50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Ninety-Nine

    The work day was unreal. Destiny had expected to be worked to the bone, because of how long she'd been out of the office. She'd expected seeing Brian again to be awkward. It had been, a little, but not nearly as bad as she'd anticipated. Employees she didn't even know by name stopped by her office to wish her a happy birthday. It seemed that the collection of food on the table outside of her office only increased in size instead of growing smaller.

    When her computer desktop tray clock struck six o' clock, Aubrey sent her a private message asking her if she was ready to clock out for the day. She scratched the back of her head, surveying the stacked file folders on her desk. I want to stay and work more, but...whenever I go out to the copier, I can't help but remember what happened the night Jeremiah attacked me.

Destiny Richards: I'm ready, yeah.

Aubrey Graham: I'll be down to get you.

    She clocked out and closed out of all of her computer applications. A knock sounded on her door as she was grabbing her purse from her bottom drawer. "Come in," she called out, withdrawing her cell phone from her purse. She looked up expectantly, with a bright smile on her face.

    Brian, and not Aubrey, stood in the doorway. "I just wanted stop by before I left the office, to wish you a happy birthday."

    "Again?" she asked teasingly, standing from her chair and sliding her purse strap over her shoulder.

    He flashed a crooked smile. "Yeah, again."

    "Thank you, again, for everything you did for me today. I really do appreciate it."

    "Of course." He glanced over his shoulder. "The rest of the team cleared off the table, but we packed up some of the dessert for you to take home. Some of it was put in our cafeteria fridge for tomorrow."

    She nodded. "Sounds good."

    "I hope you enjoy the rest of your night, Destiny," he said, reaching out to grab the door.

    "You can leave the door open. I'm leaving the for night. And thank you. Again."

    "Any time." He turned and disappeared.

    She continued staring out of her office door for several more beats before lowering her eyes and checking her phone. While she never really logged into social media these days, there were several text messages wishing her a happy birthday. The message sent from her parents is the message that touched her the most. Wistfully, she closed her eyes, held her cell phone to her chest and sighed.

    "You shouldn't hold your phone to your chest like that. It's a health risk."

    She opened her eyes and lowered her phone immediately.

    Aubrey swaggered into her office. "There's still food out there, on the table."

    "They packed it up for me."

    He nodded. "I'll grab it. Are you ready?"

    "Yeah. Yes. I am." She glanced down at her computer, to make sure she'd shut it down. Then she walked around her desk and went to stand next to Aubrey.

    Ever so slightly, he bumped his hand with hers.

    She leaned into him.

    "Let's go home," he said softly.

~~~~~~

    Home. It was where the heart was, and also incidentally, where Aubrey instructed her to sit down on the living room couch as soon as they entered. He checked the locks on the doors; the locks, as requested, had been changed. A new set of keys awaited him on the kitchen counter. He set down the bag of Destiny's birthday celebration desserts on the counter beside the keys.