Page 57 of Honey Bun
She hopped out of her chair. “Thanks for going to drop off Maddie’s lunch. I put it in her bag, but she took it out.”
“It was fun to work as a team.” I would do anything for either one of them. I stopped in my tracks, wanting to ask her if she’d go out to dinner with me. My heart pounded. I tried to be professional instead. “I was happy to help, as you were clearly dealing with a wedding snag. Why were you late today?”
She glanced at her desk and moved her pen. “I was at a meditation session. I’m thinking of going to this center for change for some of the group therapy and yoga classes too.”
Therapy was a good idea. I squeezed her hand. “That sounds great.”
She let out a sigh. “It might be helpful. I’ve been liking the meditation.” She took her hand back.
“We have some meditation apps that could use a good review, if you want to join in the weekly meetings on those games too.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There are meditation games?”
I nodded. More and more people were turning toward their consoles for all sorts of things, including exercise and meditation. “And surprisingly, they make money.”
She sucked on her lip. “That’s cool.”
It was time to go to work, but I didn’t want to leave her side. I squared my shoulders and decided to ask her what I wanted. “So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me after work.”
She rocked back and forth, and her face went white. I was sure she would tell me no, but she gulped. “I… okay. That sounds exactly like what we need. Tonight, then.”
My pulse sped up.Finally.I felt like I’d won. I tapped her desk. “I’ll talk soon. Time to go to work.”
I headed back into my office to review the budget-meeting notes. Then Joel, the accountants, and I all sat in on a meeting. Afterward, I organized the changes we’d agreed on, as Joel had to go to a tuxedo fitting.
Hours ticked by, and I didn’t have a moment to call a restaurant. At three, my phone rang, and I recognized Cyrus’s number. He immediately said, “Arman, just got off the phone with Pedar. He wants to talk about his will.”
I crossed my arms. “Why?”
“Some of our adopted brothers don’t believe they are in it, so he’s getting copies made for everyone.”
“Is he sick and not telling us?”
“I asked the same question, and he denied it. Then he promised to get a full physical, so I believe him.”
Cyrus was Pedar’s doctor. I nodded. “Good. How are you?”
“Setting up a three-month leave at the hospital so my life can stop being in limbo and I have time to sort everything out.”
“Sounds more like you. The man with a plan.”
“So, how’s everything going with Maddie?”
An email about a contract snag appeared, marked urgent. My shoulders tensed. “We’re going out tonight, not that I made a reservation yet.” We would have to go wherever they had space for us.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to hear you’re falling in love.”
I massaged my brow. “It’s just—” I heard his name called out by a nurse over a speaker.
Cyrus quickly said, “Got to go. I’m being paged.”
“Good luck.”
I focused on the urgent email and realized a subcontractor hadn’t delivered. I forwarded the problem to a manager to take care of and returned to the monthly accounting report. We were exceeding profitability and would either split our stock shares and pay a dividend or invest in more risky games. I felt we needed to do both, and I wrote a proposal on a few games that seemed risky at first glance but had a user experience that would keep gamers interested in the long term.
My phone beeped, letting me know it was time to go, so I finished the last email with the proposal to Joel and the accounting team. Maddie knocked on my door, holding boxes from Bergdorf Goodman. She placed on one my desk and showed me one with her name on it. “So, what’s this?”
My brief mention of Maddie to Cyrus crossed my mind. I shrugged and reached for my box. “Delivery.”
