Quadruple Duty: All or Nothing

I tapped my chin with one finger. “Allen? McCullough?”

“Done. Done.”

“All outgoing invoices paid?”

“Of course.”

“Coffee maker emptied?”

Cindy made a face. Over her shoulder, the coffee maker still had half a stale pot of this morning’s black sludge.

“This… promotion,” she smiled sardonically. “Does it come with a raise?”

“You asking for one?”

“Maybe.”

I laughed and folded my arms. “We’ll talk about that after lunch with Merrick.”

Cindy nodded happily and headed back toward our office’s kitchenette. She was getting a raise no matter what, of course. She was smart enough to know it, too.

Outside, the sun was shining. For some reason, I was in a particularly good mood.

“Hey,” I said on a whim, “why don’t we knock off early? It’s Friday. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

She had the water on and was already rinsing out the coffee pot. “You pretty much read my mind.”

“Good,” I smiled. “Go.”

I watched her leave, practically skipping her way out. Cindy could run the place for sure, even without me. She was every bit as good as Dawn, only a hundred times more loyal.

“Hey,” she said, pausing at the door. “Better check your desk before you go.”

I looked back at her quizzically, but she only grinned.

“Byeeee!”

The keys to my jeep still in hand, I turned back and pushed opened the do

or to my office. Immediately I was hit in the face with the scent of fresh flowers.

Not just flowers. Lilies.

My face broadened into a smile. A twisted glass vase sat in the center of my desk, blooming with what had to be a hundred or more Peruvian Lilies. There were reds, whites, purples, yellows… It was the most beautiful arrangement I’d ever seen.

Jason.

I knew it was him before I even looked at the card. Jason and I had a few things that were just between us. Lilies were one of them.

Showers are another…

I pushed that collection of happy memories aside for a second and opened the little white envelope. The card was simple and sweet:

My Sexy Angel -

We’re long overdue for a date, just you and me.

Pack a weekend bag and be ready.