Boss Me (12 page)

“Will,” my dad starts before taking a seat on one of his stools, “did I ever tell you about the day I met your mother?”

“I don’t think so,” I reply, wracking my brain for any hint of the memory.

“Your mother was in the same English class as me in high school. She sat a few rows ahead of me, always with her nose in her books. One day, I walked in and the sunlight reflected off of her blond hair and made it look like this beautiful golden halo. I tried to talk to her that day, but she was so painfully shy, she just looked at me like I was crazy and ran away. Literally, she ran away from me,” he recalls with a far-off smile.

“I didn’t give up on her though, because I knew there was something about her. I knew she was worth the wait. Eventually, after consistently asking her out for a milkshake after school, she finally said yes. It was that moment, while we stared at each other from across the booth at the diner uptown, that I knew I would marry that woman. I knew that no amount of time or distance would change that. I knew right then and there that I would spend the rest of my life with her.” Dad’s eyes are intense, pleading with me to hear his words, as he recounts the love story about my mom and him.

“So, don’t stand there and tell me it’s too soon. Look at Avery. Look at Jake, Travis, and Nate. All of your siblings fell hard and fell fast, just like your mother and I did. You are no different, Will. Don’t hide from it or deny it. If you have feelings developing for this woman, let them blossom.”

I stare at my dad for several heartbeats. Wild heartbeats as I absorb the words he has just spoken. Yes, we have this crazy chemistry, and yes, I feel more for this woman than I ever have before. What does that mean? Hell if I know, but my dad is right. I’m going to just sit back and see where it goes. If it looks like we both want something more out of it - a relationship, maybe? - then, we’ll cross that employment bridge when we get to it. For now, I’m going to get to know this woman both in and out of the bedroom.

I walk over to my dad and throw my arms around him. “Thanks, Dad,” I tell him with one final squeeze.

“You’re welcome, Will. Now go inside and say hello to your mother before she comes out here looking for you and catches me lifting these boards,” he says with a smile before bending down and picking up another two by four. That smile is the exact replica of Jake’s smile. You can see the mischief brewing.

“She’s probably going to yell at me for letting you do that,” I tell him with a smile, nodding at the piece of wood in his hand.

“No she won’t,” Dad says. “She’ll grumble and moan, but she won’t yell. Plus, if you give her a kiss on the forehead like you did when you were little, I’m pretty sure you could get away with just about anything,” he adds. I laugh as I head into the house to visit Mom.

The house is a zoo and no one seems to mind. We just finished dinner, which always seems to make the adults tired and the kids rambunctious. It’s a lighter dinner since Jake, Maddox, and Nate are all working, but with the kids running around the house, it more than makes up for their absence. Erin is already on her third piece of pie while Lia and Josselyn discuss upcoming wedding plans around the dining room table.

I’ve always enjoyed sitting back and watching my family’s dynamics. My brothers are always teasing each other about something stupid, while their wives shake their heads and talk about them. Tonight, I watch, wondering what it would be like to have someone of my own over talking with my sisters-in-law. I’ve never really thought about it in the past, but tonight - after my talk with my dad - I can’t seem to stop wondering about the future and whether or not I’ll have a certain brunette in it or not. The cards are definitely not stacked in my favor.

The couch next to me dips down as my sister, Avery, sits down next to me. “What are you thinking about that has you so lost in thought that you don’t even hear your niece talking to you?” she asks with the slightest upward curve of the corner of her lip.

I look around the room and notice Brooklyn sitting on the floor with Mom and a handful of Barbie’s. “What?”

“Brooklyn just tried showing you her newest doll outfit and you were so lost in thought, you didn’t hear her,” she says. “So? Work or Woman?”

“You’ve been talking to Holly,” I accuse which makes her laugh.

“I always talk to Holly. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now. It’s too new and I have no idea if it’ll even go anywhere. Maybe someday, but right now? I’ll just keep it to myself.”

“Well, I do recall a certain instance where I kept something to myself. I remember you telling me it was going to blow up in my face - which it did,” she adds with a knowing look. “All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t hide anything if you have feelings for someone, Will.”

