She looks at them, and then looks at me with a bit of surprise on her face. “Thanks. I thought I might have to stay late to complete them.”

“No problem. Just trying to get ahead on things so we don’t have to put in any extra late nights this week. The workload should be distributed equally,” I say, shrugging my shoulder.

She looks down at her shoes and then up at me. “Sorry about snapping this morning.”

A weight I didn’t know was there is lifted at her words. I can’t stand when someone is mad at me. “It’s okay. We all have our moments.”

“Yeah. Thanks again,” she says before walking back to her desk.

Turning around, I click on Oz’s email and open it up.

From: [email protected]

Subject: Don’t make me turn this plane around

Is everything okay, baby? What’s wrong? I’ll bring you a plane full of chocolate if it makes you happy. How was your lunch? Anything good today?

I miss your lips.

LOVE, Oz

The bold on “love” makes me giggle. At this point, he’s being silly, and I like playful Oz. I respond to his email quickly. I’ve got work to do, and I need to get to it.

From: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Don’t make me turn this plane around

Everything is fine. No need to panic. I’m okay now. I needed to grab some food, I guess. And amazing news, the cafeteria was redone and they had an awesome menu today. Totally glad I ate here!

A plane full of chocolate can’t be as sweet as you. I miss your lips, too.

I’ve got to get to work so I don’t have to stay late. I texted Paige earlier and told her I want a movie night in, so you’ll be happy to know I’ll have my phone next to me all night! I’ll be all yours then!

XOXO, Mallory

I make my sign-off bold to let him know I saw his. I’m excited as I send the email and get back to work. It’s amazing how much I’ve grown to care for him in such a short amount of time to the point of seeing the L word and not freaking out. That in itself should probably freak me out. Oh well, I’m living in the moment!

Chapter Twelve

Mallory

* * *

“I think your boss is following us.” I look over my shoulder to see captain america about half a block behind us.

“Ignore him,” Paige huffs, clearly annoyed. But she grabs her ponytail, pulling her hair down and giving it a little fluff. The action catches me off guard. When we’d met in the lobby of the building to head home, they were once again bickering. She still looked pissed at him, but he had this happy smirk on his face as if he liked her sniping at him.

“He’s hard to ignore.” I look over my shoulder again. Yep, still there. Maybe he’s going the same way we are. “I think he likes you,” I add, making her look over at me. She gives me a no-go look, which only piques my interest. Men liking Paige isn’t new. She’s pretty and plays it down for the most part.

I think men are drawn to her because she’s a challenge on top of everything. She doesn’t flock to men or get all gooey-eyed. Not even over famous hot people when I show her pictures.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to date someone you work with, but he’s—”

“Stop right there. Just because you’re on this love train of dating doesn’t mean I want to hop on. Besides, he’s...” She looks over her shoulder this time, and I follow suit. He gives her a wink, making her flip him the bird. “Too perfect,” she finally finishes.

“You can’t flip your boss off! You’ll get fired!” I gape at her.

“He isn’t going to do shit.”

It’s clear Paige is going to do whatever she wants, so I go back to talking about the guy and not her job. “Too perfect, Paige? I mean, really? How can a man be too perfect?” I ask, even though I’d been having the same thoughts about Oz. He always seems to say and do all the right things. It’s like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“This is it.” She points to a little restaurant that says Big Bob’s on the sign outside. It has probably seen better days. She’s told me it has some of the best burgers within walking distance. She pushes inside, and I follow her. The place is slammed, but Paige manages to find us a place at the bar.

“What can I get you ladies?” an older man with thinning hair and dark brown eyes asks from behind the counter. He’s in a white apron that looks like it needs a good washing.

“Two ultimate doubles with onion rings.” She looks over at me, then behind her. I follow her eyes to see Captain standing outside the restaurant, leaning up against a pole. This is freaking weird. “To go?” she asks, and I nod.

“To go,” she tells the man taking our order.

“Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?”

“Two beers. Whatever is cold and on tap is fine.”

“You got it,” he tells her as he finishes scribbling on his pad before turning around to drop the order to the cook.

“That’s weird.” I nod to the security guy outside. “What is Captain doing following us? I thought at first we were going the same way or something, but now it’s clear he’s following us. Well, following you,” I amend because the guy has no reason to be after me. I don’t even know his name.

“Captain?”

“Yeah, he looks like Captain America, but with tats.”

Her mouth does a half smirk like she likes the name. It’s not shocking, because it’s one of her favorite movies. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s, like, testing me or something. Making sure I’m watching my surroundings. Or maybe he’s a stalker.” She adds the last part like she’s trying to insult him.