Chapter 43

You made it into work early, the first to arrive. It was Wednesday, which meant Andy was supposed to do the coffee run, but you didn’t have high hopes that he’d be in on time or remember to get the coffee, so you stopped to pick up some for yourself.

“Morning, Becks,” you said, dropping off her drink of choice on the counter.

“Good morning, John,” she looked up, smiling. “No pastries today, huh?”

“Not on an intern’s budget,” I said. “Not my day for the coffee run.”

“Oh, here,” she said, pulling out her oversized wallet from behind the desk. “Let me pay you for this, then.”

“No, no,” you said, holding up a hand. “It’s my pleasure. I owe you a few.”

“Well, that’s sweet of you,” Becks said, putting her wallet away and taking a sip of the drink. “So, how did the date go last night?”

“How do you know about that? Wait, don’t tell me. Sabrina.”

Becks grinned into her coffee. “Mhmm. And she had a lot to say, but I want to know about last night.”

“It was a lot of fun,” you said. “And we’re going out again on Friday.”

“That’s it? That’s all I get?” she asked.

“You’re going to need to pump your source for info,” I said. “Before I say any more I need to talk with Gemma about what we are or aren’t saying to people.”

“Oh, workplace romance,” Becks said. “I remember interning in college. Try not to break too many hearts, John. Especially not my girls - Gemma and Sabrina both deserve better than that.”

“Doing my best,” you said and headed for the elevators.

Upstairs in the office, you did a quick circuit, finding out you really were the first person in and headed to the intern conference room. You were barely sitting down when Gemma burst in, her own coffee in her hand. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey to you too,” you said.

“Anyone else here?” she asked.

“Not unless they came up with you,” you said.

Gemma set her coffee and purse down and walked around the table to you. She was back to wearing her professional outfits - today was a soft beige pantsuit with a blouse done up to her neck and a suit jacket that disguised her bust. She turned and slid right onto your lap, wrapping her arm around your shoulders and leaning in to kiss you, slipping you some tongue. You responded by putting a hand on her back and another on her thigh.

“Mmm, good morning,” she said again, this time softer and with a huskier voice.

“Good morning to you too,” you said and kissed her once more. “I’m already excited for Friday.”

“I am, too,” she said. Then the elevator dinged down the hall, and Gemma quickly stood up and fixed her jacket.

“It’s going to be a lot harder sitting here and working across from you today,” you said.

“You’re telling me,” Gemma said. “I’m going to be just stewing on this paperwork all day.”

Maybe you hadn’t needed to separate so quickly though, as the next person in the room was Sabrina.

“Good morning, lovestruck teenagers,” Sabrina said, smirking knowingly. She set down her bag and purse and hugged Gemma, who sat closer to the door, then walked around to you. You started to stand to meet her, but Sabrina sped up and pushed you back with a hand, leaning in and kissing you on the mouth.