Page 49 of Just A Little Fling

“If I report this harassment to Rory, HR won’t matter.” I sat back smugly in my chair. I had him over a barrel, and he knew it. Gabe’s rueful smile sealed his fate.

“Ha! Rory knows I’d never be foolish enough to try to pull some shit with you. I want to grow old with him.” Gabe rifled through a stack of papers on the edge of his desk until he found the one he wanted. “Before Natalie came on full-time, she was on a project-by-project consultant basis. I’ve updated that contract structure for this one since it’s on top of your regular duties.”

Had he not heard a word I said?

I was annoyed at myself for being speechless, but holy shit, I was. He was essentially giving me a shot to do what Natalie did, even if it was for only one project. Ma could never know about this because I’d never hear the end of it.

“I don’t understand why we need a separate contract.” I was genuinely confused. It seemed excessive for a one-off project.

“It’s not part of your regular job. Your regular duties are my personal assistant, this is a project management gig. I’m going to get paid for it, so you should too. I like to design buildings, but I have zero desire to project manage them to the necessary detail to make it happen. That’s the entire reason Natalie came on full-time, and why I was so disappointed to see her leave. I understand them wanting to move back to Colorado to be closer to their family now that she and Kate are having a baby, but it still leaves me needing someone to replace her.”

“You’ve had a couple of interviews with people. You didn’t like anyone for it?”

“They were all right but weren’t the fit I hoped for. It needs to be someone who will be a great fit for both of us.”

“I appreciate you thinking of me, but yeah, as long as they don’t mess with my desk, I think that’s as much as I need to worry about.”

Gabe looked at me with a perplexed expression. “We’ll get back to the supplemental contract in a second, but we have to address your place in the office.” Ugh, this felt like it was in serious danger of swerving left. “You are an integral part of this office. If I’ve got concerns they won’t gel with us—and us means you and me—it’s a no-go as far as I’m concerned.”

“I appreciate it, Gabe. I do.”

“Are you all right?”

“Why?” I asked defensively. “Don’t I seem all right?”

“If I can be honest…” Gabe paused and waited for me to wave my hand for him to continue. “You don’t. The last few weeks…since you moved into your new place, really…you’ve been a little…uhh…stressed.”

“What are you talking about?” My usual control felt like it was slipping. My front-facing to the world was sassy and snappy. No one needed to look behind the curtain.

“It’s not one thing, and it sure as shit isn’t anything to do with how you do your job. You just seem…sad.”

Before I could even begin to formulate an answer, a quick rap at the door sounded before an exuberant Rory burst in. “Daddy, you need to feed your Bunny.” Gabe’s face broke into a grin as he opened his arms, and Rory leaped into them.

“I do need to feed you, Bunny, but next time, I’m gonna need you to wait before opening the door, okay?” Rory whipped his head around and a look of horror covered his face as he realized he hadn’t even noticed me sitting in the chair.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, Nico.” Rory’s eyes were clouded with sadness. He’d come tearing through the door well into little space, but seeing me unexpectedly in the chair had knocked him for a loop. I knew what a jarring and disconnected feeling it created.

“No, no, no. It’s fine, Rory. It’s okay.” To soothe Rory, I found myself slipping into the place I fell into with Babbo over the weekend. This was exactly why I worried about being little anywhere near my boss.

It wasn’t professional. There was nothing cute about it. But unfortunately for me, the pull was strong, and now I was back to gripping the chair in a losing effort to keep myself centered in the proper space. On top of it, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt Rory’s feelings because he was one of the sweetest guys ever. I was paralyzed.

“Nico?” Gabe asked hesitantly.

“I scared.” Rory and Gabe looked at each other, and my heart almost beat out of my chest with the looks they exchanged.Were they making fun of me? Babbo would know what to do.“Find Babbo. Please.”

“Is that a person?” Gabe asked. I managed to nod at the question.

“Okay, I’ll find them for you, but I’m gonna run an errand real fast first. Can I get you both to hang out in my office for a minute?”

Rory and I nodded.

Gabe led us both to the sofa near the windows of his office. From the side table, he pulled out a couple of boxes of crayons and a few coloring books. He placed everything on the coffee table in front of us. “Bunny, while I’m gone, will you color me a picture, please? I haven’t had a new one in a long, long time.” Rory agreed and quickly went to work. His tongue slipped out the corner of his mouth while he seemingly directed all his attention to the page. “Nico, would you mind keeping Rory company while I go and make a phone call?”

“Okay.” The part of my brain that was still working at adult capacity recognized that I was being ridiculously incompetent at the moment. Something about distress had sent me reeling straight into little space.

I didn’t know what it was about this particular distress that had sent me spiraling. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been around Rory when he was in little space. He, of course, had no idea about me finding my little self. Would Rory be okay with me being little and working with Gabe? And would it matter anyway because I wasn’t going to be little around Gabe at work—except that was exactly what was happening. The more that horrifying thought rolled around my head, the more agitated I became.

Rory tentatively touched my hand and offered me a crayon. “Big people color too. You don’t have to be little, but you could be if you wanted.”

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