Managed by Chance Page 8

  The meet and greet turned out to be a success, particularly for Katie. By the time the team was leaving Mel and Katie alone in the conference room, they had warmed up to her and weren’t tossing her dodgy glances anymore.

  As Mel began arranging the leftover food onto one tray, Katie stepped up next to her and started putting lids on the tubs of cream cheeses.

  “Thanks for setting this up. And for putting out the expense for breakfast. It was a nice ice breaker.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Mel walked away and started gathering the dirty plates and cups off of the long conference table. Katie joined her, and asked, “What do we do with all of this?”

  “There’s a dishwasher through that door. The cleaning crew will empty it tonight and put everything away.”

  They walked into a small room that was only eight feet long and five feet wide with cabinets on either side, a sink and dishwasher on one side, and a large refrigerator and freezer combo on the other. While Mel dumped uneaten bits into a trashcan, Katie rinsed the plates and loaded them into the dishwasher. After Mel tossed a soap pod in and turned the machine on, they washed and dried their hands.

  As Mel was about to walk out of the room, Katie grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Mel, can we…?”

  Mel quickly blurted, “I’m sorry,” and her cheeks instantly blushed deep red.

  Katie’s brow furrowed, and she hesitantly asked, “For what?”

  “For calling you Katherine.” Katie’s face relaxed and she slid her hand down Mel’s arm to take her hand, which Mel allowed. “I didn’t plan on it. I don’t even know why I said it.”

  “I’m sorry for retaliating and calling you Melrose.”

  “No, I get it. I deserved it. I was an ass.”

  Katie released a small laugh, and agreed. “A little bit. But given the circumstances, I forgive you. I know we need to get to work, but I need to know. Are you upset with me?”

  Mel shook her head as she looked down at the floor and rubbed the back of her neck, which was becoming painfully tense from the unexpected turn of events. As she met Katie’s searching eyes again, her stomach fluttered and her heartrate quickened.

  “We… I mean, you and I…” She exhaled hard in frustration for not being able to find the words to say what she was thinking. “I can’t even think right now. I had the whole day planned of how it would go. But you weren’t supposed to be you. I mean, you were supposed to be some mean old bitch that…” Katie’s brow pinched again, making Mel blush deeper. “Sorry, you’re not that. I just meant…” She exhaled hard. “It’s… Never mind. We should just get to work. We were pulled off of every one of our normal tasks on Friday to help clean and secure the system after we were hacked. And now that I have to train you, I’m going to be even more backed up.”

  “I understand. Can we talk about this after work?”

  Katie licked her lips to moisten them, but the innocent act caused Mel’s voice to catch in her throat and her lips tingled. It was like the effect a magnet had on a piece of metal held just out of reach of actually being able to fully pull it in to adhere to the magnet. The metal jumps about as if nervous or anxious for the union. Mel’s lips definitely weren’t nervous. They wanted more than anything to close the two-foot gap between them and unite with Katie’s lips.

  “Mel?”

  She blinked hard as she looked up into Katie’s eyes, and asked, “What?”

  “Can we talk about us after work?”

  “Oh, yeah. Yes, we should probably do that. You want to go get coffee or come over to my place?”

  “If you’re comfortable with it, the privacy of your place would be preferable.”

  “Okay, that’s fine.” As they were about to walk out of the small kitchenette, Mel said, “Oh, wait. Layla has some secret plan for us tonight. Shit, Layla. She’s never going to believe this.” Mel ran a hand over her face. “I’ll have to text her to warn her you’re coming over.”

  “Would you like me to come over later, after your plans and after you can talk to her about this?”

  “Yeah, that might be better. I think she would kill me if I told her this through text.”

  “Okay, Mel.” Katie glanced out into the empty conference room, then leaned in and kissed Mel on the lips. “Thanks again for arranging breakfast. It was very sweet of you to take the initiative to do this, especially when you seem kind of bitter about an old bitch joining the team.” Mel blushed and Katie smiled. “Will you explain that to me tonight?”

