The Work Crush

A dream takes an unexpected turn...

Josie watched him as he walked by her table. He smiled his crooked grin at her and sent a little wave her way. Her heart skipped a beat or two, and she prayed her cheeks didn’t manifest the heat she felt rising through her body.

Get ahold of yourself, she thought. She smiled back at him, careful not to be too exuberant about it. She knew she could act and look 12 when she was into a guy.

And boy, was she into this one. Maybe he knew, maybe he didn’t. But he did seem to pay special attention to her when they happened to occupy the same area. He always stopped to chat with her and ask her how her day was going. Or she’d stop by his office and ask how running the company was going. For all intents and purposes, it was a normal working relationship.

Her phone buzzing brought her back to reality. D****t. He had moved on, so she watched him walk away. He was not movie-star hot, no. Boy next door cute was a better way to describe him. His crooked grin and cockeyed hair made him look a little like a grown up Harry Potter sometimes, and she loved that.

That grin, though. She ignored the buzzing phone again and settled back into her chair. She only had a few minutes left of her break, so she figured she’d use them wisely.

Four hours later she pulled into her driveway. She was young, but came from a wealthy family, so she had her own house already. She made the payments, though, and she was proud of what she had done to this place when she bought it. The old farmhouse cleaned up easily and she could host a lot of friends here if she ever chose to.

She never bothered parking in the garage unless the weather was nasty. It wasn’t attached so there wasn’t really any purpose in doing so. She walked in, threw her keys in the bowl on the banquet, greeted her cats, and then sunk down into the leather recliner. His grin floated around in front of her. Even when she wasn’t at work she couldn’t keep him out of her thoughts.

She decided she would work on the craft room she was fixing up toward the back of the house. It had a huge picture window to the large yard and the one horse she had on the farm. It would be relaxing work and it would help take her mind off impossible things.

Some time later, a knock at the front door startled her. No one ever used the front door. She checked to make sure her mace was handy just in case someone decided to try to take advantage of her. She peeked through the small eyehole in the door and gave an audible gasp. What was he doing here?

She opened the door, motioning him to come on in.

“Hi,” he said jauntily.

“Hi?” She replied back, not even bothering to hide her curiosity. She noticed he wasn’t wearing work attire, but jeans and a collared shirt. Not fair, not fair at all.

“You know, I didn’t even know you lived here until I saw your car. I was just driving and I didn’t really have anywhere in mind to go, but when I saw your car, I figured what the hell, I’ll pop in.” He sat down in the leather couch and motioned for her to do the same. “I’ve always liked this farmhouse, mainly because my grandmother used to own it.”

She knew her mouth was wide open but she couldn’t bring herself to close it.

“I drive by this place all the time, and I’ve always seen your car. But I didn’t know it was yours. I always chuckle because gran never parked in the garage either. When I saw you leave work today, I suddenly put two and two together. Gran used to talk about you after she sold the farmhouse, about how you were so excited about what you could do. She liked your enthusiasm.”

Suddenly he looked more like the ten year old scared out of his mind Harry Potter. She remembered that not long after she’d bought the property, the old bird (that’s what she called herself) had gone into an assisted living facility. She had visited the lady a few times to finalize paperwork and she could remember the spirited conversations she’d had. But she hadn’t heard much once the house had been legally hers no strings attached.

“The old bird’s been gone for about three months,” he said softly, answering her silent question.

She nodded, because she didn’t know what else to do.

“Do you want something to drink?” She asked, thinking about how corny it sounded.

“Beer?” She shook her head. She didn’t drink it, so she never bought it.

“I do have some wine,” she offered, lamely, and then bounded off the couch to go get it.

In the kitchen she took a couple of deep breaths. She found her old mason jar wine glasses, filled them with ice to chill them and then found the old bottle her own grandpa had given her. She was fumbling with getting it opened when he walked into the kitchen. He took the bottle and easily opened it for her. She giggled.

“You probably just loosened it for me,” he said softly. He looked around. She had made few changes in the kitchen. She actually loved the way it looked, all old and lived in. While he was looking around, she took the opportunity to look at him. She could tell he liked that she hadn’t touched too much stuff.

