I relaxed somewhat. “Okay, what’s up?”
He lost it and bent forward, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
I stared at him, unsure what the hell was so funny.
He leaned back, wiping his face. “Reid, dude. You need to get out of this office. Get some sleep. You were here all night again, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He began to chuckle again. “Maddox and I were meeting with Bent. We all got a notice about a new checklist.”
I glanced at my screen with a frown. “I wasn’t finished with Bentley’s file—I didn’t send . . .” My voice trailed off as realization hit me. “Oh, holy fuck.”
“As much as we appreciate being kept in the loop on your personal endeavors, Bent really doesn’t want to know about your plans to have Becca punch your V-card.”
I shut my eyes, actually embarrassed—which was a rare occurrence for me. Instead of saving my list privately, I had shared it on the drive with my bosses—all three of them.
“How angry is Bentley?” I asked, unable to look at Aiden.
Bentley’s temper didn’t explode often, but when it did, it was like a volcano erupting. You got out of the way as fast as possible.
“You know that sound he makes when he can’t speak? The odd choking noise in his throat? The way his eye starts to twitch a little?”
I nodded, unable to speak myself.
“He did that. Twice.”
“Fuck,” I repeated.
“Well, obviously that’s your end game, but Reid, dude . . . a list?”
“It’s how I plan. I write shit out.” I sucked in a big breath. “And get myself fired, it would seem.”
Aiden chuckled. “Nah, you’re good. We were all a little stunned, until Maddox started to laugh. I was so entertained, I fell out of my chair. Bentley saw the humor, and we all howled. However, he lectured me about your irresponsible behavior and sent me in here to ‘sort you out,’ even though he was still laughing when I left his office.”
I exhaled hard. I had dodged a bullet there. I met Aiden’s gaze. He was relaxed but serious.
“He was rather amused but also relieved you didn’t save it on the company’s shared drive. Our conversation would have been vastly different, and I would have had HR in here with me. He wants you to erase the list, immediately, and is requesting any further personal item lists like that be made in the privacy of your own home.”
My heart stuttered at the thought that Becca would have seen it. Everyone would have seen it. My exhaustion was making me careless. And yes, irresponsible.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out. “That would have been a disaster.” I pulled my laptop close, my fingers a blur as I typed away. “Okay. It’s in my private drive. I removed it from our shared one.”
“Good.”
“It won’t happen again.”
He smiled in understanding. “I know, Reid.” He studied me. “If you’re serious about Becca, you need to step it up.”
“I’m trying.”
“She’s just a girl. Talk to her. Ask her for coffee.”
I shook my head. “She’s not just a girl, Aiden. I think she’s the one.”
His brow furrowed. “The one to be your first, or the one to be your last?”
“All of it.”
He reclined in his chair, crossing his leg over his knee. “That’s a pretty huge statement considering you can’t talk to her unless it’s work-related.”
“She boggles my mind. It’s as if I freeze.”
“So, find common ground besides work. Drop into her office to say hi. Take her a coffee. Tell her how much you like her cookies. Offer to show her Toronto the way you wanted to when you found out she was moving here. Make a move.”
“I know it sounds easy. It’s only . . .”
“Only?” he prompted.
“I’m-I’m not sure I’m good enough for her.”
“Because of your past?”
“I’m an ex-con. It makes life difficult. I have no family, nothing really to offer her except a great comic book collection and some vintage T-shirts. She deserves better.”
He shook his head, his frustration evident. “Why don’t you let her decide what she deserves? Let her get to know you, and you her. Stop looking at your endgame and take it a step at a time. You’re putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Live in the moment.”
“Good advice.”
“You’re a great guy, Reid. As I’ve learned, your past is that. Past. You can’t change it, but you can move forward. Don’t make my mistake and let it define you.”
I nodded, knowing he was talking about his recent marriage to Cami and the way she had changed him.
“And you do have family,” he added, his voice low and serious. “You have us. You’re a valuable part of our team, and you should be proud. You have fought your whole life and accomplished a lot. Don’t forget that.”
I blinked. Aiden rarely got personal, and his words meant a great deal to me.
He stood and went to the door, his hand on the knob, but he didn’t turn it.
“And because we have to put our two cents in, we all agree. Buy her a coffee, have a conversation, ask her out, then send flowers. The rest will follow. Although, to be honest, Bent thinks flowers are always appropriate.” He winked. “But don’t go overboard.”
I laughed. “Okay.”
“I think you might find her as interested as you are, Reid. I’m just saying.”
With a wink, he left, making me wonder what he knew that I didn’t.
I looked at my computer, then glanced toward my door. I needed to talk to Becca and get both of us comfortable.
I knew only one way to accomplish it.
With a few swipes of my mouse, and some fast typing, I put my plan in motion.
I sat back and waited.
Reid
A soft knock at my door made me glance up from my screen. Becca stood in the doorway, professional and polished. Her dark hair was up in a knot, her deep gray suit unwrinkled, the skirt hitting her knee modestly. My gaze was drawn to her heels. They were red and sleek, an unexpected sexy twist to her outfit. They made her legs look incredible.
I wondered how they would look wrapped around my waist.
She frowned, and I realized I had been staring. Again.
“Sorry. What’s up?”
“I’m not sure. I was working, and my computer froze. I can’t get to my document, and it won’t allow me to reboot.”
I hid my smile. “Odd.” I held out my hand for her laptop. “Let me have a look.”
She sat across from me. “I hope you can fix it. I was so busy, I hadn’t saved the document.”
“I have everyone’s laptop set to autosave every two minutes,” I assured her. “In fact, yours saves every sixty seconds. You’ll never lose your work.” I had made sure of that when I set up her computer. I added every safety feature and backup I could possibly cram into it.
She leaned on my desk, resting her hand on her chin. “You are so awesome.”
My gaze flickered between her face and her chest. The way she sat pushed her breasts together. They were right there. Plump and inviting, the rounded orbs peeked out from between the silky folds of her blouse. Was she aware of what she was doing to me?