“If it gets to that point, I promise I won’t keep them to myself,” I reply.

“Good. Now help me wrap up the leftover pie before Erin figures out how to get up off the loveseat and steals it all,” she says with that sneaky grin that is only associated with Avery.

I laugh and follow her into the kitchen to help her clean up. I’ve always felt a close connection with my little sister. The others weren’t happy to see her come along when we were all little, but I felt a bond. I used to read all of my homework and books out loud to her when she was little which sparked her love for books. Growing up, she just got me. Jake and Nate always preferred to cause trouble and play in the backyard. Travis used to follow my dad around like a lost puppy dog, absorbing every bit of knowledge he could get from watching him build things. And me? I used to love to sit inside and read to my sister. Even with a seven-year age gap, we were a team.

Later in the evening, I slide into my warmed car and notice a stack of papers sticking up between the console and the passenger seat. It’s dark outside, but I can clearly tell what they are. Carmen had a stack of order forms that she was supposed to look over this weekend and either approve or deny at her Monday morning administrative meeting. I’m off tomorrow so I won’t be seeing her at work. I glance down at the clock on the dash and notice it’s only seven-thirty. Carmen had mentioned that Zach doesn’t usually return until eight, so that gives me just enough time to stop by and drop them off.

And maybe steal a kiss or two.

I pull into her driveway ten minutes later and hop out, papers in hand. The living room is lit up so I know she’s home. I imagine her snuggled up on the couch, wrapped in a warm blanket, as she waits for her son to return home from his weekend with his father. I knock on the door and wait for her to answer. I’m stunned silent when a tall, lanky boy answers the door.

“Can I help you?” he asks with a curious look on his face.

“Hi,” I start, clearing my throat from the sudden dryness. Zach looks just like his mother. Deep brown hair with rich brown eyes. “I’m Will. I work with your mom. She left these in the ambulance we were working in together this weekend so I thought I’d drop them off to her,” I say, choosing not to tell him that they were left in my personal vehicle.

“Oh, okay. She’s taking a bath right now, but I can put them on the table for her,” he says and holds out his hand.

“That would be great. Thanks,” I reply to the pre-teen.

“Did you say Will? I think I’ve heard my mom mention you.”

Mention me? My heart rate kicks up a few hundred beats per minute. “I hope it was good,” I say with a chuckle.

“It was work related,” he says with the roll of his dark eyes.

“Hey, you have the new NBA Unlimited game,” I say as I spy the newest basketball game on the market.

“Yeah, my dad got it for me so Mom said I could play for a little bit before bed,” he adds, stepping back. “Do you want to play?” he asks, excited about the prospect of playing with a second player.

I look over his shoulder at the hallway. I’m not sure if Carmen would appreciate me showing up and inviting myself in to play video games with her son. A son that no one really even knew existed. A son that she protects fiercely.

“Um, I probably shouldn’t,” I start but am cut off.

“Please! Mom won’t play with me and it’s so much better if you have two players,” he says, backing up to grant me entrance into their house.

“Maybe you should ask your mom.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back,” he says before turning and running over to the hallway. The house is small so there’s no escaping the sounds of their communications.

“Mom?” Zach says as he knocks on the door. “Will is here and he wants to play video games with me. Is that okay?”

“Will?” she says through the closed door. You can hear the panic in her voice.

“Yeah, he stopped by to drop off some work stuff, but I want him to play the new game Dad got me. Please?” Zach begs through the door.

Silence greets him on the other side of the door for several long seconds. “Umm, okay, but only for a few minutes. I’m getting out now,” her muffled voice comes through the wooden door.

“Cool! Come on, Will. Let’s play!” he says as he hands me a controller.

I hesitantly remove my coat and drop it on the couch before I take the controller from Carmen’s son. His hair stands wild as if he couldn’t find time in his day to brush it, and he’s a tall boy, which doesn’t surprise me considering Carmen’s taller height. Her ex-husband must be tall, too.

“So, do you like basketball?” he asks as he pushes a series of buttons to start a new game.

