A/N Thank you, Hannah (grahamlecter) for being an outstanding Beta-Reader! I am grateful for your help.
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Chapter 42 - Back to Work
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Spencer whistled happily, strolling through the lobby on his way to the elevator. He didn't notice the group coming up behind him. By the time the doors opened, Matt, Luke, and Tara stepped in with him, asking about the rest of his time off. He kept his answers mostly monosyllabic.
On the 6th floor, he held open the glass doors to the bullpen, letting the others go in first, then went to his desk and hung his book bag on his chair. He expected his desk to be covered with piles of file folders, relieved to find only a relatively short stack.
Emily walked up beside him, smiling. "I'm liking this new pep in your step you've got going on, Reid. Ready to get back to work?"
"Yes." He smiled as he went to get coffee, as Emily and now Garcia followed, asking about his father's wedding. He answered, "Nice." And Garcia asked how plans for his own were proceeding. "Great," He said.
Tara was pouring a cup for herself. "I'm sensing a theme here, with the brief answers. Give us one word then, to describe your time off."
He grinned wryly and thought to himself, exhausted. Instead of saying that, he said simply, "Dithyrambic." Garcia's head snapped down, looking up the word on her cell phone. No one seemed to notice Jennifer still at her desk, occupied with her computer.
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After Spencer left for work that morning, Susan went to the center—as usual—for the weekly Staff Meeting. When Darby finished going over the important information with the others, she asked if anyone had anything to add.
Susan stood up. "I have an announcement. Retroactively effective back to the beginning of the month, Darby is the Director here at the center. I'll still be assisting with budgeting, funding, and fundraising, as well as continuing to teach classes. Her duties will remain the same, except now she'll have the title and pay that she's entitled to."
There were gasps around the table. She continued. "Also, Darby and I discussed promoting two employees from within, as part-time assistants, but now they will be Assistant Directors… also with a nice bump in pay. Any staff members who wish to apply for either of those two positions, please let Darby know, by a deadline she will choose. This neighborhood and the center have always been a part of my life, and always will. Don't worry; I'll still be around. It won't change that much. Now, this is long overdue. Darby, congratulations!" Susan started off with a round of applause.
There was clapping from the group, and several hands went up. She pointed at Darby and grinned. "Those of you with questions, the Director will answer them." A few minutes later, as the staff dispersed, Lizette waited eagerly to talk to her.
Darby hugged Susan. "Thank you. I'd be happy to remain your Assistant, but if you want to promote me, I won't refuse."
"You deserve it. After all, you do run the place. Very well, I might add. Oh, and the promotion comes with a sweet raise."
"I'm not complaining, but are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm working with Stan, adding your raise and the increase in benefits to the budget. It's fully funded, and Stan's got his staff working on the numbers for the Assistant Director positions. You and I discussed having one assistant for Admin and the other for Programs, so only the title will change… and the increase in pay. I hope you don't mind that I announced it."
"Thank you, and no, I don't mind." Darby nodded, smiling. "Let me know when you want to do interviews."
"You are the Boss Lady now, and you know my schedule. Set the date and time, send me a text, and I'll be here." Debbie, one of the volunteers, had a question needing Darby's attention.
Lizette pulled Susan aside, whispering low. "I thought you were gonna announce your engagement to Spencer?"
"I didn't want to step over Darby's promotion. I'll announce that at next week's staff meeting."
Lizette turned to Darby, giving her a hug after Debbie left. "Congratulations! I'm interested in the Assistant Director position, working with the Programs, so I'm gonna send you an email."
Susan smiled, knowing she made the right decision. "I'll be back later for lunch. Right now, I have a meeting with Stan. When I leave his office, I'll call." She waved. "Bye Darby. Later Gator!"
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After Susan got home from lunch with Lizette, Marsha, and Darby, she checked her phone. No messages from Spencer. She wasn't concerned about it and didn't want to pester him by calling him at work, so she sent a text:
Thinking of your sweet kisses.
Love you, miss you.