  Mel exhaled hard and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to.”

  After giving Mel’s hand a firm reassuring squeeze, Katie released it, then followed her back into the conference room to grab the leftover food.

  Chapter Ten

  As soon as Mel walked in the door with her laptop bag slung over her shoulder and a case of beer in her other hand, Layla jumped up from the couch to meet her in the kitchen.

  “How did it go today? What’s the new manager like?”

  Mel set her laptop bag down on the small dining table, and after popping the caps on two beers and handing one to Layla, she pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She showed the screen to Layla, and Layla’s brow furrowed as she looked between the picture of Mel and Katie on the screen and Mel standing in front of her, wearing the same clothes as the picture. Her eyes suddenly widened and she gasped.

  “Shut up! No way! Tell me she just came to the office to have lunch with you or something.”

  “Nope. It’s Katie.”

  Layla released a blurting laugh, but then her face scrunched as if she smelled something awful, and she asked, “Wait, did she know who you are when you met at the club?”

  “No, I asked her that too. We didn’t talk about work at all. I didn’t want to. I guess if I hadn’t avoided the subject, I might have known sooner.”

  “Yeah, but if you had, you wouldn’t have gotten laid.”

  Mel rolled her eyes as she lifted her beer to take a hearty gulp. “You are disturbingly obsessed with me getting laid.”

  “Shut up. So, what does this mean? You’re still going to see her, right?” Mel shrugged a shoulder as she took another sip of beer. Layla put her hands on her hips, and blurted, “Mel, don’t you dare push her away just because she happens to be your new manager. I know you like her.”

  “I did like her.” Mel groaned deeply as she leaned back against the counter. “I do like her. This really sucks, Layla. I finally decided to put myself out there again and the woman ends up being my boss. And not just my boss – she got the job I wanted and had interviewed for. And I have to tell her all of that. It’s going to be so embarrassing.”

  Layla leaned against the counter next to her, and asked, “Why did you decide to bring Katie home?”

  “What does it matter?”

  “Because she obviously did something for you that so many before her have failed to do. Katie isn’t the first woman you’ve danced with or talked to since Justine left. There have been tons of women who have tried to grab your attention, but you always removed yourself from the situation when they tried to advance.”

  “I don’t know if you thought pointing that out would help, but I think it just made this worse.”

  Layla scoffed as she bumped her hip with Mel’s. “How the hell did I make it worse? My point is that you’re comfortable with her like you haven’t been with any one in a long time, so you should be able to talk to her about the promotion and all without being embarrassed. Besides, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It was just a stupid technicality.”

  “Yeah, but Katie has so much more experience than I do. Looking at my resume and her resume side by side, it’s an easy call. Katie would get the job every single time.”

  “And?” Layla turned to face her with impatience scrunching her face. “Since when are you such a snob?”

  “What? How the hell am I a snob?”

  “Why does it matter that the woman you’re dating has a better resume? Why are y
ou diminishing yourself like that?”

  Mel smiled as she leaned in and gave Layla a brief hug. “You’re my favorite human.” As she pulled away, she rubbed the back of her neck and exhaled hard. “Katie wants to come over tonight to talk about all of this.”

  “Good. When is she going to be here? Do you want me to leave?”

  “What about our plans?”

  “We can do them another night. Invite her over for dinner and I’ll go hangout with Alice so you can be alone.” She pointed a finger at Mel, lightly touching the tip of her nose for emphasis, and sharply added, “Don’t you dare break it off. If she does, then whatever, we’ll deal with it. But you’re not allowed to end it.” She pointed her finger again. “And don’t you dare quit your job. If she can’t handle it, then she needs to quit. You know what, maybe I should stay.”

  Mel laughed and playfully shoved Layla’s shoulder. “I love you for caring so damn much, but I don’t need you to babysit me, Layla. I won’t do anything stupid.”

  “Fine. Call her.”

  While Mel pulled her cellphone out, Layla walked out to the living room to grab her own to text Alice to see if it was okay if she hung out over there for a bit. Alice was one of their best friends and lived only a few doors down on the same floor of their apartment building.

