Holly versus Mr. Ivy by Amanda P. Jones
Chapter 29
Holly
to work, I replayed every tantalizing detail of my kiss with Rhett. It was still snowing, which made the commute longer than normal. I had no complaints about marinating in the feelings Rhett’s kisses evoked in me.
There was a certain bliss that had settled into my heart after making out with him on Thanksgiving and on the couch. This rightness in my soul. A smile that refused to drop. I’d never, ever been kissed like that before in my life. And if Rhett thought I’d created a monster in him, he unleashed his unicorn magic on me, possessing my very essence. The way my chest about exploded when our lips touched, I was afraid Rhett would send me into cardiac arrest.
As dangerous as it was for my heart—literally and figuratively—I wanted Rhett’s lips on mine again. I wanted my hands exploring the firm muscles of his back, stomach, chest, and shoulders. My stomach fluttered when I read fantasy romance novels, but my whole body was consumed in the most glorious way when Rhett’s mouth was on mine. There was no comparison, no competition. It was hands-down Rhett.
An hour later, Trevor slowly pulled into the restaurant employee parking lot. Rhett was inside that building. The man who had, only two hours before, had his phenomenal mouth on mine.
How had I ever thought I’d be capable of separating work and home life? The second I looked at Rhett, everyone would know. They would see my feelings, my want for him. Just like a kid on a ride at a theme park, with clear instructions to keep my hands inside the cart at all times, I wasn’t sure I could.
Rhett had better stay away from me. It was the only way I could do my job.
Trevor hopped out and came around the back of his SUV to open my door for me.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“You were pretty quiet on the drive. Is everything okay?”
Man, I loved my brother when he was concerned about me. “Besides hands that don’t work at the moment, I’m actually doing really, really good.”
He shot me a dry look. “It’s Rhett, isn’t it?”
“Shhh.” I looked around, ensuring we were alone. “You can’t say stuff like that here.”
Trev held his hands out. “Sorry.”
I whispered, “But yes. A big part is because of Rhett. You have to promise me you won’t tell another soul. We’ll get fired if anyone finds out.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you.”
“Call me when you are ready to be picked up.”
I hugged him. “Thanks, Trev.”
Walking into the restaurant, Skye’s voice scared me to death.
“Hey, Chef.”
I jumped. “Whoa! When did you get here?”
How had I not heard her car or her feet on the gravel as she’d walked toward me and Trevor? Oh, no! Had she heard what Trevor and I had spoken about?
“Like one minute ago. How are your hands feeling today?”
I held up my gauze-wrapped palms. “Not so great. I’ll probably be out of commission for a week, if not more.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry. That really sucks.”
Yes, it completely did. I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through Rhett’s golden hair.
We walked into the kitchen together. The sounds of pans banging, knives chopping, and food sizzling on the stove greeted me. There would be no seeking Rhett out before everyone arrived—they were already here.
“Hello,” I greeted my staff.
Nico jerked his head up in his typical hey, bro greeting. “Chef.”
“With the weather, we won’t be as busy tonight,” I uselessly stated. They’d all driven through the same slush I had. I tapped the back of my hand against the schedule I’d taped up on the wall a year ago. “Let’s hold off on our usual load.”
“Yes, Chef,” my staff responded as one.
Leaning my back against the counter, I folded my arms across my chest. “Distract me,” I addressed Skye as she washed vegetables. “What did you do this morning?”
“My cousins, who are still in town, went with me downtown.”
Downtown as in the festival or something else? Had she seen Rhett and me together? I hoped not. “I went to the festival, and it was a zoo.”
“The snow started sticking to the roads right after we got there, so we didn’t stay long. But yeah, it was super crowded.”
Phew. She probably hadn’t seen us, then. “I wasn’t expecting this much snow. I hate driving in it.”
“Same, I—”
“Chef?” Rhett interrupted whatever Skye was about to say.
A smile took over my entire face. I probably looked like the giant Christmas tree lit up in the town square. Just seeing his handsome face made me all gooey inside, like an under-baked chocolate chip cookie. “Yes, Mr. Ivy?”
“Do you have a moment to join me in my office?”
Was this to discuss business or for pleasure? I really wanted it to be the latter. “Yes. I’ll be right in.”
