Page 35 of Loving Leo

He’s here. Leo is here.

My excitement has me shifting nervously in my chair, my fingers moving up to my hair to make sure it feels okay before dropping down to adjust my tie.

I don’t know why but I want to look good. Not for him.

Really, it’s not for him.

I swivel my chair around and watch as Leo makes his way toward me. He doesn’t stop at the offices leading up to mine. I left the light on and the door open. He knows I’m here. I haven’t been subtle about it.

The cart stops right in front of my office and a second later, he steps through. His blond hair, his blue eyes, those worn jeans and ripped shirt.

“Hey there,” he says, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “Working late again?”

“Yep.” I try to go for totally normal, totally not nervous. I don’t manage it.

“Making sure I didn’t use your office again? Are you going to hire a guard to sit outside and make sure I behave?”

I don’t respond to that, just utter, “You didn’t use it last night.”

He grins at me. “I know. I did a different scene somewhere else.”

My lips turn into a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” he replies, but it sticks in my head. I didn’t see him somewhere else and I most definitely didn’t see him with someone else, but maybe he’s going to upload that later.

My chest tightens, my ribs almost too big for my body.

If I see him fucking someone else, am I going to survive it?

But that’s part of his job. It’s what he does. And I can’t tell him what to do. That’s not who I am to him.

We’re nothing to each other.

“Anyway, brought you a little treat.”

He holds out a candy bar to me and I take it, sliding it into my bag. I’ll eat it later. Like a civilized person. I won’t gobble it down like a troll.

Leo grins softly at me and then sighs. “I just wanted to stop by and say hi first. Now, I need to go clean those other offices. I’ll be right back.”

I nod and watch him go, my eyes unable to do anything but take him in. He disappears into an office and I force myself to turn on my computer and work. Mostly so I don’t seem like a sad sop who has nothing more to live for than clandestine meetings in the dead of night with the janitor in the building I own.

Fuck. Me.

I fiddle with some spreadsheets and answer a few emails before deciding that I’m done. I really have nothing else to do, nor do I want to do anything too tedious.

What I really want to do is spend some more time with Leo.

I want him to make me smile, to make me happy again.

It’s a lot to put on a person, I know. And yet I still wait for him to come back into my office and speak to me.

The sound of the vacuum turns on in the distance and I watch Leo’s muscles bunch and flex as he maneuvers it over the carpet in the hallway. When he’s done, he finally makes his way back toward my office and I roll my chair back, trying to decide what to do. Should I stand up? Should I stay seated?

Why the hell does it even matter?

Maybe I should just roll my way out the window.

“I’ll just clean this and then take off,” Leo says, pointing to the garbage can beside my desk.

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