Page 49 of Out of Office

“We need to talk...”

“Yes, I know.” She sighed and pushed back from me. My dick protested the lack of her softness, and I concurred, but if we were going to move forward, we needed these conversations.

I took her hand and brought her back to my side of the bed, settling her on my lap, her long legs surrounding my sides.

“Dad asked Mom to move when I was really young. She is very picky with what she shares, but it seems he wanted them to move back together to Panamá with me. She was spooked but considered it, but then he changed his mind last-minute. Left without us. Broke her heart. I remember some of this because I had to go to my grandma’s house before she passed because my mom was severely depressed. Lost her job, her first manager job, and had to be institutionalized...” She sighed again. “Once she was out...it was like...a switch was flipped. Her career and I were her only focus.”

“Wow, I’m sorry, Preciosa, that must have been hard on her and you.” My chest caved to know her mother had endured such challenging times. And Genevieve, she might have been young, but to see her mother navigate those difficult periods on top of her dad leaving...

“It was...and she still deals with depression. Structure, goals, challenge...they keep her centered. It’s her defense mechanism.”

“Damn.”

“Yes, which is why it is the way it is with us... I get that it seems a bit dysfunctional, but it allows her structure. And I’m driven too... I was young, but I remember how it felt not knowing what the next meal would look like while she clawed her way back to normalcy. I...don’t ever want that for myself.”

“I get it.” I pressed a kiss on her forehead, then another on her lips, tasting the uncertainty there.

“And I get her concern about you having work...”

It was my turn to sigh. I had that concern too; just the prices at the supermarket had jolted me to the true reality of living here. I couldn’t have expected her to carry the load on her own—and hadn’t—but my work with the transportation company would maybe be enough for a utility bill or two here.

That didn’t cut it.

“So, let’s accelerate getting married.”

“Are you sure? We have the ninety days. We can plan a little celebration in a couple of months...”

“We need the marriage certificate for me to get a work permit.” This whole process was maddening. I wanted to be a true partner to her, and carry my own load, but I depended on Gen for every step of creating a life here. There was no path that didn’t include her sponsoring my way forward.

“You’re right...okay, okay, let’s do it.” Gen’s watery smile told me this wasn’t her vision, but we knew this process would be rocky. I’d figure out how to make it up to her. I would.

“There is something else you need to know.” After everything she’d just shared with me, I couldn’t keep her in the dark anymore. A metallic flavor flooded my mouth, and my stomach cramped up. I squeezed her hips in the reassurance of how real she felt on top of me. She snuggled closer, clearly exhausted but willing to listen.

“I...know A.D. Nicholson...shit, there is no way to ease into this. I’m A.D. Nicholson. Adrián David Nicolas.”

Twenty-One

Genevieve

Sleepiness threatened to take me away, but this conversation with Adrián was meaningful. Now that we had both established what was essential for us, we needed to move forward, but apparently, he had one more thing to say.

He tensed up below me in preparation for what he had to share, but I was so tired I didn’t brace myself.

“I...know A.D. Nicholson...shit, there is no way to ease into this. I’m A.D. Nicholson. Adrián David Nicolas.”

I should have braced myself.

“What?!” I screamed, breaking the soothing vibe we had created together.

I attempted to get off of him, but he held on to my hips as I watched him, stunned. Adrián locked his jaw, but his eyes...they pleaded for me to understand. Something about how he watched me softened me enough to relax in his lap again.

“I’ve told you how I used to be a workaholic...”

“Yeah, but I guess I always assumed it was something to do with transportation or even hospitality, and that you had pivoted to what you do now.” How oblivious was I not to even ask? This man had the ability to scramble my thoughts and my acumen. Around him, I was a lovesick girl with no malice.

Naive, that is what he made me. I knew we had a lot of past to still explore together—I didn’t expect him to regurgitate all of his life events in a night or two—but this was a very significant thing to leave out. Why would he keep something like this from me? We’d been nothing but open with each other; I thought everything we built together was on a solid foundation of mutual trust but now...now I didn’t know what to think. What to expect next.

“It’s not on you, and I never meant for this to become a thing. I just... I don’t talk about my career that often, actually never.”

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