We all settle into a routine. Before I know it, it’s been a month. I’ve received two paychecks. They are everything he said they’d be and more. I’m happy to come to work for him every day. It seems business has picked up too. Our little firm is doing great. Birdie even has a small bed near my desk. There are a few of my mugs in his kitchen. I even talked him into having some peach hand wash in his bathroom. It smells divine. Maybe I can convince him to get some softer hand towels?

I managed to snoop in his bedroom one day and confirm his comforter is black. I wasn’t snooping initially, I was searching for a document I was missing. Then I happened to have the great idea of looking around and I found his condom stash in his side table drawer, along with a vibrator. What does a guy do with a vibrator? I don’t think I want to know. Or maybe I do. No, Andy. He’s a bearded monster and your boss. Cool your heels, girl.

Dylan was right. He doesn’t smell like your typical, natural hipster. My boss’ clothes smell very nice and clean. His closet is even somewhat organized. Then Birdie had to ruin my fun and snuggle on his bed. She obviously thinks he smells good too.

I’ve spoken to Cindy off and on; she finally managed to get another job. It’s closer to her home, but it doesn’t pay as well as her old position. She’s getting by, but barely. I’m keeping my eye out for any positions available in the city for her. So far, there have been no leads.

It’s Friday, and I’m a little sad I’m not going to see Dylan tomorrow. I’m comfortable here in his apartment. Who would have thought? I’m typing out an e-mail when he strolls through the front door. “Hey, Andy. I’ve got good news.” I make my way over to him. Dylan pulls out a bottle of water, my idea by the way. “I landed that big client. I think we can expand, hire a few new staff and move to an actual office space.”

Sadness pulls in my stomach. This should be good news. I guess I’ve become too comfortable with being in his apartment. It’s been nice with just the two of us working together. “That’s great news, Dylan.” I try to put on a good face.

He bends down and pets Birdie. “Birdie is welcome in the new office, of course. She’s become a bit of our mascot. Let’s celebrate. We can go out on the town and have a nice dinner, what do you say?” I could use a drink right now. I’m still trying to understand this conflicting feeling I have about expanding the business. I probably shouldn’t be drinking around my boss. Oh, who am I kidding, it’s just Dylan.

“Great! Let me just grab my purse.” Pondering the move as I gather my things, I think about how I like it here and how we do things. I like that it’s just him and I. We have a system set in place here. Moving from another job; I need routine and I actually like my desk here. Feeling a bit melancholy over this, I try not to let it show.

“Sorry, Birdie girl, I don’t think where we are going pigs are welcome. I’ll bring you some scraps.” Dylan rubs behind her ear and she’s putty in his hands. She’s fallen for his bearded charms. “I’m just going to change real quick.” He heads to his bedroom, while I make sure Birdie has enough food and water. At my desk, I turn off my computer and sit down. Struggling with the idea of not being here much longer, I think of Cindy. She could work with Dylan. She’d love it. He pays really well and the benefits are great. Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought. I guess I’m just going to miss the comradery we have. Maybe I’m developing feelings for the schmuck. Damn.

Birdie’s practically already asleep in her bed by the time Dylan comes out. “Wow. I think I need to go home and change.” He’s wearing a button-up blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and some dark black dress slacks. His hair is combed back and it looks like he’s trimmed his beard a little. Dylan looks hot. I get a tingling feeling between my legs. I might need to slap myself. I can’t believe I’m feeling attracted to him. He smirks at me. Bastard.

“Okay, we’re stopping by my place. It’s close.” Leading the way to the door, he grabs his jacket and we walk out.

“Okay, admit it. I’m right. Everything is pink.” Dylan’s waiting in my living room while I change. I decided to go with my red dress and change it up. I’ve been dying to have a place to wear this baby. Plus, I want him checking me out in this, make him pay for my gawking at his apartment.

“My TV isn’t pink. Or my coffee table, or my two accent chairs.” I smile at his huff from the other room.

“Okay, everything except three things are pink.” He laughs. I slip on my dress and walk to the living room. He’s checking out my movie collection. He calls out, thinking I’m still in the bathroom. “You like Die Hard?”

“Yippie-Ki-Yay, motherfucker!” He turns swiftly to face me. His jaw drops, and I know I chose the right dress. He arranges himself through the pockets of his slacks. “Also, you haven’t seen my sleeping area.” My studio apartment is large enough that I have a large wall unit breaking up the room. Grabbing my clutch, I wait at the door for him. Dylan’s still ogling me. He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck, shaking it off. Then he places his hand on my lower back as we walk out the door. This feels like we are on a date. I don’t know how I feel about that.

“So, where are we going? I’m dying for a hamburger. I hope this place has hamburgers.” He turns to me, shock on his face.

“You want a hamburger? I was going to take you to this French restaurant downtown, but your idea sounds better. Come on, I know just the place.” He grabs my hand, leads me to his car and opens the door for me. Okay, this definitely feels like a date. He seemed surprised I wanted a hamburger. He must think I’m some diva, and I only eat where there are waiters or something. I could totally go for a McDonald’s cheeseburger right now.

On the way there, we speak briefly about the expansion. He’s aching to get an office space. He hates being holed up in his apartment all the time. I guess we have opposite opinions on that matter.

We park at a dive bar called Hops. It looks a little seedy, but fun. “I never in a million years thought I’d bring you here, but this place has the best burgers in all of Chicago.”

“Let’s go, then.” I open my door and step out. He’s right there to lead me into the bar. I also didn’t expect this Neanderthal to act like a gentleman. Sad to say, most guys these days don’t open doors it seems. Maybe it’s just the guys I tend to date.

