Page 57 of Dance for Me
I can’t help it, the smile that blooms on my face is involuntary, but almost as vibrant as the flowers adorning myworkspace. I can’t remember the last time someone got me flowers, not to butter me up or as a show of appreciation for a business deal closing, but because they wanted to bring me something beautiful.
Before I can get to the vase, Sadie is skipping ahead of me, lifting the small note card laying against the glass base. She should be careful with that, based on the filthy texts he sends throughout the day, there is a good chance that note card is filled with wicked promises.
“Maybe you two should go to one of those classes on how to arrange a bouquet. Who puts purple and orange together?” Wade scoffs, leaning against the closed office door. How often has he put flowers together to suddenly become an expert?
I step closer to the flowers, ready to bury my nose in the sweet aroma and comfort. Sadie stops me as I reach for them, laying a firm hand on my outstretched arm, eyes still downcast on the note in her hand.
She drags her gaze to mine, any remnants of a smile no longer visible on her features.
“These aren’t from Colton.”
“Orange lilies can symbolize hatred,disdain, and often contempt. Apparently, petunias, especially the darker shades, can display feelings of resentment and anger.” Sadie reads from her phone.
“The note displays plenty of anger, the flowers seem a little overkill to me,” Wade tacks on, tilting a hand back and forth.
I’ve reread the note about a hundred times. It’s only one line, so memorizing it was easy enough. The words aren’t the part that keep drawing me to reread it over and over. It’s the anger behind the words. The slashed way it’s written, not done in haste or easy temperament, but with force, the pencreating indents through the card where the words have been placed.
Well, you aren’t the only one who’s angry.
The symbol stamped on the other side is the reason my blood begins to boil. The little jester symbol mocks me, for everything I’ve created and the ease with which they have been able to get in and out of not just my club, but also my office.Twice.
“This is good though, right? They fucked up, not knowing that I put cameras in here.” Sadie is beaming at her own initiative to increase the security levels in here after the whole theft incident.
“Yeah, about that,” I look at my sister and wince at the glare she sends me when she realizes there won’t be any footage for her to view.
“Are you fucking kidding me Harper? Why did you turn the camera off? And when did you turn it off?”
Just as I open my mouth to answer, thereasonthe cameras weren’t rolling walks in.
“Tessa wanted me to come remind you that the specialty bottles you ordered for a VIP arriving tonight are—” He abruptly stops talking when he lifts his head to a waiting audience, he starts to smile at Sadie and Wade before he catches that not one expression is happy. “I think I missed something.”
Sadie looks between Colton and me, her glare intensifying as mine sinks further and further into guilt.
“Okay, new rule: no more fucking in the office.” She lifts a finger at Colton. He barely has to pause, his response ready to go.
“Yeah, Wade! No fucking in the office,” Colton mimics Sadie, lifting a finger at him as he shouts across the room, forcing a giggle out of me and a splutter of indignation from Wade.
“And you!” Sadie turns on me, the giggle abruptly cuttingoff. “No more turning the camera off, for any reason. I mean it, Harper. It stays on and from now on. I don’t care if Colton is with you at the end of the night, Wade escorts you to the car and home.” I open my mouth to argue that between Colton and myself, I doubt anyone would really try anything.
Sadie holds up a hand, effectively shutting down any argument I could make before I even try. This is work Sadie, the loving little sister who wanted to tease me about a boy is long gone.
Colton raises one eyebrow in my direction, questioning what brought about our new chastity restraints in the workplace. I hand him the card, watching his face contort as he reads it. He hands the card back silently, rage emanating from him as he approaches, a hand settling on my back.
“The camera stays on,” he agrees, nodding to Sadie.
“And no more fucking in the office,” adds Wade.
“Eh, I can’t promise that,” Colton smiles at him and I snort, earning a glare from Wade.
“Thank you. Ugh I was so excited thinking you had gotten her a present.”
Colton laughs, the tension from a moment ago breaking. He lifts his hand from my back, rubbing the back of his neck and shuffling around from foot to foot, the tips of his ears turning a rosy shade of pink.His blushing gives him away so easily, and while Wade is happy to pretend he can’t see it—Sadie is not.
“Oh, so you did get her something? What is it?” Sadie is back to beaming, striking at Colton’s obvious embarrassment.
“Well, um, it’s nothing, really.” He looks to me for backup, barking up the wrong tree for an assist. I love watching him squirm. My picture-perfect good boy for everyone else, but a man who likes to take charge and push boundaries when it’s just us.
I love that I get to see that side of him, almost as much as he loves getting to see the side of me that let’s go of that control. Ididn’t think I would like the shift in our relationship, enjoying the feeling of letting go as much as taking the lead, but our roles haven’t reversed. They have become more fluid.
