a/n: Was anyone else surprised with Desina's ending to 'Escalating Thoughts'? I thought I knew what was coming and my jaw hit floor!
Say What?
"Counselor? Mr. Grogan, are you still there?" I blink twice and switch the receiver of the phone to my right hand.
"Call me when you come up with better terms." I hang up the phone, not feeling remotely sorry for having no recollection of the last few minutes of the call. I slowly move all of the dolls to the front of my desk, the post-its in front of me. My hands float in the air over them as I read the words again. And again and again. Is this why you love me? "Great Scott," I breathe. I am entirely surprised by this round of small, sticky pieces of paper. But, not unpleasantly so. I do, after all, like surprises.
"Mr. Benedict Yancy," Leo calls as he walks into my office. I immediately lay my arms over the desk, desperately trying to cover the post-its lined up across the blotter. He gives me an odd look but says nothing about the way I am scrunched over the desk. "Lauren has a new client for you and Kate to meet."
"Me…and Kate?" I squeak.
"Yes," he answers slowly. "You and Kate. Is that a problem?"
"Of course it's not."
"Okay. Well, here." He steps to the front of the desk and holds out a file folder. I lift my hand just an inch off the desk and wait for him to put the folder in my hand. He simply stares at me. "What's under your arms?"
"My desk," I answer. He tips his head to the side. "Just give me the damned folder."
"The client will be here in ten minutes." I breathe a sigh of relief as he leaves the office. That relief, however, does not last long. In ten minutes, I have to face Kate. I pull my arms from the desk and read the post-its again. And again and again. I don't know what to do with this question. Is she seriously asking me or is this just the next part of the game?
I quickly gather the post-its and shove them into my brief case. I spend my remaining six minutes trying to study the folder from Leo, but I am not a fool. I know not one word is sticking in my brain. No, that's a lie. There are six words that are stuck there, just not six that are printed within this file.
"New client," Kate sings as she wanders into my office. "Let's go, Benedict," she smiles. "Chop, chop." I watch her walk through the double doors across the room from my desk and my shoulders drop. This is going to be longest meet and greet of my life. I push my chair back from the desk and follow Kate to the conference room. After an exchange of pleasantries with our new client, Mr. Corey, we sit at the glass table and he begins to explain his business in the area and the services he requires from Reed and Reed.
And I am not listening.
At all.
Is that why you love me?
This all seems like it should have a straightforward solution, but it does not. Game or no game, there can be no denying that both parties are skilled flirts. Game or no game, there can be no denying that both parties enjoyed the kissing. Game or no game, there can be no denying that both parties have expressed interest. How deep does that interest run? Well, for my part, it is a bottomless pit.
Is that why you love me?
What if I say yes? What if she doesn't realize that I am telling her the truth? What if she does? What if my answer scares her?
What if it doesn't?
What if I had all day to ask 'what if'?
I would be leaving this place in a straightjacket.
I shift my eyes from Mr. Corey to Kate and notice that she, like me, isn't exactly focused on our new client. Is she thinking about last night or the flirtatious display of post-it notes? Obsessing over me, as I have been her? Or is she simply bored by Mr. Corey? I need to figure out the last nineteen hours from Kate's perspective. Insight into her past thinking, her future behavior, will allow me to understand the nature of the question, thus enabling an appropriate answer. Luckily, being a master of nuance also comes in handy outside of litigation.
I hide a chuckle, remembering that I once asked Leo to kill me if I ever truly came to understand what goes on inside Kate's head. I have always known that woman would be the death of me.
I do not think that I should be the one flummoxed here. I am better than this at the flirting game. I should put the dolls back together with a single post-it note in the very center that reads 'yes'. Kate should be the one perplexed and confused, thrown for a loop by my answer. She should be the one wondering if there is any truth to the reoccurring post-its.
I have a feeling that her question may indeed hold a bit of serious curiosity and answering in the affirmative might just muck things up. I don't like to muck things up. And admitting to anyone, especially Kate, that I have feelings for said woman would certainly muck things up.
Mr. Corey stands and reaches across the table, and I realize that our meeting is over. I shake his hand and as he leaves the room, Kate turns to me.
"Is it lunch time yet?" she asks. I pull the cuff of my dark grey dress shirt over my wrist and look at my watch.
"It can be," I shrug.
"Do you have plans for lunch?"
"No."
"Then let's go somewhere," she says cheerily. She stands and I follow her out of the conference room. "Any cravings, Benny?" Oh, Dear Katie, you have no idea the kinds of cravings I have right now. She turns to look at me, walking backwards towards our offices. She raises an eyebrow suggestively and I see that mischievous look in her eyes. Maybe she does know what I'm craving. Kate stops just outside the doors of my office and I close almost all of the space between us.
"What do you want, Katie?" I ask quietly, leaning over her just a bit. Her smile falters briefly but she quickly recovers. I tilt my head slightly, curious as to what she is up to as she backs into my office. Her finger beckons my pursuance and I oblige. She circles behind me, closing the door, and runs her fingers across my lower back as she comes to stand in front of me again.
"Do you know what I want, Benedict?" I shake my head, watching as those fingers move over my arm and across my side, taking hold of my tie. She pulls gently, bringing our mouths very close. "I want," she whispers…