It took me forever to find Brittney. First, I wandered around in the restaurant on the main floor and then made my way up to the rooftop. I was about to give up when I finally spotted Brittney talking to some pencil-necked jackass.

I mean, I don’t know him, but right now, he looks like he’s making Brittney extraordinarily uncomfortable, pinning her to the railing of the rooftop restaurant, and that makes him a jackass.

“Brittney, there you are,” I say, sliding my arm around her waist and looking down at the jackass in question. He stumbles back in surprise, finally giving Brittney some breathing room. “You can go away now,” I tell him.

“Excuse me?!” he yelps. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m the guy who can get you fired. Now leave.”

“Get me fired?! Are you smokin’ something? You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

I feel the curves of Brittney’s body pressing up against mine, and a part of me realizes that she’s not pulling away. In fact, she’s leaning further in. Victory! She really hadn’t been happy to have this guy all up in her face.

It’s time to make him pay for it.

With a sigh, I say, “You’re wearing a money-clip tie and a Brooks Brothers suit and yet you have all of the style and personality of a wet wash rag. At this point, I’m willing to bet next month’s income – a very substantial amount, mind you – on the fact that you work for a local financial institution. Carter Jeffries?”

I feel Brittney stiffen beside me in surprise, and I realize that I can cross “Met him at work” off the list. She obviously didn’t know this guy worked at the same place as her.

With a glare, the jackass nods and crosses his arms across his chest. 

“So?” he asks sarcastically. “That doesn’t mean you could get me fired.”

“Last chance to save your job,” I say warningly. He just glares harder. I shrug, pull out my phone, and hit the number for William Kane, the CEO of Carter Jeffries. I put him on speaker phone. 

“Hello?” he rumbles. 

“Hey William, it’s Kaden Charles.” 

Mr. Pencil Neck’s eyes are bugging out of his forehead. I’m assuming that he probably recognizes William’s voice…and my name.

I warned him, right?

I pull Brittney closer to my side.

“Hey Kaden! I’ve been meaning to call you and set up a golf game. Your secretary says you’re taking it up?”

I try not to laugh. Good ol’ Gweny, helpful to the end.

“I might, yeah, but listen, I need to ask you a favor.” I look up at Mr. Pencil Neck and ask, “What’s your name?”

He’s shaking his head in terror when Brittney pipes up, “Jake McDonald.”

“Hey, I’ve got a Mr. Jake McDonald here. He needs to be fired Monday morning. Can you take care of that for me?”

“Sure can! I’ll tell HR on Monday. He’s a jackass anyway.” Jake is shaking his head so hard, I’m afraid it’s going to go flying off. I just smile placidly at him.

“Yeah, that’s exactly my opinion on the topic. You have a good night, and I’ll call you about that golf game.”

“Great! Thanks for the phone call.”

Right as I hit the red button, ending the call, Jack starts screaming, “You bastard, how dare you!” He goes swinging for my face, and I pull Brittney with me to the side, letting him spin past me and into a table of customers. 

“Sir, it’s time for you to leave,” a bouncer says, hurrying up to us, grabbing his elbow and dragging him from the restaurant, kicking and screaming like a little girl. 

“I was totally going to just punch him, but, you know, we’re on a rooftop and all,” I say, finally able to smile down at Brittney like I’d been wanting to for ages. What felt like years, really. “I’d hate for him to fall off.”

“Very practical of you,” she says, grinning back up at me. “He deserved to get fired; I don’t think he deserved to die, though.”

“Yeah, it seemed a little extreme.”

Enough words. They aren’t my strong suit anyway. It’s time to show Brittney how I feel. I stroke her hair away from her forehead and then dip my head down to kiss her. When our lips meet, it’s like fireworks and the band starting up and winning the lottery, all rolled up into one.

Except, in this case, it’s even better, because kissing her feels like home.

“Want to take me home?” Brittney asks when we finally pull apart, snuggling into my side.

There’s nowhere else I’d rather take her.