Lip Service (Private Relations 2)

“You know what we never discussed,” he said, his tone conversational. “Spankings. Any thoughts on that?”

Chloe’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in surprise. After a moment, she said, “Um.”

“Don’t worry. I have a feeling you’ll have some thoughts on that in the near future,” he said exiting as the doors slid open.

Following after him, her head tilted as she thought, Chloe finally asked, “Is it strange that I find that kind of hot?”

Chris felt all the blood rush out of his head and he said, “No. It’s unbelievably fucking sexy.”

Taking his hand in hers, they stepped out of the elevator and walked to the end of the hallway. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she looked at him and said, “Here goes.”

Deacon opened the door and said, “Hey. Come on in, guys.” He looked down and saw that they were holding hands and smirked at them. Backing up, he let them inside.

When they walked through the door, they were greeted by a barrage of voices. Apparently Sunday Football had expanded. Jim sat on the couch, Elle sat in the recliner, Sara was on the love seat.

Breaking his hand away from Chloe’s for a minute, he walked over to give Sara and Elle a quick hug. Chloe followed suit, settling next to Sara to talk. Smirking at her, realizing he’d been dismissed, he moved to the kitchen to put the beer in the refrigerator.

“Jesus, Deak. If this expands any further, you’re going to need more furniture.”

“No kidding, man. I didn’t realize Elle was coming over, too, but then there she was. Sara just made her a partner in the business, so they’re kind of celebrating.”

“Good for her. Sara works like a demon. I’m sure that should make your life a lot easier too.”

Grinning, Deacon said, “Absolutely. I’m banking on it.”

Snagging a cold beer for himself, a Coke for Chloe and a large plate of nachos, he moved back out to the living room. Chloe had moved to the sofa and was talking to Jim now. He slid into the empty seat next to her and handed her the Coke. She grinned at him and stole a nacho, before turning around to continue the conversation she was wrapped up in.

Elle was laid back in the recliner, beaming, so he said, “I hear congratulations are in order?”

Turning to face him, she said, “Yep. I’m officially a partner, now.”

“Great feeling, right? Knowing you’ve got an actual stake in what you’re doing instead of just punching a time clock?” he asked.

Nodding, she said, “Absolutely. It’s really exciting. I’ll get to learn more about the actual food side of the business now. I have a lot of the operations stuff down. It will be an interesting experience.”

Sara cleared her throat and said, “There’s also another announcement to make. We set a date for the wedding. Not this, but next September 19th.”

Chloe squealed and jumped up to hug her, with Elle following. Chris waited until Sara had finished before he moved over to sit next to her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek along with his congratulations.

Raising her eyebrow, and looking at Chloe, she said, “I could say the same to you. Gotta tell you, I saw that coming a mile away.”

Frowning, he said, “You’re saying I wasn’t subtle?”

Shaking her head, she smiled and said, “Not really. I think she may have been the only one that missed it.”

Looking back at Chloe for a moment, he smiled and said, “I think she’s got it now. Thanks.”

Grinning now, he moved to shake hands with Deacon and said, “Congrats, man,” then gave him a slap on the back.

Moving back to his seat, he

sank down into the leather sofa next to Chloe. Without breaking conversation, she scooted in and leaned against him, snagging another chip off the plate he’d loaded in the kitchen. He subtly moved the plate out of her reach, smiling.

After the early afternoon’s big news, the rest of the day was uneventful. The offense, predictably, looked terrible. They had cut their star running back during the off season because he was having some pretty well-publicized drug problems. JDC had been repping him until that point, but after two felony cocaine possession charges, two failed stints in rehab, and a litany of other offenses, there was just no spinning any of it.

Around five, Chris and Chloe left. Mostly silent on the elevator ride down, Chloe finally said, “That was less weird that I thought it would be.”

Nodding, Chris agreed, “Yeah. A couple funny looks, but nothing too bad.”