  When Mel hung up with Katie, Layla walked back into the kitchen and gave her a tight hug. Mel sighed as she returned her embrace and buried her face in her shoulder.

  “It’s going to be okay, Mel.”

  As she lifted her head, she sighed again, and admitted, “I really like her, Layla. What if I fall for her and it doesn’t work out? I don’t think I could work with her if that happened.”

  “You were already considering looking for a new job before you inadvertently slept with your new boss. If it doesn’t work, getting a new job might be a good thing. I know you like your team, but it was shitty what they did to you. Maybe you’d find a better opportunity somewhere else.”

  “That’s a very weak maybe. If there were better opportunities out there, someone like Katie with a resume like hers would have easily snatched it up.”

  Layla gave her a stinging slap on her shoulder. “Stop putting yourself down. And you don’t know what opportunities will open up tomorrow or next week or three months from now. You’re not a psychic, so stop speculating. Just go with the flow, like you did Friday night.”

  Layla’s lips spread into a wide grin, making Mel blush. Mel groaned as she buried her face in Layla’s shoulder again. Layla laughed and rubbed her head.

  “Katie must have really hit just the right nerve when you were dancing. Or was it the kiss? The kiss looked hot.”

  Mel groaned into her shoulder, then turned away to grab her beer. As she turned to face Layla with the bottle tilted back, taking a large gulp, Layla fell forward laughing.

  “Your face is so red.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be going over to hang out with Alice?”

  “Brat.” Layla smacked her shoulder again. “Stop trying to get rid of me. When is Katie going to be here?”

  “In twenty minutes.”

  “Okay.” Layla gave her a brief, tight hug, then started walking out of the kitchen. “Text me when it’s safe to come home. I’m going to eat with Alice, so make sure you eat.” She looked over her shoulder with a grin, and teased, “And I don’t just mean Katie.”

  “Oh, my god.” Mel laughed as she blushed and her lips involuntarily spread into a huge cheesy grin. “Get the hell out of here, Layla.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m going. Have fun.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Layla, Mel’s heartrate quickened. She looked at her watch, then made a quick exit of the kitchen for her bedroom. With her hands slightly shaking, she stripped out of her work clothes, ran to the bathroom, and jumped in the shower.

  Even if the discussion went well tonight, she didn’t know if she wanted to have sex again with Katie so soon. She didn’t want their relationship to just be about sex, especially since they worked together. But because of how stressed and nervous she was today, she felt like she was sweating like a pig baking under a midsummer Texas sun.

  In five-minutes flat, Mel was washed head to toe, then quickly brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and rushed back to her bedroom to get dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. Just as she was tossing her work clothes in the hamper, the intercom buzzed to let her know someone was waiting downstairs. She ran to the front door, hit the button to inquire who it was, then hit the button to let Katie into the building.

  She paced back and forth in front of the closed door, waiting for Katie to knock, and when she finally did, she froze in her tracks and stared at the white painted steel. While taking a deep breath, she counted to five in an attempt to steady her racing heart, then opened the door.

  Katie’s warm smile seemed a bit forced, and there was definite nervousness slightly creasing the corners of her eyes. She had also taken the time to change out of her work clothes and into form fitting jeans and a tee. Mel’s mouth salivated and her cheeks warmed. Whether dressing down or in a skirt suit, Katie looked amazing.

  “Hey.”

  Mel cleared her throat, and as she stepped aside, she answered, “Hey, come on in. Do you want a drink? I grabbed a case of beer on the way home.”

  “Sounds good.” Katie looked around the empty living room, then glanced down the hall towards the bedrooms. “Is Layla hiding out?”

  “She decided to go hang out with Alice. She lives down the hall.”

  After opening two beers, she handed one to Katie and they walked over to the couch to sit down together. Katie sat with a couple of feet between them and turned with one leg pulled up and tucked under her other knee to face Mel.

  “How was work?”

