I laughed. “Whoa,” I said. “Calm down, guys, this is not that shocking.”
“We had no idea,” Tiffany said, shaking her head at me. “Why didn’t you ever let on?”
“Because for a while there, things didn’t look like they were going to work out,” I said honestly. “So there was no point in telling anyone.”
“Wait,” Martin said, raising an eyebrow. “This doesn’t break any company policies, does it?”
I laughed. “We’re both consenting adults who are in a committed relationship,” I said. “And, this company doesn’t have any rules against employees dating one another.”
“I suppose even if they did, Jake could change them,” Adelaide said, giving me a sly grin.
“What’s he like?”
“How is he in bed?”
“How much does he earn?”
“Doesn’t he have a kid?”
I held up my hands to stop the steady flow of questions. “Whoa, guys…let me catch my breath, will you?”
“Come on,” Adelaide wheedled. “Give us some dirt.”
“Yes, he does have a son. Noah’s five, and he’s the apple of my eye,” I answered. “Jake is a complete gentleman; he’s amazing in bed, and as for how much he earns…that’s none of your business. Happy now?”
“Not completely,” Tiffany said.
“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to be happy with that because he’s on his way over here.”
“Fuck,” Martin said, and then he made a beeline towards the buffet.
“You guys don’t have to leave,” I pointed out, but Adelaide and Tiffany gave me nervous smiles.
“Sorry, hon,” Adelaide said. “He’s still our boss and hella intimidating to boot.”
Jake walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “What happened to your friends?”
“Turns out you’re intimidating,” I joked, remembering that that was exactly how I felt about Jake when I had first met him.
“Is that right?” he asked in amusement. “Should I be flattered?”
“I would be,” I nodded. “So how did the talk with the board go?”
“They’ve agreed to expand the budget a little and distribute the workload,” Jake told me. “Which means I’ll have more time for Noah…and you.”
I clapped my hands together and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad.”
“This party is kind of lame,” Jake said, looking around the room.
“What would you rather be doing?” I asked teasingly.
“Something that requires no clothes…with you.”
I laughed
. “Too bad we don’t have any closets here…”
Jake raised an eyebrow. “We don’t have a closet, but we do have the next best thing.”