." I lean over her shoulder for the mouse, the warmth of my forearm leaning up against Allie’s bare shoulder. If I just retracted away a bit, I could graze my fingers down her shirt. From this angle, I can see the edges of her sweet caramel skin disappearing behind the cloth.

Focus, Fairweather. I scroll through various programs and databases and run through my prepared introduction. "Oh." I release her shoulder and open the drawer, painfully aware of how easy it would be to grab those khaki-covered thighs. I nearly miss the hand rest on the arm of the chair and steady myself to grab the manila folder I prepped earlier. "The project is called Operation Waterpark. Lame name I know, but I'm open to suggestions if you come up with any."

I stand up and hold out the file to her. She automatically takes it and hides her face as she thumbs through it.

I peek over the folder, revealing a reddened Allie. "I appreciate your passion, but you don't have to absorb all this information in one day. Take the day to get familiar with the project. Organize yourself and come up with a list of ideas to present to me by the end of today."

She drops the folder and takes a deep breath. "Are there any specific parts of the project that are giving you trouble?"

"I tabbed the sections that have less information on them than I would like. Start with those."

Her eyes light up a little at my authoritative tone. She nods and looks back at the different tabs I opened on the desktop.

That went well. I nod, pleased with the morning so far. An hour flies by before the oak doors bang open again. Zelia’s solid green dress accents her curves beautifully as she strolls across the room and kisses my cheek.

"You work too much, you know that."

I grab her hands and give her a quick kiss, painfully aware of Allie’s eyes on us. "Well soon, I'll have a bit more free time. Zelia, I'd like you to meet my new research assistant, Allie Demarco."

Zelia glances at her the way one looks at a statue they just noticed in the corner. "Oh. Hi there. She's cute." Allie’s wave is lost as Zelia turns back to face me. "Ready to go to lunch?"

There’s no way we worked through the morning. I look at my watch and chuckle with relief. "It's ten-thirty in the morning."

"Yeah, and we have a car waiting for us downstairs to go to that little spot in Palm Beach for reservations at noon. You promised we'd go today."

I hear Allie snicker from across the room and I can’t help but smirk. Yati’s Palace was definitely not a little place. Zelia looks at her, annoyed. "I don't see what's so funny. Maybe you should stay focused over there. Okay, Demarco?"

Allie’s eyes light with anger and I spin Zelia to face me completely. "I'm so sorry I forgot my love. Let me just clean up this mess and we can be on our way."

"Just have her clean it. After all, what do we hire the help for?"

I wince a little as Zelia glances at Allie over her shoulder before kissing me, cupping my face in her hands. The sound of typing fills the air as Zelia pulls away and struts back across the room, pushing the doors out of her way without another word. I quickly stuff the mass of papers back in their respective folders and turn to Allie, jacket in hand. "I'm sorry that Zelia talked to you that way. I will have a talk with her about it in the car."

She nods but doesn’t look up from her screen, eyes scanning an article. There’s so much I want to say to her. So much more that I want to apologize for. But instead, I shrug on my jacket and I turn to the doors where Zelia waits for me. Back to where I belong.