“Yeah, I like basketball. I get together with my brothers every so often and play at the rec center in town. I’m not as good as they are, though,” I confide in the boy.

“Me neither. I wanted to try out for the team, but I’m not that aggressive. The other boys always take the ball away from me,” Zach says as he concentrates on starting the game. “Push this button to jump, these over here to move, and this one to shoot,” he adds as he shows me the buttons on the controller in my hand.

“Got it,” I say as we start the game.

We play for several minutes, laughing at both of our inability to play the new game, when the bathroom door opens. I glance over at Carmen as she peeks out of the bathroom, eyes wide with shock - or anger. I’m not sure which. I watch as she exits the small bathroom in a bathrobe. The same bathrobe she answered the door in the other night. Images of that night play like some X-rated movie in my mind as I watch her hustle down the hallway and close her door. I’m at half-mast sitting on the couch from fantasies of the woman I can’t stop thinking about while her son is sitting right next to me. I’m an ass.

“Are you going to play?” Zach asks next to me.

“Yep,” I say and focus half-ass on the game we’re playing.

Ten minutes later, Carmen comes out of her room. She doesn’t make eye contact as she walks through the living room and into the kitchen. The way she carries herself reeks attitude. The tightness of her face suggests hostility. And I have a feeling it’s not pointed at her son. Great.

“I’m gonna go talk to your mom,” I tell Zach as I set my controller on the couch cushion.

“Okay,” he says without even taking his eyes off the television screen.

I quickly stand and walk into the kitchen, bracing myself for whatever is coming my way. “Hey,” I say hesitantly as I step completely into the kitchen.

Carmen is filling up a glass of water from the tap and doesn’t respond.

I step closer until I’m right behind her, dropping my voice so that my words don’t carry into the living room. “I’m sorry for dropping in like this. I thought Zach wasn’t coming home until eight and when I saw that file you left in my car, I thought you might need it.”

“William, you can’t just stop over here,” she says quietly, yet firmly, and turns to face me. Her brown eyes are intense and dark. They have that look that always makes me feel like I was just sent to the principal’s office and she’s about to call my parents.

“I know that. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he would be here. I knew you needed to review that file and I didn’t want to have to deliver it to your office in the morning in front of preying eyes. I made a mistake, and I’m sorry,” I say firmly.

Her eyes start to relax, the anger slowly diminishing. I watch her throat work as she takes a drink from the glass. My fingers itch to touch the smooth column of her neck. I feel her eyes burn into me, but I can’t seem to stop looking at her delectable throat.

“I appreciate you bringing the folder by, William, but you can’t just show up here. I keep my personal life and my professional life separate. No exceptions,” she says with that firm voice dripping with condemnation.

“It’ll never happen again, Carmen,” I reply and step in as close as possible without physically touching her. I want her to feel my presence without actually feeling me. “I’m sorry I upset you. I’m going to go home, and I’m going to be thinking about you in that fucking robe. I’m going to imagine laying you back on your bed, splaying open the robe, and licking every part of your body. I’m going to be thinking about you tomorrow while I’m at home all day. I’m going to be thinking of you every moment of every day.”

I hear Carmen inhale a quick breath. Her breathing appears to be a little more labored than before, and I can tell that my words have affected her. I’m hoping in the good way. “Will you be thinking about me?” I ask because I can’t help it. I need to know.

“Yes,” she chokes out, that one word dripping with need. Her eyes are on fire, and I’m not talking about the anger I saw earlier. Now? Passion. Desire. Need. They’re all right there, blazing within her dark eyes.

“I wish I could touch you right now,” I tell her honestly, leaning in ever so slightly until I feel the body heat radiating from her.

“I wish that, too,” she says hoarsely.

“I am sorry for just dropping by,” I whisper.

“I know. I’m sorry I overreacted. I’m a little overprotective of Zach, and finding out you were here was just surprising,” she whispers back.

“He’s a great kid. I hope I get to see him more,” I add with a wink. “Goodnight, Carmen,” I say as I back away from her.

I don’t give her time to respond as I turn around and walk into the living room. Zach is still engrossed in his new game, but I still throw a goodbye at him as I grab my coat.