Not Safe for Work(105)

“Mr. McNeill!” Mitchell ground out. “This—”

“Let him finish,” Marie said flatly.

Mitchell shot her a look more venomous than the one I’d given him earlier.

Rick’s gaze stayed fixed on me, though. “Go on.”

I moistened my parched lips. “Walking away from you was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Even if I hadn’t been choosing this”—I gestured at my half-built model—“over you.”

“You weren’t choosing your career,” he said, his tone unreadable. “You were choosing your kids.”

I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t. I was choosing stability. As if I can’t have both. I can find other ways to provide for my kids. I can’t find another you. It took me this long to find you. What kind of idiot am I to think I can find—”

“Gentlemen,” Mitchell broke in. “This is hardly appropriate here at—”

“Neither is ordering me to continue keeping your client happy,” I snapped.

No one spoke. No one breathed. My heart thumped in my chest—I was definitely fired now.

I shifted my attention back to Rick. “Look at us. It’s been insane from the start. Every time we think it’s smooth sailing, something happens, and suddenly we can’t see each other, or one of us is…” I paused, not sure how much to divulge around this many people. “Nothing about us has been perfect except for you being perfect for me. We’ve been f*cking up, tripping over our own feet, leaning on each other…” I shook my head. “It’s been a comedy of errors from day one. And I…I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s like…we can bumble through and be completely okay with that, and it can be a complete clusterf*ck, and then when we get it right…” I released a ragged breath. “When we get it right, it’s perfect. And even when we don’t, it still is.”

Mitchell bristled beside Marie. She folded her arms, glaring at him as if to dare him to say anything.

I steeled myself and met Rick’s gaze. “I’m scared out of my mind. I’ve got three kids in school, and I don’t know how I’m going to keep them there. I’ve got a roof I’m trying to keep over my head and Karen’s. But at the end of the day, even when I feel like I have to choose between all of that and you—” My voice caught.

No one in the room made a sound. Even Silent Dave had stopped whatever he was doing, and I could almost hear the glue drying on the models.

Stomach twisting and heart pounding, I finally managed to whisper, “The thing is, after you were gone, I realized it didn’t matter how many ultimatums anyone gave me, or…or any of that. The only thing that matters is that I love you.”

Rick’s lips parted.

Beside him, Mitchell made a strangled sound.

And somewhere at the very fringe of my awareness, Calvin tumbled out of his chair.

At any other moment, I’d have looked at him, laughed at his clumsiness and his cursing and crashing as he scrambled up off the floor, but not this time. Nothing existed except the man staring back at me with wide eyes.

Rick stepped closer. “What did you say?”

I gulped. “I said… I said I’m in love with you. I was stupid to let you go. And if this costs me my job, then…” I shook my head. “So be it. I love you.”

He pushed out a breath, and after the longest moment of my life, the corners of his mouth rose. “I love you too.”

Not giving a damn about where we were and who was here, I crossed the last shred of distance between us, and I kissed him. Full-on, both hands on his face, in front of God and everyone, I kissed him. He put his arms around me, and the weight of the world slipped off my shoulders.

I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against his. “I love you, Rick.”

Someone made a strangled sound, and only then did our surroundings—bystanders and all—come back into existence. I kissed him again anyway, pretending not to notice the whispered chorus of disbelief.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit.”

“Dude. Am I really—”

“Would you two shut the f*ck up?”

“But…it’s…they…”

“Come on, all of you. Early lunch. Now.”

Teagan started to herd the drafters out of the room, but Rick put up a hand.

“Actually, I think they deserve to hear this.” He turned to Mitchell, and I had never seen so much fear in the old man’s face, especially as Rick growled, “Would you care to explain to them the arrangement you made with Jon?”

The old man’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He turned to Marie, but she offered nothing. He glanced at all of us.

Teagan and I looked at each other. She mouthed holy shit. I kept a poker face, but nodded slightly. My sentiments exactly, T.

As I turned back to the tense standoff, Rick folded his arms. “I’m waiting, Mr. Mitchell.”

“I… Well, it…” Mitchell stammered, eyes flicking toward me. “Mr. Pierce, your company is a… Well, you’re valuable clients, and—”

“And what about your employees?” Rick snapped. “Are you telling me they’re not valuable? Or at least not valuable enough to be granted a little bit of human f*cking dignity by their employer?”