Chapter Seven – Holly
I was late for work.
That was a first. It definitely wasn’t in my character, but I’d thrown out punctuality for Stig’s sake. And whatever punishments were in store for me, I faced them gladly. For I had found something more important than most of the concerns of ordinary existence.
In general, I agreed with the popular phrase about not sweating the small stuff and found that roughly ninety-five percent of things counted as small stuff. What happened with Stig was big, though.
Not just his cock, which was sizable in its own right, but also what his cock represented. I’d found him, and now I didn’t want to let him go.
“Are you okay?” Claudia asked me, when I walked in.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked her back, trying to be nonchalant.
“You’re late, and you’re never late.”
“How would you know? You just started literally yesterday.”
“Your reputation proceeds you.”
Claudia had me there. I’d done nothing to encourage it, but the rumor mill churned as strongly at Suspicious Activity Records as it did at any other office. It was best to ignore it. But that was easier said than done when the rumors were about you.
At least this particular rumor was a good one, but I could only imagine what would happen if word started to spread about Stig and me. I hoped no one here had caught on yet.
“I’m fine, Claudia.”
“Oh, good. Well, Mr. Black would like to see you in his office. He told me to tell you as soon as you came in.”
“Noted.”
There was no reason not to like Claudia. She had been my replacement, but she hadn’t put me out of a job in the strictest sense. Someone had to do what I’d done. I just hoped she was up to the task.
Given my choice— rare, but a girl could dream— I would have trained her myself. But Seth, the great and powerful, had other ideas.
“Enter,” he said, once I had knocked on his office door.
I ventured into his inner sanctum, where few dared to tread.
“Is everything okay?” he asked me, once I was in his office.
“You’re the second person to ask me that this morning.”
“We were just concerned. You are never late, so I figured something terrible must have happened. I was picturing that you had a date that went wrong, and you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I’ve been counting down the minutes to determine if I should call the police and have them take an interest.”
“I’m fine, honestly,” I said, not wanting to worry about why his first guess was that I’d had a date.
I wasn’t sure of Seth’s thoughts on office romances. He’d met Jonna while she was an intern but that was different, and not just because he was the boss. She was as into it as he was, and it was clear they were meant to be together— evidenced by their subsequent marriage and family.
I had no doubts about my connection with Stig. It was everything else that was up in the air.
Who could know whether Seth or others at the office would approve of us?
Also, Stig might not even be allowed to stay in the country.
I knew long distance relationships could work, but Seattle to Norway was a whole new dimension. Not that I would let it get me down. Still, it was best to take things slow and keep it on the downlow since neither Stig nor I could predict the future.
“Well, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Seth grinned at me, putting me at my ease. He really wasn’t that bad. My slight wariness of him was no worse than it was with most guys. I was like a kid who had once got bitten by one dog and was therefore wary of all of them.
Stig was helping me remember that men could be safe, though. Some were good, some were bad, just like anyone else.
It was a good idea to be cautious, but I had been beginning to border on the paranoid. I refused to let Keith have that sort of power over me.
Like Stig had said to his face in that amazing confrontation at the bar, he was an insect, a parasite. Dangerous in the moment but otherwise fundamentally below notice.
The threat that Keith had held over my life was over now that Stig had set him straight, and he might as well not exist.
The heavens heard my plea and Seth let me go back to my desk. Time began to crawl, like a sleepy tortoise, but the dirge was worth the prize.
Another call into Seth’s office led to further orders to bring lunch to the guys at The Sanctuary.
Keeping my mind on the job at hand, I drove as carefully as I could on my bike, ensuring my safe arrival.
Even with Stig technically working, and with there being nothing I was assigned to do other than bring the band food, I looked forward to seeing him again, despite it only being a few hours since we last parted.