Page 183 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I had discussed it with Tim yesterday afternoon. He told me that he had to play the bad guy once Robin got him involved. But, he did say that if I kept it a secret and no one at work knew, he would be fine with it. I still didn’t fully trust him though, so I told him that Tiffany had already called it off.
“It’s probably better that way,” Tim said. “You both are great assets to our team. Don’t let a little fling get in the way of your journalism career.”
While I valued Tim’s opinion, I still wasn’t ready to give Tiffany up. Although we had only been together for a short period of time, she made me happy. I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. I could balance both Tiffany and work.
I decided to take matters into my own hands and drop by Tiffany’s place with eggnog and homemade baklava, compliments of my mother. I wasn’t ready to let Tiffany go. This was a minor bump in the road, not a road block.
I knocked on her door, being careful not to drop the container of baklava in my hands. Tiffany opened the door with a look of surprise on her face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Can you help me out?” I asked. The container was wobbling in my hands. She steadied it, taking it from my grip. I followed her inside the apartment.
“I thought you might enjoy some treats,” I said, setting the eggnog down on the coffee table. She put the baklava down on the table as she eyed me up and down.
“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” She smirked. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I am,” I admitted. “I just can’t let this go and I know you don’t want to, either. Can we just talk for a bit?”
“I’m not sure that it’s such a great idea, Cayden,” she said. “Both of our jobs are on the line. I know you’re in denial, but I am taking this very seriously.”
“Please, just give me two minutes,” I begged, although I planned on being there much longer
She sighed and walked into the kitchen. She returned with two cups and two plates. She grabbed the eggnog from the table and poured herself a glass. She took a long sip, still not answering me.
“You’re lucky I’m a sucker for eggnog,” she said. “I guess you can sit for a while.”
“Thank you,” I said. I sat down on the couch and she sat next to me. She looked gorgeous, even though she was in a tank top and sweats. Her hair was pulled up, showing off her shoulders.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said. She took a piece of baklava. “I thought my behavior yesterday would have kept you away permanently.”
I laughed.
“Not a chance,” I said. “I understand why you said those things, believe me, but you also have to understand where I’m coming from. I have been here for years. I know Tim and I know that he would never fire me.”
“That’s great and all,” Tiffany said. “But it’s not your job that I’m worried about. It’s my job.”
“That is a valid concern, but you don’t need to be worried about your job, either. We can have the best of both worlds. I’m confident that we can make this work. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think it was worth the fight,” I told her. She wrinkled her nose.
“If I lose my job…”
I interrupted her.
“You won’t lose your job, I promise,” I told her. “You mean so much to me, Tiffany. The last thing I would ever want to do is get you fired. We can make this work.”
She shifted her position on the couch, leaning closer to me.
“I mean a lot to you?” she asked, looking up at me with her big, green eyes. I nodded.
“You do,” I said. I pulled her closer to me. She put her head on my chest. We sat there for a couple of minutes in complete silence. It felt good to have her close to me. Finally, she sat up straighter and looked me in the eyes.
“Listen,” she said. “If this is going to work, we need to set some boundaries.”
“I agree,” I replied.
“We cannot get caught at work. We need to keep everything at a minimum. I realize we still need to discuss work things in the office, but let’s leave it at that. No chit-chat, no small talk, just work. No more rendezvous in the supply room.”
“You got it,” I said. I extended my hand and she shook it firmly. We sat for a while, talking about Austin’s holiday recital the night before.