Rhett walked off, and my eyes strayed right to his backside. Too bad his suitcoat hung down a smidge too far so I didn’t get to ogle his perfectly toned butt.
I pushed off the edge of the counter. “I’d better go see what Mr. Ivy needs. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Sure thing.”
I walked into Rhett’s office and used my foot to close the door. We usually kept it open when other people were here, but it also wasn’t unheard of for us to shut it. I wasn’t sure what Rhett wanted to talk about, but I kept it closed in case my fantasy came to fruition. “Hey. What did you need to see me about?”
“My uncle is coming in tomorrow. He wants to discuss the numbers.”
Oh. So he really did want to talk about work. Bummer.
Last time Anthony came, Rhett had a panic attack. “I’ll stay with you the whole time. I’m not doing much in the kitchen anyway. We can face him together.”
“The numbers…” Rhett winced.
My heart dropped to the floor and shattered. So it didn’t matter if Rhett and I dated or not, because one way or another, we wouldn’t have jobs at the end of the year. “We won’t make it?”
He blew out a breath. “I honestly don’t know. We’ve increased profits, but I just can’t guarantee we’ll get to ten percent. If we do, it will be by a hair.”
I sank into the chair in front of Rhett’s desk. “Oh.”
Rhett looked as disappointed as I felt. We’d tried. Rhett made excellent plans. I trusted him. One way or another, we’d make it. I couldn’t lose my job. We couldn’t give up hope yet.
“I’m sorry, Holly.”
“This isn’t your fault, Rhett. And we still have time. Are there any other ideas you and Aaron have for what we can do?”
Rhett picked up a pen and twirled it between his fingers. “Aaron suggested we offer a free dessert to anyone who buys a gift card.”
“Brilliant. With the holidays, we’ll for sure get more cash flow coming in.”
“I agree.” Rhett nodded. “Aaron knows his stuff.”
“But you still don’t think it will be enough?”
“It will help.”
Way to avoid answering the question, Rhett.“What if we offer a discount to companies who book a holiday party with us? We don’t have a ton of space, but we could section off tables one through twelve to give them a little bit of privacy.”
“Also a good idea. At this point, anything we can do would help.”
“Do we have a list of companies that have come here in the past? We can talk to them first. Otherwise, can we purchase an email list for business owners in the area and let them know about it?”
“I’ll ask Aaron to get on that. Any other genius plans in that brain of yours?”
I smiled flirtatiously. “Lots.”
“Holly,” he growled.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. We agreed to keep it professional at work.”
“We did.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m dying to kiss you again. For my sanity, please don’t be so tempting.”
I laughed. “I’ll work on that. In the meantime, are you okay? With the meeting tomorrow? Is there anything we can do beforehand to make it go better than last time?”
“Having you by my side will be plenty.”
“I’ll always be there for you.” I smirked. “Whether you want me to be or not.”
“Thank you, Holly. You should get back to the kitchen before you’re missed.”
“Ha!” I chuckled, standing to leave. “I don’t think they care one way or another.”
Rhett just shook his head at me as he opened his door and I walked out.
Time dragged on without anything for me to physically do. I flitted around, instructing where necessary, but mostly shooting the breeze with my staff. In one small way, maybe having burned hands improved my relationship with my employees.
Rhett came back into the kitchen a few hours after our meeting. A goofy grin tried to make an appearance, but I cracked down on it like a kid sneaking candy, and forced my lips to stay in a neutral position. My eyes, though? Nothing I could do to keep them from tracking his every movement.
His gray suit tugged across his back as he opened his water bottle and refiled it at the soda station. What should have been a quick errand seemed like it took Rhett hours to finish, like he was purposely going slow. Most likely to irk me, knowing I was counting down the seconds until we were alone.
He finished talking to one of the waiters who came in to grab rolls for his table, and the moment he spun around and made direct eye contact with me was like looking into the sun. I wanted to blink, my eyes begging me to preserve themselves and look away, but I couldn’t. The smile Rhett flashed me turned my knees to melted butter.
He winked, pulling me further under his spell.
“Chef?”
“Hmmm?” I said dreamily, lost in a cozy cabin on a fur rug in front of a fireplace with Rhett lying next to me, nuzzling my neck, my fingers tracing the outline of his lips, hot cocoa and popcorn at the ready.
“Chef?” Kevin’s voice rose, popping my daydream bubble.
