Page 109 of Crazy Thing

The staff at the office is new. I’m not exactly done training them yet. For some reason, I’m suddenly nervous about leaving them on their own for longer than strictly necessary.

A mischievous smile comes over Darius’s face. “No. We’re not going home tonight.”

I wait for him to explain.

“We’ll spend the afternoon visiting a few commercial real estate sites that I’m interested in acquiring with Laurier. Later in the evening, we’ll do dinner with some of my”—he seems to be searching for the right word—“colleagues. Then tomorrow…tomorrow is a surprise.” When he says that, he’s wearing a wolfish grin that makes me tingle.

“A surprise?” My eyebrows arch upward. I open my mouth to question him further but he cuts me off.

“Don’t ask. Because I’m not telling you.”

Excitement ticks up inside me as I try to imagine what this man could possibly have up his sleeve. “Darius. Tell me.”

“Nope.” He wags his head stubbornly, his lips curved into a smile.

I grab his arm, shaking it. “Come on.”

“I’m not telling you, Ziggy.” He grabs me by the shoulders, planting a firm kiss on my mouth. “Let’s just focus on what’s on the agenda for today.”

“Fine.” With a growl, I pull up his calendar on my phone. I scroll through the app, making sure everything is scheduled correctly. “Okay, so first we’re visiting the construction sites…” I type in. Then we’re having dinner with your friends.” I clap my hands together. “I’m excited.”

I really enjoyed meeting those billionaire wives and I’d love to get to know them a little better.

“Mycolleagues,” Darius corrects me. “We’re having a business dinner with mycolleagues.” When he says that, his posture straightens and he adjusts the knot of his tie. Laidback Darius is gone, and immediately, here comes Mr. Business Mode.

I almost laugh. “Darius—they’re your friends. There’s nothing wrong with having friends.”

“They’re business associates, Ziggy. I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re kidding, aren’t you? You don’t mix business with pleasure?”

“Never. I keep firm boundaries between my personal and professional lives.”

I cackle. I outright cackle. Because he doesn’t seem to catch the irony in what he’s saying.

“You and me—we’re the epitome of mixing business with pleasure,” I remind him.

His eyes narrow. His nostrils flare. He’s a caged animal. He’s stepped into a trap that he himself laid.

Darius tracks his long fingers through his hair, perfectly disheveling it, before he speaks. “That’s different. You’re the exception.” He says it like he actually believes it. He’s full of shit and he doesn’t even realize it.

I reach across the space between us, tenderly playing with the hair at his nape. “It must be exhausting being so guarded all the time.”

He looks away, setting his jaw. “It’s not exhausting. It’s the way I am.” I watch the vein in his neck pulse. “All I know is, ‘friends’ are just a distraction. A waste of time. ‘Colleagues’ move forward together. Isn’t that more important anyway?”

This man is so determined to keep the world at arm’s length. It makes me sad. He doesn’t even realize how much he’s cutting himself off from the juiciness of life.

“It’s okay to just let yourself have fun sometimes. To just enjoy people for the heck of it, without calculating the return on investment,” I suggest softly, my fingertips massaging his scalp.

“I get it. I’m boring,” he grouses. “And no one wants to do the boring things in life. But those are the important things. The things that get you ahead.”

I lean in, allowing my lips to graze his neck. “You’re not boring, Darius. No one excites me like you do.” I smile against his skin, enjoying the way goosebumps sprout along the thick column of his throat. “But I will say this—you don’t allow yourself to have fun. And sometimes the most important thing is to have fun. To spread love. Toletpeople love you. That’s called balance.”

Easing away, I observe his face. I can see that he’s struggling with what I’m saying. But I can also see that he’s sincerely trying. Aunt Rainbow said that’s the most important thing, right? The willingness to try.

“It’s not fair for me to push my worldview on you. But I’ll say this. You’ve opened up to me, Darius, and you’ve shown me the beautiful soul that I never could have imagined beneath those perfectly tailored suits. Whether or not you choose to share that beauty with the rest of the world is up to you. But I’m truly grateful that you’ve shared yourself with me.”

Bodies confined by our seatbelts, my arms wrap around his neck in the most awkward hug. But it’s a hug he clearly needs.

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