Less than a minute went by, and she smiled when his Doctor Who ringtone played on her phone. She answered it. "Hello, Love. Do you miss me as much as I miss you?"
He sighed as he set down the case file, adding it to the closed pile, and leaned back in his chair. "More. Much more. I was sitting here thinking of you, and I got your text. What was that ringtone?"
"Oh, the 'boing, boing' and high-pitched giggling? That was the closest I could find to the sound of boinking bunnies." She could hear his muffled laughter.
"I had to turn the ringtone volume down. How was your meeting?"
"Two meetings… both went well. No case today?"
"No… I'm working on case files, trying to clear some of these off my desk, so I can be home by 6." He saw Emily waving by her door to get his attention. "Sweetheart, I have to go. See you in a while. Love you, bye." He slid his new smartphone into his pocket on his way to her office. "Door open or closed?"
Emily gestured to the chair facing her desk as she sat in hers. "Closed, please."
He shut the door and sat down. "What's up?"
"Do you want to tell me what's going on between you and JJ? I've noticed a lot of tension between the two of you today." He told her what Jennifer said to him in his apartment a few weeks earlier.
"You two need to talk. I'm sure she meant it with the best of intentions. Could it be you're reading more into it?"
Then he told her about the truth or dare confession before Rossi's wedding, and she seemed genuinely surprised. Naturally, he assumed Jennifer had already told her. "The thing is, we talked about that and moved on, or so I thought. I'm happy. I love Susan, and she loves me. And we're getting married next month."
"Talk to JJ, please? You two still need to work together. That's a direct order, Spencer." She gave him her best serious look.
"Will do." He gave her a slight smile as he held his thumb up and headed back to his desk. Jennifer wasn't anywhere in the bullpen, so he sat down and picked up another file to work on.
After another hour of adding case file information into the database, the phone on his desk rang. He checked his watch as he reached over to pick up the handset. It was 5 pm. Emily was on the other end, asking him to go to the conference room.
As he went in, she walked out, silently closing the door behind her. Jennifer sat at the table, her arms folded across her chest. "Emily said we need to talk. I wanted to say—"
He cut her off, more bluntly than he meant to. "—Jennifer, I'm sorry. Not for what I said, but how I said it. Susan and I are getting married next month, and I shouldn't have to justify that to you… or anyone. If you and I are going to work together, you need to accept I know what I'm doing." She sat, silent and wide-eyed. After a full minute, when she still hadn't said anything, Spencer shrugged and went out.
When he got to Emily's office, he knocked on the open door and poked his head in. "I talked to her… and I'm going home." She was on the phone but nodded; his brash attitude surprised her.
Picking up his things, he headed for the elevator. As he got into his car, he sent a text message to Susan.
On my way home.
Love you. Miss you.
Want you. Need you.
He thought about Susan the entire way home, grumbling out loud when he missed the Expressway exit. That added another ten minutes to his drive. By the time he walked in the front door, all he wanted was to hold her, kiss her, and feel her against him.
Whatever was cooking smelled delicious, but she wasn't in the kitchen. He went upstairs and as he walked into the bedroom, saw her on the bed, laying on her stomach, propped up on a pillow. She was facing him… wearing only a smile. Dinner would wait, he couldn't…
He held her, with his eyes closed, and a satisfied grin on his face; his clothes lay in a heap on the floor by the bed. One hand under the back of his head, the other he had around her, holding her, stroking her shoulders lightly with the tips of his fingers. "That was… nice."
"Nice? Lover, that was... intense... as if you were on fire and I was a pool of water."
He opened his eyes, still grinning. "You were… um… noisier than usual. My toes are still clenched, and I can still feel you... shaking." Spencer turned onto his side, slid his arm around her, and kissed her. "Susan… I was on fire. You put out the flames and soothed my soul."
"Wow, that was beautiful, you smooth talker, you." She kissed him softly. "Mmm. Hungry? Dinner should be ready by now."
"Yes... but that can wait… another minute or two…"
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THANK YOU to all those readers leaving comments, reviews, and constructive critiques. I enjoy reading them. (LolaD, you crack me up!)
G-Girl