Page 25 of Rules in Love
The clanging was still audible in the distance when Teddy covered his mouth with his hand, screwing his face slightly because it reeked of fish, but giggling beneath it, nonetheless. The man was a child. I knew what he was laughing at, and it wasn’t the damn cat.
“Just spit it out.”
“Finn wants to ram his schooner into your porthole.”
“How many other hole jokes do you have?”
“Ahem, Scarlett, trust me, you don’t want to know.”
My confidence was as high as ever striding into my office. So much so, that as I entered our building, I decided today was the day to tell Finn about Ben. There was something between Finn and me, and even if it did stay strictly business, I didn’t want to lie through omission anymore. We were partners. One needed the other—in a strictly professional sense, of course.
I should have known my certitude would diminish. With three and a half steps to go to my desk, the stench hit me, and I heard, “Why, good morning, Miss Scarlett.”
My hungry eyes scanned the room for Finn as I replied, “Good morning, Herman. How are you today? Enjoying your last days as a working man?” His retirement had suddenly been moved forward and was only a few days away. The whole office was thrilled.
“I am. Coincidentally, that’s what I wanted to speak to you about. While you and Austen are working exclusively on the Crane project, I wondered if you could find the time to plan one or two small retirement parties for me. Without the fear of being fired, my assistant has gone rogue and refuses to do it, my children hate me, and my wife…well, she just divorced me. An old man like me has no business meddling in these things, but you and Finn are the young blood in this place. I trust you to make it wonderful. Spare no expense.” A list of wants and demands was shoved into my hand as he patronizingly tapped it, checked out my boobs, and then walked away before I could argue.
Planning a party and movie night for a pompous old windbag wasn’t my ideal way to start the day. When Finn barreled into the office not ten minutes later, disappointingly Lycra-less and looking like he just ate a bag of shit, it seemed it wasn’t about to improve. It was the grumpiest I’d ever seen him, but he still looked hot as hell.
“Typical. Your first day back, and he ditches the bike.” Teddy plonked beside me and passed me a fresh jam doughnut. “What did Old Man Time want? Apart from checking out your tits, which you need to say something about. You’re a bloody full-breasted doormat, Scar.”
“Well, that’s up for debate. One thing that isn’t, is Finn and I being tasked with planning the old prick’s retirement party—parties, I should say.” I shook my head as I watched Herman sleazing onto Victoria. “Tell me, Teddy, is this guy popular enough to deserve a party and a movie night?” The gooey red jam was licked from my fingers as I passed Mr. Wise’s note. “Don’t suppose you want to help too?”
“Are you kidding? Who do you think is doing all the crappy jobs now that you and Finn are working only on Crane’s house? Besides, this gives you an extra reason to work…alone…in the still of the night…with no other sounds but the combined beating of your hearts and the expansion of his massive coc—”
“Morning.”
Fuck. Finn.
“Finn, hi, good morning. How are you?”
Feeling an instant blush from cleavage to eyes, I spun to greet him but was met with a stranger’s face. His typical exuberance and light had vanished, replaced by a sullen, stone-eyed expression that left me cold.
“I’m fine, but I wanted to let you know that I can’t go out tonight. I have some family commitments that I forgot about. If you can wait around, I could work until six or seven, but that’s it.”
“Oh, yes, that’s fine. We were only going out for work after all.”
He replied with his head down, looking toward his shuffling feet. “That’s right. It’s just work. Speaking of which, if you’re ready, we should get to it. Meet in the conference room in ten?”
“Perfect, see you then. Can’t wait.”
My heart sank as he walked away.Where was the joy? My morning flirty, winky smirk?
There was no way I’d imagined how into me he’d been. That was not an Austen-inspired fantasy. The way he looked at me as I left him last night, whispering French in the dark and a lingering lusty gaze could not have been faked. That was real. The feeling in every fiber of my body, what pressed against my stomach as he held me to him, could not have been denied. He was hard as stone. He wanted me as I wanted him.
What the hell happened?
That glass face of mine was obviously as transparent as ever. Teddy rubbed my arm sympathetically, like he would one of the neighbor’s cats when he thought no one was looking. Finn’s standoffishness appeared to confuse him as much as it did me. “Maybe it’s just because we are in the office? Maybe when he has you alone, he’ll throw you up against the door and—”
I placed my hand on Teddy’s lips to shush him. “Don’t, love. Please. No more teasing. Not today.”
No air-conditioning was required on this late summer’s day. The sudden chilling of TeamFinnletthad continued all morning and took care of any residual heat between us. Any attempts at communication were instantly shot down with a ‘nope’, ‘yep’, or drawled ‘dunno’, and there was ZERO touching. The only glimpse of flirtation and fun was over lunch when we ordered sushi.
“What is that stuff? Looks dodgy,” Finn quizzed with a grossed-out expression as I drizzled yum-yum sauce all over my sashimi.
“Dodgy? It’s not dodgy. It’s yum-yum sauce. I’d never heard of it before coming to America, and now I refuse to eat Japanese without it. Try some.” I handed him one of several little containers of deliciousness. With narrowed, suspicious eyes, he sniffed, dipped his pinky in, and then let the good stuff hit his lips.
A pink tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip as his whole face lit up. “Fuck, that’s really good.” Like my own, Finn’s lunch was soon covered in the stuff, but it was only I who ended up wearing half of it on the sleeves of my pirate shirt. “It should come out. When you get home, run it under the tap for a bit and then leave it to soak. Evie always says a good soak will cure anything.”