Heat flashed across my chest and up into my cheeks. Rhett smirked at me, then left the kitchen. Hypocrite. He told me to keep my flirting in check, but he was allowed to distract me? Well, Mr. Ivy, game on.
I cleared my throat. “Yes?”
“Will you come taste the sauce? Something is off, and I want your opinion on oregano or white pepper.”
“Sure thing.”
I glanced once more at the door Rhett had recently vacated, then focused on my kitchen.
It was going to be a looonnggg night.
My leg bounced under my desk as I silently yelled, “Get out, get out, get out!” to the last few dishwashers cleaning in the kitchen. Seriously, did they always take this long? We hadn’t even been that busy tonight. How many plates did they have left to clean?
The second the last employee left the building, I scrambled out of my chair and trotted—who knew I was a trotter?—to Rhett’s office. Once inside, I slammed the door, leaning against it. “Are there security cameras anywhere in the building?” I panted out between breaths. The twenty-foot dash into Rhett’s office, and the anticipation of being alone with him, made my lungs labor for every inhale and exhale.
I should know by now after working here for three years if there were cameras or not. But I’d never really cared one way or another before.
Rhett’s pleased smile greeted me. “There’s just the alarm when we lock up the building for the night. No cameras, as far as I’m aware.”
My chest deflated. “So there could be hidden cameras that Anthony just hasn’t told you about?”
“Slim, but yes, still a possibility.”
That was not what I wanted to hear. “I’d better go, then, because today was harder than I thought it would be, and if there is even a slight chance of”—I pointed to the corners of the room—“I can’t risk what I’m dying to do. So…um…I’ll see you tomorrow?” I fumbled with the doorknob between my forearms.
Rhett, ever the gentleman, stayed seated in his chair. I loved that he understood if he came close to me, my ability to maintain control would vanish, but I also hated that he hadn’t pushed himself up against me and shown how much he loathed the distance between us.
“Would you like to come over to my place in the morning and watch a Christmas movie?” Rhett asked.
Absolutely. But what about Mom? I’d already ditched her this morning to attend the festival. “I do, but…”
“It would be easier if we watched it at your house.” His smile turned sad, resigned.
I slowly nodded. “Yeah.” Alone at Rhett’s house with no interruptions? I leaned my head back against the door, closing my eyes. “I’m sorry. Maybe we should have waited until things won’t be so complicated.”
The noise of Rhett standing had me snapping my eyes open and tracking his movements. A minimum of six feet was required between us at all times. If he crossed the boundary, I was not liable for damages incurred.
Rhett moved right in front of me, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets.
Good idea, keep those limbs locked away, buddy.
“Do you want to wait?” he asked. “Retract your choice?”
I swallowed at his nearness, at the hint of his cologne teasing my nose. It was laughable he even considered I’d be able to wait until he left Anthony’s company to kiss him again. “I said I was all-in, and I meant it. No takebacks. No waiting. Just…control. That’s all we need.” It should be easy—I’d been doing it for a while now.
His eyes flared with desire. “You severely overestimate my ability to stay away from you.”
Ditto. My legs trembled, dying for him to show me. “We have to. Just until morning.” A length of time that never stretched so blasted long before.
Rhett’s jaw clenched. He bobbed his head once. “Until morning.”
Morning. A word never so distasteful, yet tantalizingly sweet.
I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally preparing myself for walking away from him when that was the last thing I wanted to do. When I opened my eyes again, Rhett’s torn expression mirrored how I felt.
“Goodnight, Rhett,” I said, full of longing.
He groaned. “You can’t say my name like that when I’m not allowed to touch you.”
Flutters rippled around in my stomach. “Like what?” I asked innocently.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You know,” he growled.
I liked seeing him struggle just as much as I did. Of course, teasing him sounded even better. “Rhett,” I said seductively.
“Holly,” he growled again, his eyes dark and warm.
Holy. Moly.I understood why he’d asked me not to do that as my heartrate sped. Heat sizzled in my stomach. This fine line we straddled barely kept my pinky toe in the safe zone. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He let out a shaky breath. “Please leave before I do something that risks your job.”
I nodded uncontrollably while fleeing Rhett’s office. All we had done was talk, but my body reacted like he’d kissed me senseless.
Sunday could not come soon enough.