My phone alerts me that I have a message on Timber. Scrolling through my notifications, I find what I’m looking for.

BeardLover has accepted your invitation.

“Fuck yeah!” I shout out dancing an Irish jig from the kitchen to my living room with a bottle of beer in hand. Sinking into the cushions of my giant couch, I stare at my phone and think about what I want to say to get the ball rolling with Avery, aka “BeardLover.” Hah, I knew she liked my beard.

Me: Hi, thanks for accepting my invitation. It’s nice to meet you.

BeardLover: Hi, it’s great to meet you, also.

Me: I’m new on here. You’re the first person I’ve talked to.

I hope that by saying this she’ll be more relaxed with me.

BeardLover: Me too! I thought I’d be the only newbie. Glad to hear I’m not.

Me: Tell me about yourself.

BeardLover: I don’t want to bore you on the first talk.

Me: I’m sure that’s not going to happen. Tell me one of your quirks?

BeardLover: Where do I begin? LOL, don’t go.

Her adorable personality comes across on the screen too.

Me: It takes more than that to make me run off. I like a challenge. You didn’t answer the question.

BeardLover: I like things to be organized. Everything in it’s place.

Me: Nothing wrong with that. I’m kind of anal about certain things myself.

BeardLover: The label maker is the greatest invention ever.

She would think that.

Me: I’ll take your word for it.

BeardLover: Why did you join Timber?

Me: I’m interested in meeting new people. My work keeps me busier than I’d like. What about you?

BeardLover: Honestly, I joined to mess with my boss. I didn’t think I’d meet anyone on here. So you’re a nice surprise.

Me: Can we continue this tomorrow? I need to get some sleep. Six am comes early.

BeardLover: I’d like that. Goodnight.

* * *

I’ve never been someone who enjoyed early mornings. They’re a necessary evil when you’re a business owner, but today, I find myself whistling my way through the first few hours of work. I’d be willing to bet the farm it’s because Avery accepted my Timber invitation.

On my way to the office, I stop at the local coffee shop and grab us each a coffee. It’s not a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte or ‘PSL’ as Avery calls it, but it tastes pretty fucking great to me.

When I get to Good Wood, Avery is already at her desk, hard at work. I gave her a key and the code so she wouldn’t ever have to wait outside again.

“Hey, Avery,” I say.

She freezes as I approach. Her eyes are wide and panic filled. I know how her orderly brain works. That kiss we shared last night has her freaking the fuck out, but I’m not going to act any different than I ever do.

Leaning down, I place her coffee on the desk. “Here you go, two sugars and cream.”

She smiles stiffly. “Thank you. You didn’t have to get me one.”

“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to show you that I appreciate you being here.”

“Speaking of...I’m going to start lining up some interviews for a permanent replacement.”

I sip my coffee and then nod my head in agreement, but really I know she’s not going anywhere. I won’t let her. I’ll find some way to keep her here for as long as possible.

Two hours later and I’m finished with the job estimates that needed to be done. Once Avery realizes she’s working here indefinitely, I’ll teach her how to do them. That will be a load off for me.

Leaning back in my chair, I crack the knuckles on each hand. The popping noise is loud in the quiet of my office. When you do manual labor for a living, your body takes a beating. I roll my head from side to side to loosen the tightness and then pick up my phone. I made sure I installed the Timber app on my phone so I can message BeardLover whenever I want and right now seems like as good a time as any.

I pull up our chat from last night and begin to type.

Me: Good morning.

I can hear the alert on Avery’s phone from here. I smile and wait for it…

Ding. Bingo.

BeardLover: Hi. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.

Me: I didn’t want to wait to talk to you again.

Wheeling back my leather chair, I rise to my feet. Walking across my office as stealthily as I can, I peek out the open crack in my door and watch Avery. Her phone beeps loudly. She grimaces at the noise and quickly silences it. My eyes never leave her face as she reads through my message. She smiles when she’s done and I raise my fist in victory. Yes!

She types out a reply and I silently return to my desk. Sinking down into my chair, I pick up my phone and wait for the message to appear.

BeardLover: That’s sweet of you to say. I’m glad you didn’t wait. Are you at work right now?

Me: Yes, I am. I’m working hard toward obtaining something I really want.

BeardLover: It’s good to set goals.

Me: I’ve wanted this to happen for a long time. Longer than I like to admit.

I find myself being unusually honest. It helps that she doesn’t know I’m referring to her. I’ve only recently admitted to myself how much I’ve always wanted her - even back in high school.

BeardLover: It’s nice to be so passionate about something. Lately, I’m not passionate about anything, except driving my boss crazy. LOL. That probably sounds horrible, but if you met him you’d get it.

Me: What do you mean? He can’t be that bad.

BeardLover: Oh, he is. Trust me. He’s a grade A asshole and his ego is so big I don’t know how his head doesn’t explode.

What the fuck? Is that how she really sees me? I’m going to have to teach my little anal friend there’s a lot more to me than she sees.

Me: Maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye. Maybe you should cut the guy some slack.

Fuck yeah, she should.

BeardLover: Uh, no. He might be attractive on the outside but he’s an arrogant asshole on the inside.

Me: Sounds like you’re hot for the guy.

BeardLover: No! Definitely not. It takes more than a hot body and a handsome face to win me over.

I chuckle as I read her words. She’s so hot for me. I’ve got this in the bag.

Me: Hate and love are only separated by a fine line. Maybe you need to think about how you really feel about him.

BeardLover: I know how I feel about him. It flips between disgust and mild tolerance, depending on the day.

Me: I need to get back to work, but I think you should take today to conduct an experiment.

BeardLover: What do you mean?

Me: Talk to him. Really talk to him and see if there’s more to him than what you’re giving him credit for.

BeardLover: And if there isn’t?

Me: Then you’ll know he’s an asshole for real and you’re not just hating him because you really want to ride his Johnson.

BeardLover: I think his “Johnson” is safe.

Me: Let’s talk later and you can tell me how it went.

BeardLover: Okay, I’m not sure about this, but I’ll give it a shot.

I busy myself working through my endless email inbox, while wondering how long it will take her to knock on my door. I have the answer to that question a lot sooner than I planned. Glancing at my watch, I realize it’s only been fifteen minutes since I chatted with her. I rake my teeth over my lip and grin. Getting her to do what I want is easier than I expected. It’s like taking candy from a baby.