Page 31 of The Secret
No sexy thoughts about the cute employee,Bloom.
“Remember that conversation we had an hour ago? The one aboutseeds?” I began.
“Ah, you mean the conversationyoudidn’t like and refused to take part in, because it’s okay whenyouignore things you’d rather not acknowledge?” he said pointedly. “That one?”
I cleared my throat. “The one where I said we needed to act professionally. The one where I said no flirting.”
“Hmm.” He cocked his head to one side. “Nope. No, that wasnevermentioned. We talked about lust and kissing. We agreed that we want each other, but don’twantto want each other. Probably because, like you said the other night, I’m not your typeand you’re not mine.” He smiled like he knew that was a lie.
He was so my type.
“We need to make an addendum to that plan, then. No flirtation. Especially no flirtation when you're doing it just to avoid discussing something else.”
“Sayplanagain,” he purred. “Sayaddendum. Gets me all excited.”
I shot him a look. “This is exactly what I mean. If we’re going to work together from now on, there can’t be this… tension thing.”
His head fell back on the seat. “It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”
“You made your opinion on that crystal clear earlier,” I reminded him. “But it’s a big deal to me. Flirtation is distracting, and I can’t afford a distraction. Blooms is too important.”
“So, you’re saying you’re so focused on your business, you don’t have time to flirt?” Con blinked. “Does that mean you don’t have sex? Like, at all?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but… rarely.” I shrugged, feeling him judging me from the other side of the cab. “And not because I think there’s anything wrong with casual sex. I don’t. I just prefer when it means something. And I don’t have room in my life for sex that means something. Got it?”
I could feel the weight of Con’s eyes on me, but he didn’t reply.
“So instead, we’re gonna work. And I’m gonna keep you so busy, you won’t have time to flirt. I’m gonna let you process all the stock and do all the shitty jobs, so I can focus on billing and other stuff, but if you want, I’ll teach you that too, because God knows, if there were ever a job for a relentlessly cheerful person, it’s bookkeeping. And then I’m gonna teach you how to make a decent flower arrangement if it kills me. Or, more likely, killsyou.” I gave him a pointed smile. “Your mother’s gonna wonder where your sudden talents are coming from.”
He huffed.
“Only thing that sucks, really, is that I can’t have you answer the phone and deal with customers, ‘cause God knows you could sell ice to an Alaskan, and I could use someone to help me charm them.”
I expected a joke. At the very least, I expected a smirk or a comment about me calling himcharming. But Constantine straightened in his seat.
“Okay,” he said. “I can do that.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I wouldn’t have hired you if I thought you couldn’t.” Which wasn’t precisely true at all, since I hadn’t known him at all on Saturday. But I felt like I knew him better now.
I made the left turn onto Weaver, just a few minutes from the center of town, when a thought occurred to me.
“Still early,” I said, looking at the clock. It was barely six, but the sun was already beaming through the windshield, and the world was wide awake. “Wanna risk someone seeing you climb out of the van behind the shop, or should I drop you somewhere else?”
“I, um, parked my car over at the police station.” He winced. “My little brother’s car, actually. Which is only mildly mortifying.”
I snorted. “Want me to drop you there?”
“Yeah. Or maybe a little farther up on Firehouse Road?”
“You’ve got it.”
I drove a couple of blocks past my shop and took a left, then pulled into the empty parking lot of the burger place next to the police station.
Constantine reached for the door handle but hesitated. He looked back at me. “Thank you. For theyou know,” he motioned back toward the warehouse. “And the…” he motioned between us. He took a deep breath and blew it out. “And the job, frankly. Because my car’s not gonna replace itself.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I get that you’re taking a chance on me, a guy you likemaybehalf the time. And I appreciate it, even if I’m not totally sure why. I’m not gonna do anything to fuck you over. That’s basically what I want you to know.”
I hesitated, deciding how much I wanted to say. Part of me wanted to saynothingand just let him walk out, because that would be by far the safest bet. I’d wantedreal Constantine, right? But now that I was seeing him, he was overwhelming.
“Well, there’s right and there’s wrong, Constantine,” I said slowly, repeating his earlier words.
