Our Love

Grant/Quinn

I was floating on cloud nine after the night and morning with Quinn. I hated seeing how nervous she was to be open with everything at work. Mr. Asher couldn't care less about relationships and such in the workplace, so long as they didn't affect the actual work. I think he had a bit of a soft spot for her anyway, knowing her struggles and all the bumps when she first started. I hoped walking into the meeting hand in hand and seeing that he had no reaction would calm her unease. We apparently had other issues though because when we entered, Denise was seated across from an angry Mr. Asher.

"Mr. Asher." I nodded in greeting, giving Quinns' hand a squeeze. I could feel the nerves radiating off of her.

"Quinn, Grant... Come in, come in." He waved his hand. Denise glared daggers at us, making sure to linger her gaze on our intertwined hands. "I think you both know Ms. Hobson."

"Denise." I gritted as I led Quinn to the closest chair. "What's going on?"

"Mr. Stevens, from Scholts has sent Ms. Hobson over to make sure everything is going smoothly with the start of our deal. She'll be temporarily working here as we start, just making sure everything is covered." Quinn and I looked at each other, knowing there had to be more to this. The deal was signed, ready to go, and required no extra help. We had already begun to piece together the team for this particular job.

"Quinn and I have it covered, we've already put together the team, and I'll be meeting with them in the morning."

"That's great. Ms. Hobson will join in that meeting. Despite my qualms about this, it's part of the deal. Scholts wanted at least one of their team members to help with the project."

"I'll be no trouble at all. We can work together cordially." Denise put on the fakest smile I'd seen yet.

"Quinn, can you show Ms. Hobson to her temporary office? I believe there are a few available on your floor." He directed Quinn politely. I could tell she was nervous, but she obliged in a professional manner.

"Ms. Hobson, right this way."

"Oh, just call me Denise."

Once they had left the room, I had to take a calming breath before I laid into Mr. Asher. He was a savvy businessman; something was going on to have him jumping to whatever demands Scholts was making.

"What are they holding on you?" I sat straight across from him, leaning my arms on my knees, hands clasped in frustration.

"Nothing. Mr. Stevens phoned this morning and requested this. I saw no issue until Denise arrived and that's simply because of the issue between her and Wade. Wade isn't employed here, so I think we can manage a week or two of her presence, then she'll be gone."

I shook my head, sitting back with a sigh. This day was going to shit real quick. On top of doing my actual job, now I had to start digging to see what this woman and her employer were up to.

"I'm not so sure it's as innocent as that." I pushed my glasses back into place before pulling my phone out. I immediately shot a quick text to Wade, keeping him informed of everything going on.

"Whatever the issue was between her and Wade was resolved, she agreed to push the deal, and now here we are. I don't see what else she could do. Just keep an eye on her while you work." He shuffled around some papers, checking his own phone before looking up at me again. "You and Quinn?" His brow raised in a questioning manner.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, we're dating." She's also dating Wade.

"Ok. She seems like a lovely young woman. Be good to her. No issues here at work, and it's all good." He nodded dismissively. "Get back to work; the sooner we get this ready to go, the sooner we can rid ourselves of this tension."

"Denise Hobson will be working on the Scholts project with you? Here? In our office?" Carrie was beside herself when I explained what had gone down in Asher's office. "Wow. That skank is up to something. Does Wade know?"

"I agree. I'm not sure what or why, but there's something going on. I text Wade but haven't gotten a response yet. I know he's working on the farm today."

Quinn

"Looks like this one should work just nicely." I did my best to stay calm and collected though being this close to Denise had me wanting to both claw her eyes out and run to hide.

"Yes, I'm sure this will do temporarily. My normal office is about three times this size with a nice view." She snorted. Snotty bitch.

"I'll see if Grant is available now, we can talk everything over, I suppose."

"Before you go...girl, talk for a moment?" She waved her hand at the empty chair. I begrudgingly sat. "I noticed you holding Grant's hand in the office; something going on there?" Her heavily made-up face and over-filled lips were almost distracting. She was a beautiful woman, but remove all of the fillers and face paint, and I'd dare to say she would be stunning.

"Well, um...yes, we're dating. Though I'm not sure that's really your business."

"I just hope it doesn't have any effect on this project or your abilities to focus and work. That's all. I also wonder about Wade; he was quite infatuated with you." She clicked her tongue as she watched every movement I made. I swallowed thickly, unsure of how to broach this topic. None of this was her business, but I wanted to keep the feathers unruffled while we had to work with her.

"Wade and I are; we're dating as well. It's... complex." I stuttered out. Her eyes went wide before a huge smile crossed her face then she broke out into the most annoying laugh I'd ever heard.

"You're dating them both?! Is Wade gay?! I always thought he was too close to Grant. Are they fucking and then fucking you? Oh, this is rich."

"No! Nothing like that!" I stood quickly, cursing myself for having said a word.

"You must have a golden pussy to string them both along then. Kudos." I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with this conversation. This was exactly what I was worried about, people judging me when they had no idea about the situation.

"Does Mr. Asher know?" Her look was pure devious. I could only shake my head negatively to which she seemed to delight. "Oh, this just gets better and better. I need a moment to process; go find Grant, do your errand job." She waved her manicured hand at me. Losing all the confidence I had held when walking with Grant's hand in hand earlier was now long gone.