Page 10 of Scores Of The Heart

They swept the whole thing under the carpet and gave him a slap on the wrist. Everyone knew about it.

It was so damned embarrassing because everyone just pitied me.

The joys of a small town. I realize I just sighed out loud. Andrea is looking at me.

“You looked deep in thought there for a moment.”

“Just thinking about all the things I have to do.” I wave the meeting agenda in the air, which I just retrieved from the printer.

It’s then Simon sticks his head in the door and asks who’s up for a cup of coffee before the meeting.

“Ooh, don’t you look divine in your wrap around sandals,” he coos as I give him a wave from the printer.

Kicking up my heel, walking back to my seat I say; “Why, thank you, Simon. You’re looking pretty dapper yourself today.”

He grins his head off. He has short dyed blonde hair with black streaks. And he always wears his Seattle Hawks shirt and tie, polished shoes and dress pants with a crease down the middle of each leg. “Why thanks, I know I take starching to a whole new level.”

We laugh.

His colorful patterned Batman belt and the little silver cross through his earlobe tells me he’s more adventurous than what he seems. He’s totally gay and the biggest riot in the admin department. Everyone loves Simon. He doesn’t even care much for the game, but he’s so good at accounts payable and receivable, management doesn’t care.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Andre chuckles. “Why are you looking so bubbly, anyway?”

“I have a date next weekend,” he chortles. “And this one is sure to be a fine thing. He’s called Jose, and he’s an artist.”

My eyes widen. “He already sounds cute.”

We all laugh.

“Tell me about it.” He waves his hands around excitedly. “I’ve never dated an artist before.”

“Tell her how you two met,” Andrea encourages.

“Ah, yes that.” He laughs. “I’ll tell you over coffee, Cindy. It’s a very amusing incident over a kebab.”

I chuckle as I stand up and grab my coffee cup, ready for a refill. I take the meeting agenda with me, as we’ll be going straight to the meeting room from here. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Race you to the coffee machine!” Simon takes off out of the doorway and down the hall. “Last one there has to make all three coffees!”

I make haste past Andrea and follow Simon, dashing out into the hallway, though I’m not quite running like he is. Then I hear Andrea mutter, “Shit.” As I pass her.

“You heard the man,” I holler over my shoulder, quickly turning when I slam into something, or rather, someone.

My face hits a very hard chest. I look up and gasp out loud.

Tyler Peterson is staring down at me, and the dregs of my cold coffee are now covering his Seattle Hawk’s team jersey. His eyes are as wide as mine.

“Holy shit,” he says as I right myself and stand there like an imbecile.

We both look down at his shirt as he tries to brush it off. Thank God it’s not hot and I didn’t burn the guy.

I expect to see him look disgruntled, even a little pissed, but he doesn’t.

“You could hurt a man running into them like that,” he says, tilting his head.

His voice sounds serious, but I see a bit of a twinkle in his dark eyes. His eyebrows pull together as he assesses me.

“Sorry, I…” I wasn’t thinking while childishly chasing Simon down the hall to get coffee. But instead of finishing my sentence, I gape at him because my mouth isn’t catching up with my brain. “At least the coffee wasn’t hot,” I offer, glancing back down to his shirt where the last of what was in my cup is now soaked into the fabric. Shit, shit, shit.

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