Saige
“You go up the elevator first. I’ll wait and take another one.” I wipe my sweaty palms on my dress and look around the lobby to see if anyone saw Holt and me arrive together.
He rolls his eyes at me amusingly. “There are security cameras everywhere in this building. I can guarantee you that more than fifty people have seen us arrive together. And they’ll see us leave together too.”
I sigh loudly, and Holt presses the call button for the elevator. “Relax. No one is going to say anything. No one will even notice us.”
The car arrives, and we step inside. I take a deep breath and glance at Holt, who is his usual calm, cool, collected self. The doors close, and we ride quietly to the floor staring at the closed doors. I replay our weekend over and over in my head and can’t believe how a couple of drinks turned into this. I glance at Holt and my stomach twists as the elevator slows to a stop and the doors open.
Holt slides his hand into mine and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Relax.” He leans in and presses a quick kiss to my cheek.
“Relax,” I repeat to myself with a curt nod. Stepping out of the elevator, I turn right and Holt turns left, each of us walking to our respective office spaces. Glancing back over my shoulder, I find Holt does the same and he smiles at me. That perfect smile, the one that melts my insides and makes my heart race.
I slide into my cubicle as quietly as possible, docking my laptop and powering it up. I hear Kinsley across the hall, talking on the phone, and I silently pray that Rowan went for coffee without me today.
“Spill it.” The words come out as a whisper-yell as Rowan sticks his head in my cube. “Grab your purse. You’re telling me everything.”
I stifle a groan. “I was hoping you already left for coffee,” I admit with a grin.
He looks at me with a sarcastic expression. “Not this morning. I want the juicy details. Did you kiss him?” He holds a hand up. “Wait, don’t answer. I want all the details.” He studies me for a moment, and his eyes widen. “Oh God, you did! Tell me about it!”
“Ro, shush.” I press my finger to my lips and he laughs.
“Did you go any further? Please tell me he doesn’t have a small peen.” He fans his face as if he’s overheating. “With that body, I’d be so disappointed if he undressed and there was a lil’ smoky instead of a bratwurst.”
I stand up and smack Rowan on the shoulder and laugh. “You are so gross.” I shudder animatedly. “And none of that is your business.” God, we’re talking about Holt’s penis and I want to die right now. I rub my forehead in disbelief.
His eyes widen even more with certainty. “That means you slept with him. You saw it! Sweet baby Jesus, Saige, you slept with Holt Hamilton.” His eyes are wide and he covers his mouth in surprise.
“Shut up!” I whisper loudly and grab Rowan by the elbow, dragging him down the hallway to the elevators.
He grabs both of my arms as we wait for the elevator and looks me square in the eye. “You don’t have to tell me everything, just tell me if the dare was worth it.” He’s being the typically overdramatic Rowan.
I glance down the hall where I last saw Holt and remember the smile he flashed at me just minutes ago, then look back to Rowan. “Totally.” I can’t fight back my smile any longer.
“Atta girl!” He pulls me into a hug just as the elevator arrives. “You know I’m nosy as fuck, and I’m going to want all the details.” He chuckles as the doors close behind us.
I turn to Rowan and demand his attention and plead with him. “You’ve heard more than I’m going to tell anyone else. Keep your mouth shut and don’t fuel rumors. And please, Ro, do me a favor. If anyone, and I mean anyone, starts talking about us, or if we are brought up in conversation, please let me know. I value my job. I like it here. I love working with you, and the last thing I need is for this lapse in judgment to ruin my career.”
He reaches out and gives my hand a little squeeze. “I’ve got your back, girlfriend.”
I give him a trusting smile. “This is why I love you. You know that, right?”
He beams at me. “I know, buttercup.”
We push through the glass doors and out onto the bustling city street, weaving through the morning crowds of people to get to our little specialty coffee shop. Rowan places our order and, instead of taking it to go as we normally do, we sit at one of the small bistro tables and sip on our addiction.
As I begin dishing my dirt to Rowan, my phone chimes from my clutch, interrupting me. I pull it out to see two messages from Evelyn—that I ignore—and a new text from Holt.
Don’t forget my coffee and please tell Rowan good morning for me.
Rowan pops the plastic lid off his coffee cup and tosses it on the table to let the steam out. “Saige, why do you kind of look like you’re going to be sick, but you still kind of have a smile on your face?”