  Mel released a surprised blurting laugh, making Katie smile. “It was interesting.” She raised an eyebrow, and asked, “How was your day?”

  Katie drew a deep breath through her nose as she looked up at the ceiling, then as she met Mel’s worried eyes, she answered, “Pretty nice, actually. Better than I thought it was going to be when I woke up.”

  “I think I’m leaning towards that assessment as well.”

  After taking a sip of beer, and while holding Mel’s gaze, Katie pointedly asked, “Did your new manager not turn out to be the mean old bitch you were expecting?”

  “No.” Mel blushed as she looked down at her lap. She took a drink of her beer, then ran a hand through her short hair as she slightly turned to face Katie. “Okay, I guess I should explain that. You’ll probably find out eventually from someone else, but I guess since we’re going to be dating, it should come from me.”

  She took another drink of beer, then began explaining. “I’ve been with the company for over six years. Just after two, I was promoted to team lead. Then a little over a year later, our supervisor left the company. I applied for the open position and received it. George, our manager left the company a little over seven months ago.”

  Katie’s face slightly fell in understanding and her eyes struggled to maintain contact with Mel. She looked at the bottle of beer she had resting on her knee, then as she looked up, she took a large gulp and met Mel’s eyes again.

  Mel waited to see if Katie wanted to guess at the next piece of information, but she could tell Katie knew what she was going to say. She cleared her throat and continued. “George left without warning, so I had to step up and manage the team on my own. I was the acting manager for seven months. I applied for and interviewed for the position. Two weeks ago, Frank told me they hired someone else.”

  She leaned back and waited for Katie to say something, but the awkwardness just grew between them. Katie was looking down at her beer again, picking at the label. Feeling embarrassed and foolish, Mel drank the rest of her beer and swiftly stood up. Katie watched her walk into the kitchen to toss the bottle in the recycling can and grab another beer. Instead of coming back, Mel leaned against the counter with her back to the living room.<
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  Guilt tugged at Katie’s core like a hook caught in her navel, forcing her to stand and walk into the kitchen to lean against the opposite counter across from Mel. But Mel wouldn’t meet her eyes. She looked towards the fridge, then the coffee maker, then at the floor – pretty much anywhere but Katie’s eyes. Her presence wasn’t enough – Mel needed Katie to actually speak. But it took a couple of minutes for Katie to unpack her thoughts and emotions and figure out what to say.

  “What was their reason for not giving you the promotion?”

  “Not enough years of experience in a management position. Frank said I ticked off all of the boxes, but company policy requires a minimum of five years of experience. HR wouldn’t bend. They don’t consider a team lead position as true management, but even with that position, I’m still under the mark.”

  Having to reveal all of that to Katie, the first woman in over two years that she thought she could have a relationship with, was difficult enough. But Katie wasn’t just the woman she had met at the club and brought home with and slept with and bore her heart to about Justine. She was also her boss. She felt so weak and humiliated. And to make it worse, Katie wasn’t saying anything, again. She was shuffling her feet, as if she was getting ready to run out of here. And Mel couldn’t blame her.

  After four whole minutes of silence, Mel audibly exhaled as she pushed off of the counter to walk out of the room. As she got her hand on the door to the balcony, she quietly said, “You don’t have to stay. I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” then walked out and closed the door without waiting for a response.

  Katie’s eyes filled with tears as she put her face in her hands and tilted her head back, taking a long, loud breath through her fingers.

  At a whisper to herself, she bemoaned, “Of all of the women at that club, why did she have to turn out to be…? What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  She looked through the sliding glass door and could just make out the side of Mel sitting at the small table on the balcony. Only two days ago, she was sitting at that same table with Mel at three in the morning sharing wine and a meal they had prepared together after having the most incredible sex she could remember ever having. Maybe it was the best sex she’d ever had. Is that why she stayed – the sex? But they didn’t just share a bed and a meal. They shared the most painful parts of their past. And now Mel was sharing a painful part of her present. A pain that Katie unknowingly contributed to.