Page 39 of Cheap Heat

“Dan,” he said in an overly airy voice, reaching up to delicately wipe the corner of his mouth with a thumb. “What can I do for you?”

Behind him, Taylor was perched on the loveseat pretending to read a magazine, his face flushed and his legs awkwardly crossed, still visibly trembling from the blowjob Holt had clearly just been giving him.

Honestly. And he chastised us for not being professional?

“Frank and Beans are harassing me,” I told Holt, still frowning. “They won’t stop trying to steal my head.”

He exhaled and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Fucking Frank and Beans.”

“Can you please just talk to them?” I rubbed my throat protectively. “It’s stressing me out.”

“Of course. Sorry. They’re the worst.” Holt tensed. “Don’t tell them I said that.”

“Is there anything we can do to help in the meantime, Dan?” Taylor asked, standing up and making his way over with a concerned expression on his cute human face.

I exhaled slowly to calm myself down. It took a lot to get me riled up, and I didn’t particularly like being angry. Some people, like Crossbody and Rafe, seemed to thrive on it.

I gave Taylor my usual charming grin, which made Holt inch closer to him possessively. “Thank you kindly, Taylor.” To Holt, I said, “If you could just talk to them. Maybe… I don’t know, let them know that there’ll actually be repercussions if they act like creepy little shits?”

“Right, right. Repercussions. Absolutely.” Holt nodded emphatically, scratching his neck. “Like, uh…”

He trailed off and stared blankly at Taylor.

“Like… saying we’ll take the air hockey table out of their dressing room if they don’t stop?” Taylor offered after a few seconds, giving Holt a hesitant smile.

Holt snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “Yes. That. Perfect, babe. Ooh, and if that doesn’t work, I can threaten to stop buying those vile hot dog water-flavoured sodas they love.” He turned back to me with a winning smile and smoothed his hair down. “Don’t worry about a thing, Dan. I’ve got it under control.”

I doubted that, but nodded. “Great. Thanks.”

“So are you excited for the online launch?” Holt asked me brightly, clearly trying to keep me happy. “You and Vince will be great. Total faith in you two.”

“Uh-huh.” My mouth twitched. “Ra—The new guy works fast, huh? He got it all up and running pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, seems to be doing great.” Holt crossed his arms and shrugged lightly. “Not the, uh, friendliest guy in the world, but clearly a hard worker. Doesn’t come out of his office much.”

“He’s just quiet, I think,” Taylor said diplomatically. “Maybe a little shy?”

I hummed noncommittally in response. I didn’t think Rafe was shy. Quiet, yes. Introverted. Awkward in a cute way.

And grumpy in a way that, for some reason, got me going.

“Well, better go get my morning workout in.” I stepped back and smiled at Taylor and Holt, then couldn’t help but slyly add, “Sorry to interrupt while you were ‘moving boxes.’”

Taylor flushed bright pink and Holt stepped forward to reach for the door, giving me a secret shit-eating grin as he closed it. “No problem.”

I was feeling calmer as I stepped back into the hallway, and I started wondering where, exactly, Rafe’s office was. As I started walking, I noticed another corridor jutting off from this one and stopped to peer down it. There were a few closed doors, but I could see a light on through an archway to the left.

Then I heard sounds coming from it. Footsteps, a drawer being opened, a spoon clinking against ceramic. Silently inching closer, I peered around the doorframe to see Rafe standing in a tiny kitchenette with his back to me.

The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his sinewy forearms covered in greyscale tattoos as he stirred creamer into his coffee. His long hair, with its fading blue-green dye job, was tied back in a messy bun.

I eyed the nape of his neck for a second, my gut tightening with attraction, before I abruptly said, “Hey.”

He jumped violently, spilling coffee over his hand and immediately making me feel bad.

“Fuck.”

“Sorry.” I gave him a big placating grin as he spun around, already glaring.