Free Benevolent by Leddy Harper

associate wasn’t any good to me.
    She never left her office until almost four o’clock. I was on the phone with Gabi when she walked in through the door that connected my office to hers. Gabriella was going on and on about some shopping trip she went on, and although I was excited that she had gotten out of the house and seemed happy for the first time in months, I had work to do.
    “Gabs… Gabi…” She still talked without listening to me. “Gabriella, listen to me. I have to go. I have someone here that just walked in. I’ll see you when I come home.” She finally heard me that time and told me she loved me. “I love you, too. I’ll see you later.”
    Eden stood there and listened to my conversation until I hung up. She hesitantly handed me the folder and waited until I opened it. “That was fast. I wasn’t expecting you to come up with a decision so soon. Looks like a good choice, doesn’t it?” I asked, baiting her.
    “Yes, it does.”
    I looked at her. I won’t lie, I was disappointed in her answer.
    “However, I don’t think you should do it.”
    That got my attention. “Oh yeah, and why is that?”
    “Well, although it seems great and all, I started looking at the Johnson brothers, the ones that bought the company a few years ago. They both struck it big at a casino and used their winnings to buy the company. The company itself is what’s making it seem like a great idea because the company is great. However, the new owners not so much. I would have had this back to you just after lunch, but I was waiting on a phone call. I just got it and it confirmed what I had suspected. They’ve been gambling, with big money. And even though I can’t prove that it’s company money, I just don’t think it’s a safe investment. Too risky.”
    I was stunned into silence. She managed to find this all out in less than a day. It was impressive and I wanted to smile, but I was too shocked to do anything. I looked at her face and she seemed nervous as she waited for my response.
    “I could fucking kiss you right now.” It was a figure of speech. Even though I really could’ve kissed her right then, I still only said it as it was commonly repeated. I didn’t miss the wide eyes she gave me, though. “Well, you know what I mean.”
    “So my decision is all right?”
    “All right? It’s fucking perfect. I had already canceled this one out last week; I just wanted to see what you’d say. I’ve gotta tell you, Eden, you had me scared when you first came back in. But I’ll admit, I’m an extremely smart man for hiring you.”
    She finally laughed at that. “Yes, let’s go ahead and give you all of the credit for my work.”
    “What? You didn’t know that’s what would happen when you took the job?”
    “I should have, huh? Why would I possibly think that a man like you would give me any credit?” she teased. It was nice to have our banter back after the explosive morning we had.
    “That’s your mistake. See? I can give you credit.”
    She threw her pencil at me and shook her head in amusement.
    “Good job today, Clare.”
    “Thanks, Kauffmann.”
    “Go ahead and go home. I’m getting ready to leave anyway. It was a good first day. You know, once we got passed the morning.” I smiled, as did she. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    She smiled and went back to her office to get her things before she left. I waited until I knew she was gone before heading out. I didn’t want to be stuck with her in the parking garage. Even though we were able to get things out to each other didn’t mean I wasn’t still affected by her. The only thing keeping me safe at work was the fact there was a desk between us.
    When I got home, Gabi was in the kitchen making dinner. It was such a shock to see her that way that I ran to her and held her from behind. She smirked and batted my hands away as I tried to taste her cooking. I hadn’t seen her in the kitchen in so long and I couldn’t even express the joy I had felt