Page 28 of Lemon Drop

“I don’t think that, honestly. Just disregard. I’ll see you at twelve-thirty, okay?”

He nodded and let me escape, a move I appreciated greatly.

What followed was the longest three hours and forty-five minutes of my life. Thank God I stayed on top of my shit because I got no work done between agonizing over what he was going to say and using all my energy not to respond to the text Adam had sent me from a strange phone, circumventing the way I had blocked his ass. At twelve-twenty-five, I could take it no longer. Thankfully, Lori’s door already had it’s cute little “Out to Lunch” sign up. I walked in, crossed the room, and knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he called.

I entered to find him not at his desk, but at the small table and two chairs set up in one corner. He didn’t even look back, but I knew somehow, that he knew it was me.

“You wanted to see me?” I prompted.

“Come sit down,” he instructed.

“Saadiq—”

“Come sit down, Topaz.”

His tone held steel, that voice that permitted no argument. I opened my mouth but closed it just as quickly. I sat down, and he set a plate in front of me. The scent of the greens and baked chicken and the visible gooeyness of the macaroni and cheese had my stomach emitting an embarrassing little rumble. He smiled as he loosened the cap on a bottle of water and put it beside the plate.

“Saadiq, how are we supposed to get anything done this afternoon?”

He shrugged, “We’ll manage.”

“Where did you get this? Sarah’s Soul Café?”

“Nah. This is straight from my father’s kitchen. He brought it a few minutes ago.”

I groaned. Yeah, this day was about to be a lost cause. Mr. Masters could throw down.

“You are so spoiled,” I said, using the hand sanitizer he handed me.

“Yep. You wanna say grace, or should I?” he asked, taking his seat.

“You.”

The answer was easy, reflexive. I loved a man who prayed. We ate in almost complete silence. Only when I was full did I look up at him.

“Saadiq, what⁠—”

“I want you to take some time off, Topaz. A couple of weeks. More if you need them.”

He sat back, wiped his mouth, and guzzled a little of his water as I stared at him in shock, then anger.

“I’m good at my job—” I began.

“Good doesn’t begin to cover it,” he agreed.

“So, why do you want me to take time off? You never want me to take time off.”

“That’s because I can be a greedy bastard. Topaz, time off is not a punishment. We all need to rest and recharge.”

“And this sudden concern about my resting and recharging comes after you saw me get humiliated by my so-called boyfriend? I don’t want your pity, Saadiq!” I exclaimed, standing suddenly.

I marched across the room, then had the good sense to remember that this was my boss. I couldn’t just storm out on him. I knew I was overreacting, knew that he and my family were right—I could probably use a break. Unsure of what to do, I folded my arms across my body and hovered near his desk. He stood, walked to stand in front of me.

“I don’t pity you, Topaz, but I do worry about you. You got a lot going on, and it’s not like I’m the easiest boss in the world. I just want you to take care of yourself,” he said softly.

He eased into my space, and oh, God, he smelled so good, like cedar and citrus and some kind of spice. Beneath it all was just delectable, clean man. Warmth radiated from him, somehow comforting and arousing all at once. More than ever, I wanted to just fold myself into his big, solid frame.