Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2)(123)

She and Sean rode to work together. No way would Krista take Muni if she didn’t have to. She was leaving in a month—everything was arranged. She had enough money to buy a cute little Honda when she got there. It was practical, it was trendy, and it would hopefully run forever.

She also rented a cute little two-bedroom out by the beach. The rent was more than she was paying in San Francisco, but it was her own place! By the beach! With a car! And truth be told, the commute was shorter than she was facing every day, so win-freaking-win!

Except she was losing Sean. And her friends.

Overall, yes, she was losing. But she chose instead to focus on the perks of the move. Emily, through Tory, said that was best. She concurred.

Sean and Krista hit their floor together. They separated at Krista’s office. Normally, she would start her coffee pot and pour herself a cup as she started her computer. Sean would take his dirty cup from the day before, head down to the break room to wash it, and then fill up while he was there. On the way back up, he would refill Krista’s sugar and creamer stash. It was a great system, especially since Krista was lazy.

That day, though, Krista would create some waves for the pure fun of it. She grabbed her mug, waited a beat to allow Sean to pass back by with a wink into her office, and then she followed him. She took the stairs, just to allow a bit more time, and then purposely sauntered in for all she was worth. She was quitting—sauntering was expected. Plus, she made this company a crap-load of money, and they did the bare-minimum to keep her.

Oh yes, sauntering was definitely due!

She walked into the break room with a hop in her step. Sean was standing by the coffee machine, chatting with Mable, who was exactly the gossipy jerk Krista was hoping to meet. He looked cordial as always, but Krista could read the irritation in his eyes. He wanted to be away, but he didn’t know how to disengage from the conversation. He was way too polite. Always had been in K-Jaz’s eyes, which was the term Krista used to refer to the dynamic duo.

Krista walked in briskly. Sean glanced up, caught sight of her, and his eyes widened. He barely stopped himself from smiling. He was doing damage control.

“Krista,” Mable said, half-turning to see what Sean was looking at. “I haven’t seen you down here in a long time. You’re leaving your office, huh?”

“Well, I did land the big account, after all. I figured a coffee break was due,” she walked up next to Sean, who was a puppet in this whole thing, slid her hand along his lower back and winked at him. “Hey babe.”

He did smile then.

Krista turned to face the disbelieving Mable. “Just came down for some free java.”

“Oh?” Mable said, looking at Krista’s arm as it disappeared around Sean’s back. Her eyes darted up to Sean, and then settled back on Krista’s, a crease forming in her painted on eyebrows.

Krista rubbed Sean’s back again, smiled at him with Bambi-eyes, then got some coffee. Go big or go home, right?

“So, uh, I heard you got a job offer?” Mable said, clearly on shaky ground. She didn’t like Krista—so the gossip said—but she also didn’t want to miss a chance for excellent gossip no one else had.

“I did, yes. I’ll be changing jobs. A higher level with a better title and more money.”

“Oh. Great.”

Sean waited patiently as Krista straightened up and came to stand next to him again. She slid her arm through his.

“Ready?” he asked her.

“Yup. See ya Mable,” Krista said as Sean gestured her in front of him. He guided her out of the room with his hand low on the small of her back, almost on her butt—much lower than was professional.

It brought tears to Krista’s eyes that he was openly admitting to being with her. He hadn’t done that with any other woman in all the time he’d worked there. It meant he was serious, that he really liked her, and as long as she was okay with being the villain, he would be open about his choice.

“You could have warned me,” he said with a laugh as they entered the elevator.

“I just thought, why not, you know? Those gossipy ladies can all go to Hades if they think I’ll bow down to them because they are jealous ol’ hags!”

“Yikes.”Sean said, cupping a butt cheek and squeezing lightly. “Krista is on fire, watch out!”

“Well? I don’t want to spend our last month together hiding our mutual, uh, thing.” She turned to him with a devilish grin, cupping his balls. Obviously they were alone in the elevator.

“Our mutual thing?” Sean asked as he got closer, bending to kiss her neck. “Love, you mean?”

“Does your office have shades? I forget.”

When the elevator chimed, Sean put more room between them, then let her lead the way out.

“I still have to work here. But yes, it does.”

Krista got a thrill as they halted in front of her office. Sean was looking at her with equal parts love and desire. “Dinner tonight?”

“Of course.”

He did a quick scan, and then he kissed her. When they broke apart, he winked, and turned toward his office. Even if Krista hadn’t felt his wood, she could tell by the way he walked that he was in need of a quickie.

Too bad he wasn’t quitting, too. She could finally get that fantasy checked off the list!

Sean took her to an upscale steakhouse on the other side of town. It was definitely a man’s eatery. The whole place was wood: wooden tables, wood bar, wood walls, wood stairwell. Granted, those things were usually made out of wood, but this place showed it off. It had a cherry finish instead of paint. You could see that it was made of wood, and even sort of smelled of wood. The place was packed, but probably 75% of the clientele were men. Tables of men, guys with their wives or girlfriends, and even male waiters.