Page 7 of Baby Bombshell for the Boss

“And how did you find out about that one? Don’t tell me you have business with the owner of that food truck too.”

“No, no,” Elliot said with a laugh. “It’s nothing like that. I found out about it when I went to the bar that’s across the street from the truck. I followed the crowd across the street when I was leaving, and once I got my first taste of those tacos, it was all over for me. I’ve never considered getting my taco fix anywhere else since then.”

“That makes sense,” Ivy said. She was quiet for a moment. “I really want to thank you for taking the time to show me around tonight. You didn’t have to do that, and it means a lot to me that you did.”

“Don’t think anything of it. It was a good time for me too,” Elliot said. He got to his feet. “Can I show you something else?”

“Of course,” Ivy said, rising along with him.

“Might want to bring your tacos in so a seagull doesn’t get them.”

“Do seagulls steal a lot of food here?”

“We’re pretty near the water,” he said. “They don’t come by that often, but it’s been known to happen. So unless you’re finished with those tacos?—”

“Oh, no, I’m definitely not.” She bundled them up and carried them inside. “Where are we going now? No, don’t tell me, let me guess. I’m about to be initiated into some kind of secret society? Or maybe you know someone who will give us a free helicopter ride over the city?”

He laughed. “I was just going to show you the rec room,” he said. “I wondered what you’d think of it, since you had such opinionated ideas about the rest of the office.”

“Oh—” She blushed. “I’m sorry. Maybe I was out of line. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, I’m glad you did,” he assured her. “You’re the one with the eye for these things. And besides, it’s interesting to think about the direction we might take the office in the future.”

He hesitated. Had he said too much — implied that he was the person who would make a decision like that?

If he had, Ivy didn’t seem to have noticed — they’d reached the rec room. “Wow,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d ever get anything done if I had a pool table and stand-up video games at my office. That seems like the kind of thing that could decrease productivity.”

“Maybe,” Elliot agreed. “Personally, I think people work harder when they like their jobs. And one thing that makes people like their jobs is coming into work at a place they know they have the ability to relax and have a little bit of fun from time to time. I’m glad we’ve got something like that here.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Ivy said. “I’d like to meet your boss. He sounds like a decent person.”

“Glad you think so,” Elliot said, smiling to himself.

They stood looking at each other for several minutes. Elliot wasn’t sure what to say, but it felt as if words weren’t strictly necessary anyway. He sensed the two of them were on the same page, even though he didn’t know quite what that page was.

But maybe Ivy knew, because the next moment, she was rising up on her toes, her eyes closing, and Elliot understood what was happening a split second before her lips met his.

And in that split second, he wondered how he felt about it. Was he regretting the fact that he hadn’t been the one to make the first move? Was he frustrated with himself for allowing her to come to him instead of stepping up and doing something about it? Was that embarrassing? Or was he simply glad that the move had been made, and never mind who had been the one to make it?

He didn’t know. A moment later, he decided he didn’t need to know.

All he really needed was this kiss.

It was perhaps the deepest, most passionate kiss of his life. He couldn’t recall ever having been so totally lost in another person before. And even that brief thought was soon swept away, replaced by sensation — her hands on his body, the feel of her body under his hands. Her warm mouth, her soft lips, the scent of her.

She pulled back a little and looked up at him, showing doubt for the first time. “Is this all right?” she whispered. “Can we do this here? I mean, there aren’t cameras or anything, are there?”

“No cameras,” he assured her. “We’re fine.”

She nodded and resumed kissing him.

There was a comfortable couch at the back of the rec room. Elliot steered them that way, thanking his lucky stars that he’d thought to have it put in. He’d never thought he would be putting it to use like this — usually he didn’t even spend time in this room. But life did have a way of taking a person by surprise, and the events of today were perhaps the best example of that fact Elliot had ever seen.

They reached the couch and he pulled her down onto it. She came willingly, clearly as eager as he was for what was to follow.

Elliot found himself hardly able to believe that this was happening — and yet, at the same time, it almost felt like fate. It was as if he had known where the night was going from the moment he had run into her on the street. And now that they were here, it felt like the simplest, most obvious thing in the world to see what would happen next.

He kissed her again, and this time it was a very long time before they stopped.

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