I have no idea if Margot felt it, too, but one thing is clear: it can’t happen again.
Joan is explaining restocking fees to me when I finally interrupt. “I’ll take care of it. Just send me the original order and the email chain with the supplier.”
We hang up, and I try to get back to work. I fail spectacularly. My eyes keep roaming towards Margot. Things have been a little tense between us all week. It’s clear that both of us are having mixed feelings about that kiss, and I don’t think we’ll fully recover until we talk about it.
Reaching for my phone again, I tap the button for Margot’s extension and watch as she picks up the receiver.
“Can you come in here for a minute?” I ask.
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
A few seconds later, Margot is walking into my office. She closes the door behind her out of habit then takes a seat across from me. Her green eyes hold mine across the desk, waiting for me to speak.
“Do you know what capri pants are?” I blurt out. Why? I have no idea. I’m already well past my capacity for talking about capri pants today.
Her eyebrows pull together. “They’re just shorter pants, aren’t they?”
“Maybe. I’m not really sure.” Surely, this is something I could just Google if I actually cared. “Apparently, there’s some problem in the women’s clothing division with them.”
“Okay,” Margot nods slowly. “Do you need me to take care of it?”
As tempting as it is to say yes, Margot’s far too busy and too valuable to waste her time dealing with this pants debacle. I’ll just call the supplier later and figure it out.
I shake my head. “No, that’s not actually why I asked you to come in here.”
Margot stares at me expectantly. My gaze drops to her lips, where a layer of gloss shimmers under the fluorescent lights. The urge to swipe my finger over her bottom lip wells up inside me.
Which absolutely cannot happen.
“I think we should talk about Friday night,” I tell her.
“Okay,” she says, stretching the word out.
“Specifically, about the kiss.”
Margot adjusts in her seat. “Sure,” she agrees softly, “of course.”
The words I recited in my head just a few minutes ago have mysteriously vanished from my brain. This situation is entirely foreign to me. I have a strict policy against dating women who I work with, but now I’ve gone and kissed my most valuableemployee. It was my mistake. I never should have suggested it. But Margot deserves better than the genericI’m not looking for anything seriousspeech I usually give to women.
Across the desk, Margot is waiting patiently but nervously. Each silent second that ticks by feels longer than the last.
“I just want to clear the air,” I finally say. “That kiss was meant as revenge on your ex, but I didn’t consider how it might affect our professional relationship.”
Margot shakes her head. Her words are laced with soft, nervous laughter. “Ethan, it’s fine, I promise. We can just forget it ever happened.”
“That’s not…” I start. “I don’t think we need to go that far. I mean, it was a pretty great kiss. I’m not sure I could forget it if I tried.”
A blush rises in Margot’s cheeks. “It was.”
We both stare at each other for a few long seconds. She rolls her lips together, suppressing her smile. It’s the same look she gives me when there’s an inside joke begging to be told, but she has to hold it in because there are other people around. Maybe one day that kiss will become another inside joke of ours, but probably not any day soon.
In the meantime, this is the best outcome I could hope for. Margot seems willing to put the kiss behind us and move on. She’s not holding a grudge, or worse, holding onto any false hope for something I can’t give her.
“But it probably shouldn’t happen again,” I add, my smile dimming.
“Right, of course not,” she agrees. “From now on, we’ll keep our lips to ourselves.”
The smiles we exchange across the desk are a little tighter than normal, but the silence starts to feel comfortable again. We’re on the same page about this, and that’s the best I could ask for in this situation.