Page 97 of Dean

“You showing up won’t make him stop. He’ll just…it’ll make him more determined.”

“We’ll see. If he doesn’t leave you alone, we have options.”

“I really don’t want to know what those options are. I’ve told you this before…”

My hands fall to his hips and I pull him into me. “I just want to protect you.”

He sighs into me, his hands hitting my chest, making those butterflies grow even more determined.

“You’re making me swoon. I’ve never had anyone protect me. Ever.”

“Well, now you have me. I’ll take care of you.”

His cheeks darken, and he sways into me. “That’s so romantic. I hate that you went behind my back, but I get why you did it…”

“Yeah. So, how about we forget all of this, fuck off and go home?” I finally suggest. “We should go home.”

“But you have too much to do.”

“Do I really?” My lips land on his and we kiss for a long minute, tongues sweeping in as we just taste one another. I’d continue this exploration of him, but Kit appears suddenly, the door squeaking open as he pushes his head through the crack. “Oopsie, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I had no idea what was going on in here. Whew, you can feel the tension…”

Avery pulls away from me. “It’s fine, Kit. We’re done, anyway. Come on in.” I grumble my frustration but go ignored. “Here, I’ll show you how to file this stack of papers.”

“Avery,” I say lowly. “I’m not hiring anyone else.”

Avery ignores me, pulling Kit over to the filing cabinet and speaking to him in slow, encouraging tones. My earlier protest falls on deaf ears. Well, I guess that’s it then. I’ve been dismissed. My opinion means nothing. Seems Kit is going to be filing papers for me.

For fuck’s sake.

I leave the office, heading down to the main floor, and my eyes fall on Ben’s desk. He’s not here today, but even so, I know I need to reach out and plan something with him. So without overthinking it, I pull out my phone and call my son, inviting him to dinner tomorrow. He sounds slightly reluctant, but I don’t let him make excuses. I want to talk to him. I want to spend more time with him, to find out how he’s been doing. The other day when I went over to talk, he seemed…reluctant to open up. And while I want to respect his boundaries, I also want him to know I care, that Iwantto know what’s going on in his life. That I’m still his father and I’ll have his back no matter what.

With that on my mind, I get back to work, chatting with Cash and Ford. I feel a weird energy coming from the two of them, but I realize that it’s probably something I’m not involved in. They have their own little bromance going on, one I’ve never been a part of. Sometimes, I feel a little like the third wheel in this friendship. A part of me wonders if they’ve ever messed around, with how close they are.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

They turn to look at me at the same time.

“Yeah. Just…same old shit.”

“Because I’m feeling like something is going on and I don’t know what it is.”

“Probably have to take a dump,” Ford says.

“I don’t think that’s what it is.”

Cash cocks his head. “But seriously, who is the dude fawning all over Avery while he’s at work?”

“He’s not fawning, he’s just…clingy.”

“He’s weird. I don’t like him,” Cash says, and Ford nudges him.

“I mean, we don’t know him but he is giving off weird vibes.”

“Yeah, fuck that dude,” Cash adds.

“Fuck him,” Ford agrees and I’m left standing there not sure what to do. Hell, I just want him to leave.

When it’s finally time to close up the shop, Kit has wandered off to whatever cave he crawled from—finally—leaving me alone with Avery. And fuck, I want to take him home with haste. I want to kiss himagain. Unlike yesterday, I wasn’t able to take breaks during work and do that because Kit was around, dominating his time.

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