Right?
Chapter 2
Jeremiah
I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s Earth’s moon, and I’ve had it for years. It’s also nearly nine, and Gabriel hasn’t deemed us worthy of his presence yet. I rub my forehead before taking another sip of coffee. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how I lost my cool yesterday. It’s rare that I get upset, but I was backed into a corner. It’s not Gabriel’s fault. I guess. I don’t really know at this point what kind of person he is. Maybe he’s a spoiled rich kid who thinks it’s funny that he can have anything he wants.
Gazing out the window, I watch the early-morning snow flurries. Why does he have to be the most gorgeous specimen alive? With his wavy hair as dark as space itself and so thick you can’t see a sliver of scalp. His smile could melt an iceberg, but the intensity in his eyes when he leaned across my desk could have melted my underwear. His scent, surprisingly soft and much more sensual than I expected, stayed with me for hours after he left. His face is a visual representation of everything that is good. The gods were kind to Gabriel. It’s too bad all I can do is look at him. I have to keep my guard up. He is, after all, my rival.
A knock on the door grabs my attention. Julien and Penelope pop inside.
“How are you today?” Penelope asks, giving me a look of sympathy.
“Fine. I’ll figure it out.”
“Is Gabesy cool at least?” Julien asks, pushing his long, brown bangs off his forehead.
“Gabesy?” I shake my head. “Come on, Julien, he hasn’t even worked here a week and he has a nickname?”
“That’s why he gets Gabesy. I don’t know him well enough yet to give him a personality nickname. I would think you figured that one out, Doctor Space.”
Penelope snorts.
I roll my eyes, fighting back a smile. If the worst thing Julien does is give people harmless nicknames, I can live with that. “Silly, but no nicknames yet.”
“Fair, but is he nice?” Julien presses.
“I don’t know. I gave him a bunch of crap to read and avoided him.”
“I’m sure that’s a great approach,” Penelope says, tilting her head at me. “I think we should address the very obvious issue with Gabriel.”
“Besides the fact that he’s here to steal my job?”
“Yes, besides that.” She bounces into the room and plops down in the chair in front of my desk, Julien quickly joins her. “He’s hotter than the sun.”
Julien nods. “Hotter than the surface of Venus.”
“Hotter than a million—”
“I get it,” I interrupt Penelope. “He’s...attractive.”
“Attractive,” Julien repeats slowly, nudging Penelope. “He’s attractive, Pentasia.”
She snorts again, flipping her long, blonde pigtail off her shoulder.
I sigh. “Okay. He’s more than that, but it doesn’t matter. I am unfazed. There is an imminent threat. He could be the hottest man alive, but he’s still the enemy.”
“Isn’t that kind of harsh?” Penelope questions. “It’s not like he walked in and declared a hostile takeover.”
“He might as well have.” I lean back in my chair. “He thinks Richard is gonna hand it to him.”
“What’s your plan then?” Julien asks.
“I have to put up a fight. I have to. Fortunately, I have a lot of practice fighting for what I want. I just didn’t expect to be in a position to fight for this.”
They both nod and give me sad looks, until Penelope smiles.
“We’ve got your back, J.”
“One hundred percent, Captain IQ.”
I shake my head, Julien’s words drawing a chuckle from my lips in spite of myself. “I know. You guys are great.”
They stand to leave. “Somehow it’s all gonna work out,” Penelope says. “The universe is full of magic and unexplained mysteries. This is just one of them.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
Just as they turn to leave, a harried Gabriel appears in my doorway. His cheeks are flushed, I assume from the cold given that he’s still bundled up.
“Hi, guys,” he blurts. “Um, sorry I’m late. I haven’t driven in snow in a really long time, and it was slippery out there. I had to go slow.”
Julien pops his bottom lip. “Are you okay?”
I narrow my eyes. Don’t fall for him already, Jules.
“Uh, yeah,” Gabriel replies, releasing a jittery laugh. “Just um, shook me a little. I slid once but, fortunately, I didn’t hit anything. I’ll get used to it again.”
“Why haven’t you driven?” Pen asks.
“I was abroad. Just a little rusty.” He offers a smile, and even though I’ve only known him for a day, I can see the tension in it. “Anyway, sorry again.”
I wave my hand to dismiss his apology. “No big deal.”
Julien and Penelope excuse themselves while Gabriel peels out of his heavy coat and scarf. Today’s distraction takes the form of his dark-gray sweater clinging to his obvious muscles and the jeans that seem to be painted on him, highlighting the tightness of his ass as he turns to hang his coat on the hook behind the office door. Even the black, combat-style, lace-up boots add something to his look. I blink hard, trying to center myself. So what if he’s cute. He’s still trying to take my job.
Gabriel twists around, exhaling slowly as he pushes the sleeves of his sweater up his forearms. He brushes a lock of fallen hair off his forehead, and I curse my traitorous eyes for following the movement.
“What’s on the agenda for today?”
Snapping out of it, I turn back to my desk and grab my planner. “We have a meeting with Richard at ten to go over next month’s sales goals.”
“Sales goals? What kind of things do we sell here?”
“Memberships mostly. Merchandise, of course. The gift shop, the café, but the bread and butter is in memberships.”
He nods. “Do we have salespeople on staff?”
“No, we have trained staff to encourage the program, enthusiastically share the benefits of membership, and create an environment that people want to be part of.”
“I see.”
“We have a social media and marketing person now. Our sales have grown tremendously since he joined. It wasn’t really my strong suit, so I talked Richard into it.”
“Smart. You gotta have that these days.”
“Right. Um, after the meeting, I’ll show you how to start the planetarium show and where the schedule is.”
“Oh yeah.” He walks over to the shelf in the room where he left the binder I gave him yesterday. “I read the current schedule. Does it change often?”
“Quarterly, and then we have special events. For example, if there’s a planned solar eclipse or a comet sighting, we might theme it to draw people in.”
“Cool, cool.” He rubs his hands together. “Man, it’s cold.”
“Welcome back to New England.”
“Right. I grew up here, but…” He shakes his head. “Anyway. Should I keep reading for now?”