“Most of the house is the same,” she offered. “I’ve made a few color changes in some rooms, and I switched the laundry room to the basement area. I didn’t need that big of a laundry room, and I liked the view so much that I’m making it my craft area. Here, let me show you.”

She grabbed his hand and sort of half yanked him down the hallway. She noticed belatedly that he still had the bottle in his hand. She felt the giggles rise up, but stifled them as best she could.

They reached the back end of the house, passing a few closets and a bathroom along the way. She was glad she had closed all those doors…they were a jumbled mess still, even after all this time.

She popped open the door to her craft room and led him in. She told him how she had built most of the shelving and storage areas herself, skipping the part where the cantankerous ex-boyfriend had sort of helped her.

He stood in the middle of the room with the bottle in his hand. Suddenly she realized this was foreign territory for him maybe. A craft room? God, what was she thinking? She could tell her cheeks were flushed.

“Well,” she said lamely, shrugging. “This is it. This is where I spend most of my free time.” He nodded and then glanced at the bottle, then back at her. He strode to her and took the glass that she had forgotten she had in her own hand and popped the bottle open. When he finished pouring the wine into the glass he handed it to her. Clinking the bottle to her glass, he said “to Laundry rooms and enchanting girls who live in my grandma’s house,” and then took a swallow from the bottle. She laughed, and took a drink from her own glass. He had called her enchanting.

They decided to go back to the front room, and this time he grabbed her hand. She didn’t really know what to make of this, but she didn’t say anything. He was technically her boss but she didn’t report to him. She had never considered taking her work-crush any further than the little ways she had flirted with him at the office.

Her phone started buzzing again. Stupid electronic tether.

“You gonna get that?” He asked, and she noticed his voice was husky. What the hell was going on here?

She laid the phone down on the end table, where it buzzed loudly in protest. She toyed with the idea of putting it on airplane mode but that would mean she’d have to look at the phone and see who called. And then the real world would come seeping back into whatever fantasy was playing out here.

He took another swig of wine, and she drained her glass. The air felt heavy; it had started to storm outside and the rain was coming down in sheets. The front room smelled like grass and cologne. He let go of her hand and ran his fingers up her arm. The phone buzzed again but she continued to ignore it. Whoever it was could wait, she was sure of it.

“So, how about a tour of the rest of the house?” he asked, his breath tingling her ear. “The Old Bird didn’t let us upstairs much; she was worried we’d jump out of the windows or off the widow’s walk.”

Josie had a thought. The widow’s walk! She’d completely fixed that up and covered it so that it was more like a 3-season room. It would be a pretty cool way to view the storm that was currently ravaging the area. But…her thoughts lingered off again. This was her BOSS. This wasn’t the cantankerous ex boyfriend who was always good at wheedling his way into her bed.

“Josie.” His voice brought her back to reality. “Josie, I was laid off today. 15 years I gave to this company and they laid me off.” He sank into her favorite recliner, setting the now-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table. “That’s why I’m here. I got laid off and the first thing I thought of was that I could tell you how I’ve felt about you for so long. I can’t tell if I’m thrilled or completely depressed.”

With that, Josie began to giggle. Her phone buzzed angrily on the end table again, this time accompanied by a shrieking noise. Josie sighed. beckoning him from the chair, she stood in front of him, drinking him in. His arm muscles strained slightly at the sleeve of his polo. He was sporting a bit of a 5 o’clock shadow and she reached out her hand to feel the gruffness of the growth. She licked her lips lightly and moved her face up to his. The kiss was electric, hitting every nerve in her body. His tongue peeked through to meet hers gently, yet firmly. She broke the kiss off, and he looked confused.

“I gotta go,” she explained. She kissed him again and broke her hand away from his, turning away. There was a bright light coming from the kitchen.

Josie opened her eyes slowly. The shrieking of her alarm was still going off. “D****t,” she muttered. It never failed, when her dreams were good they always got ruined by her alarm. She stretched and threw the soft comforter onto the floor; apparently she had fallen asleep in her favorite recliner. Watching the storms did that to her often.

She stopped short when she saw the empty bottle on the coffee table and the two wine glasses on the end table.

***