Page 22 of Yule Know It When You See It
Finally, I make it to Theo’s desk undetected and without further interruptions. She’s hunched in her chair, busily working away in her notebook. Without announcing my presence, I snatch the notebook.
Theo yelps and leaps from her chair, hands reaching for the notebook I lift above my head. “Axel, give that to merightnow.” She jumps with her arms flailing above her.
I lightly press one hand on her forehead, keeping safe from her unruly limbs. She hadn’t been writing at all, but drawing—a doodle of a blonde Viking with the cliché two-horned helmet. “Is this supposed to be—me?”
Theo stops trying to reach for the book and lets out a defeated sigh. “Why would it beyou?” She lurches forward, hands out-stretched, and I effortlessly press a hand to her head again, keeping her away.
“It’s a Viking, for one. A blonde one with a beard. He’s got a hockey stick instead of a sword and a utility belt with a bunch of pens.” I lower the notebook, staring at her.
Did shedoodleme? And incorporatesymbolism?
“Your point? Maybe hockey originated in Norway before making it to England.” Theo shrugs, eyeing up the notebook before snatching it from me. I let her.
So damn confusing.
“Actually, I think it was Scotland. And that helmet? Cliché Viking. Historically, they didn’t have horns.”
Theo slaps the notebook to her desk, doodle side down, and sits, pulling the chair flush with the desk. “Is there something you need, Axel?”
For you to tell me exactly what is or isn’t happening between us?
“How much have you written?” I pluck the corner of my phone nestled in my pocket.
She minimizes a window and turns to face me. “Two pages. You?”
“Three.”
And now we both lie about work we didn’t do?Why?
We glare at each other for several silent heartbeats before my phone buzzes in my pocket. I snatch it, Spencer’s face blazing the screen.
“What’s up, Spence?” I answer, holding a finger up to Theo and mouthing the words, “I’ll be right back.”
She mouths, “I don’t care.”
“Axel, my man. One of the partners won a huge case yesterday, and we’re all going for drinks to celebrate. You. Should. Come.”
Typically, I’d decline no sooner had the words left Spencer’s mouth when in the middle of an assignment. But a night out with the boys to clear my head may be precisely what the doctor prescribed.
“Alright. When?”
“Now.”
I pause at my desk, taken aback. “Now? Like right now, now?”
“Right now. Get your blonde ass over here, Ax. The Elephant. State Street.”
Thudding my finger against my desk, I attempt to think myself out of it one final time and come up short. “Be there in ten.”
After hanging up, I lock my computer and snatch my jacket. No sooner are my arms slipping into the sleeves than I notice Theo perking up, her palms flattening to her desk.
“Where are you going?” Theo asks, her voice gaining an octave.
“Out.” I pretend not to pay attention to her as I check my pockets for my wallet and keys.
She leans an elbow on her desk. “Out? On a date?” Theo’s left knee bounces ever so slightly.
“I didn’t say that.” I keep my answers mysterious, having the sudden urge to see if I can somehow make her jealous.