Hops is exactly what I thought it would be. There are peanut shells on the floor and pints of beer scattered throughout the tabletops. It’s quant and quiet. I love it. We are seated immediately. Dylan hands the menus back to the waitress. “We already know what we want. Two burgers and fries, please.”

“What drinks?” The waitress looks up from her notepad. We finish our order and she heads back to the kitchen. It’s a little awkward. I don’t really know what to talk about. We’re usually fighting or working. This is new territory.

“They have a condiment bar, where you can add cheese and pickles, customize your burger the way you want. I love this place.” Dylan has a bit of a glow and I can’t help feeling happy to be here with him. This is a new side of Dylan Ryder. I think he’s finally warmed up to me. I don’t want to say anything though and ruin what we have going.

Honestly, I’m a little confused about my feelings for him right now. I was dead set on leaving him in the shmuck category, but he’s proven to me that he’s a decent guy. He treats Birdie like a princess. He’s even stopped calling me princess. It wouldn’t really bother me anymore if he called me that, though.

There’s no denying that he’s hot tonight. I may have worn my red lingerie under this dress in hopes he would see it. God, I’m so confused. There’s no chance in hell that would happen. Plus, he’s my boss. Dylan is your boss, Andy!

You can tell he’d be great in bed, though. I’ve never had great in bed. All of my exes were interested in getting off as quickly as possible and didn’t worry about me in the process. They never seemed concerned I didn’t come, selfish jerks.

“What are you thinking about, Andy? Your cheeks are flushed.” His hands are folded in front of him, his large hands. I don’t know why that turns me on. It’s not like I thought about hands before. Maybe because I’m wondering what he can do with them.

“Nothing, this place is nice. I can’t wait to dig into my burger.” The bearded monster smiles a knowing smile. I give him a little scowl and he laughs at me.

“You’re cute when you get mad.” What? Dylan clears his throat and looks away.

He changes the subject quickly back to work. Maybe that was a slip of the tongue. Soon we get our drinks, and he takes a big gulp from his pint. His beard pulls away from the cup. A few of his whiskers have froth clinging to them. Dylan notices me looking at his mouth. He licks off the froth and I clench my thighs together.

“You should see me when I’m pissed.” I smile at him and take a drink of my Long Island ice tea.

“I have, it’s hot.” He runs his hands down his beard and I follow the motion. What the hell is happening. Is it hot in here? Why is he being so complimentary? I don’t know how to react to this new Dylan. His light brown eyes roam over me. Fuck.

“I need to use the restroom.” I rise up quickly and make my way to the back of the bar. After washing my hands, I check myself in the mirror. I am a little flushed. God, what is he doing to me? I grab a paper towel and wet it under the faucet. Ringing it out, I place it on the back of my neck. Oh, that feels good. After I cool off a little, I throw the paper towel in the trash. Back at the table, I sit across from Dylan. He’s really hot sitting here drinking a pint. He looks over my face and then glances down at my chest. His eyes stay there for a while. “Geez, Dylan, could you be any more obvious?”

“Sorry, Andy. You have a drop of water running down between your breasts. I’m only human.” He points at my cleavage. I look down and sure enough, there is a water droplet that seems to have run from my neck to the space between my boobs. I wipe it up quickly. He’s still staring. Dylan mumbles “Fuck” under his breath, as he rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands. That was an irritated response. They’re only boobs. It’s not like I was flashing him. What is up with him tonight? He’s running hot and then cold. I have no idea where I stand with the Neanderthal.

The waitress drops our burgers in front of us. “Thank God.” The waitress looks confused at Dylan. “I’m just really hungry.” The way he says hungry makes me shiver. What is going on at this table? I’m going to eat quickly so we can get out of here and in the fresh air. There’s something in the water here.

We mostly stick to conversation about work and Birdie. The awkward moment is thankfully forgotten and when we leave the restaurant, we’re laughing about Birdie’s gas habits. “Oh my God, that one was so bad. I have no idea what she ate that day.”

“It was probably one of those KFC biscuits. She goes crazy over those.” Dylan opens the car door for me and waits for me to get in before getting behind the wheel and pulling out of the parking lot. “I’m glad you liked that place. I’d never picture you there. This sounds a little juvenile, but do you want to come over to my place and play some video games?”

I laugh at his question. “You just want me to rank you up again.” He nods his head enthusiastically. “Okay, under one condition.” His eyebrows perk up and he waits for my condition. “I get to bring my pink radio into the office next week so I can listen to music.”

“Ugh, come on. You probably listen to . . . I don’t know Cindy Lauper and shit.” He turns onto his street.

“Yes, I do like Cindy Lauper and shit, but I also like Depeche Mode, The Cure, Billy Idol, The Weeknd, The 1975, Bastille. I could go on.” This is what I’m talking about. He makes assumptions because of the way I dress and decorate. I can only like pop songs because I dress preppy. No, I can be just as dark as the next person.

“You like The Cure? You gave me shit about my shirt forever, and you like them? Name a song.”

“‘Feels Like Heaven,’” I say smugly. On casual days at work he would always wear that shirt. I did always give him crap about it because, well, he got on my nerves and I knew it bothered him.

He shakes his head as he pulls into his parking spot. “Every girl knows ‘Feels Like Heaven.’”

I step to get out. “‘Friday I’m in Love,’ ‘Love Song,’ ‘Pictures of You,’ ‘Let’s go to Bed.’”

“What?” His head snaps back to me. Dylan stops at the elevator.

“The song, ‘Let’s go to Bed.’” What did he think, that I was propositioning him? As if!

“Oh yeah, okay. Okay. Fine. I’ll let you bring your pink radio to the office, on a probationary period only though.”

“Deal.” I hold my hand out to him and he shakes it lightly.

I take off my shoes when we get to his apartment and lie down on my stomach, waiting for the game to boot up. Dylan follows my lead and hands me a controller.