She managed to get her laughter under control, then finally remembered what specifically made her mad.
“Nick, what is the point of me coming here and helping you create all of these policies and procedures if you’re just going to undermine me and violate them?”
He took yet another step closer, giving her a look that she knew was going to send her into another uncontrollable fit of laughter so she covered her mouth again.
“This isn’t about the policies, is it Samantha? This is a good old-fashioned power struggle, and you’re losing.And that’s what’s got you all tied up in knots right now, isn’t it?”
She shook her head frantically and protested in a muffled voice from behind her hand. “I am not losing!”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re totally losing.”
One tiny giggle escaped and she threw her other hand back over her mouth as well.
He stepped closer and his head seemed to be tilted downward over hers, giving her a mischievous grin, but speaking in a steady, no-nonsense voice. “Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny.”
More giggling. Then a snort.
He grinned wider. “This is all just a huge joke to you, isn’t it?”
Laughter now bellowed out of her, and he finally laughed as well, giving her an enamored smile, as their faces tilted closer together.
In some other alternate universe, she would have kissed him.
After all, she really wanted to.
Maybe it was the tiny buzz, but she suddenly realized she didn’t care about everything that had caused her to be livid with him—at least not right then. Maybe when she wasn’t slightly drunk on a super strong, holiday themed martini, she would’ve remembered exactly what the big deal was about everything he’d told her. Because all she could think of right then was his smile, and the way he looked at her, and how much she genuinely enjoyed being around him—how much she’d always genuinely enjoyed being around him.
Right then, all she wanted to do was laugh with him like this all the time, pausing only to kiss him. She also had a sense that he probably felt similar because he continued to give her that look amidst his laughter.
After a few more moments, the laughter subsided and he smiled softly at her.
“I love your laugh,” he murmured.
She crinkled her nose, thinking it probably wasn’t just her laugh he was talking about. “I know you do.”
They gazed at each other for a split second longer when she shook her head slightly and came back to reality.
Reality, where she was his employee and he was her boss. Reality, where she was still mad at him—or at least making a concerted effort to stay mad at him.
She had to stay mad at him, didn’t she? Otherwise, she would have been wrong when she threw his feelings back in his face a few weeks ago, instead of just swallowing her pride and admitting that she—
“Okay,” she interjected. “That’s quite enough.”
“Yeah. Quite enough,” he agreed, stepping away assertively and ushering her out of the office. She low-fived him as she passed him through the doorway.
“Good talk, Nick.”
“Good talk, Samantha.”
* * *
“You’ve reached Kim’s phone, I’m not here right now—”
Samantha hung up and focused her attention back on the road. Five times she’d attempted to reach Kimberly, and five times she’d only reached her voice-mail. She decided not to worry since Kimberly was always as responsible as she was, and figured she was already at the restaurant, overseeing the last little details before the doors opened for the big New Year’s party.
She slipped in through the back entrance, peering toward the front end of the hallway, noticing people flying back and forth, clearly busy with their tasks, and decided she had two seconds to throw her purse and coat into the office.
She burst through the door in time to see Nick tucking his dress shirt into unzipped slacks.
