Claire

Back at work, the presents safely delivered, Claire felt relieved. One, she was relieved that Devin was not put off by her inexperience. Second, she was relieved that he seemed to have forgotten about that other Christmas list.

All was well. Her privacy was still safe.

Or was it?

As she completed her work that afternoon, she couldn’t help but notice that Cora, the office administrator, eyeballing her.

It got to where Claire was starting to feel self-conscious. Were her hair and lipstick mussed? Was her shirt untucked? Were her lips and face bruised from all the activity? Was she still flushed?

She decided not to care, did her work, and soon it was 4:59. Like clockwork, an internal call lit up her phone.

His office door was closed. She answered. “Yes, sir?”

“Hi.” He sounded dopey and smiley. Kind of like how she felt.

She tried with all her might to hide her own dumb smile. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“I think you know.”

She was aware of Cora staring at her from her cubicle. So she pretended they were actually talking about work. “Sure, I can do that.”

“Can you work late? I have something for us to work on together. In my office.”

He could make her temperature rise just like that. His voice on the phone alone made her pale skin on her chest light up like a retro pink Christmas tree.

She self-consciously touched the skin at her neckline and up her neck. She felt the splotches spreading up to her ears. Then she got ahold of herself and flipped through her day planner because the fog in her brain made her totally forget what was happening today. Her sisters and brother would be at the after-school program at the parks and recreation department right now.

“Pickup is 5:25 today,” she said.

“Damn. That’s not much time.”

“For what?”

Devin hesitated. She had come to learn that whenever he paused like this, it was a sign he was considering whether to stop himself from saying something inappropriate.

“I’m going to kiss you again, Claire. And then I’m going to keep kissing you and then engage you in some heavy petting. Again. And then see where that leads us.”

She thought her face must have been so red it was purple by now.

Claire cleared her throat and replied in her most professional voice, “There won’t be time to finish all that. Also, remember, we’ll have to be at the holiday pie contest tonight.”

Devin sighed. “That’s not the kind of pie I was hoping for.”

She had not gotten the joke over lunchtime. But in the hours since, she had of course Googled what he could have meant. Oh boy, did she ever quickly erase her internet history.

“That’s not really a task I’m familiar with, but we’ll definitely have more time to do some hands-on training tomorrow.”

He brightened up. “Really? Tomorrow?”

“Yes, we have that off-site meeting with that one client. The one who invited us to his house?”

She waited. She felt as if he was a little confused. And then, there it was. “Oh, girl. Are you talking about skipping out on work and coming to my place?”

“No, sir, this client is a she and she requested we meet at her home. I can bring all the materials you need there. I’m sure I could also bring some extra pie from the contest. You know, to sweeten the deal.”

“Damn, woman. You’re naughtier than I imagined. Is Cora still watching you?”

Indeed. Cora was pretending to work but was definitely giving her the side eye. And she was even more definitely listening to this one-sided conversation.

“That’s an extreme affirmative.”

“See you tonight then. You can even bring the kids, it’ll be fun.”

Then she frowned. “Mr. Halpert, I have no choice but to bring the kids. Just so we’re clear about after-hours work activities. Anything you have me doing for work after 5 p.m. will always have to include the kids. Last night was an exception because I got caught up in the…fun of shopping.”

He paused, like he was processing what she’d said. That nighttime fun between them was going to be non-existent. The mischief was drained out of his voice when he replied, “I understand. See you tonight.”