Work Wife

Logan grabs my hand as soon as he closes the door and pulls me into his shop. Had I known I was going to meet some of his employees, I would have tried to look more polished. I dressed for comfort thinking I was going to mope at my own office today and I regret not curling my hair. 

He pulls me past the display bikes and we head right toward the tall man I saw slicing the cork off the bottle earlier. He spots us coming and turns toward us as Logan says, "Peter, this is my girlfriend Stella. She dropped in from Denver and I wanted her to meet the team." Logan drops my hand so I can shake Peter's. 

"Ah, Stella. We've heard a lot about you," Peter says and then drops my hand. 

"Have you?" I ask in shock but Peter suddenly lets out a polite chuckle and replies, "No, it's damn near impossible to get Logan to spill about his dating life. I am happy to see he actually has one." 

"Ha ha," Logan jokes before he spins around to grab the other male sales associate coming from a side door onto the floor. I haven't spotted Hunter yet. 

"Wren, this is my girlfriend, Stella," he says and Wren is still far enough away for me to shake hands with so we both wave to each other. He's scrawny and has a slight hunch to his shoulders and when he waves, I notice he has dirty fingers. "Wren is our bike technician. It's actually surprising to see him on the sales floor, he's usually in the back dismantling bikes." 

"Jaxon said there was booze before he left, so I came out of my cave," Wren chimes in and then grabs a glass jar full of champagne. "Back to work I go, nice to meet you, Stella."

"You too," I say and then look back at Logan, "How many employees do you have now." 

"Total?" Logan asks and then he looks around his space as he counts in his head. He looks back at me and says. "Twelve." I am impressed. I am so amazed at what Logan has pulled off in a year. "But usually only five-ish in the office at one time."

"Where's Hunter? She'll want to meet the girlfriend," Peter probes and I catch something in his tone. Like he's eager to witness the meet and greet. It doesn't help my suspicion from earlier. 

"She's in the breakroom," Wren calls out as he slips out the side door. Logan tilts his head to the right and Peter leads us across the sales floor. It's probably good no customers are in here at the moment because the whole team is now in the back. 

Peter waltzes into a wide, doorless room that has small circular tables scattered about with a counter and refrigerator taking up the back wall. The wall of windows makes the space bright and we find Hunter eating noodles out of a glass container watching something on her phone.

"Party in the breakroom?" She asks with a nervous laugh as she watches us crowd into her space. 

"I'm making my girlfriend officially meet my team," Logan explains and it is so awkward being forced to say hi. 

"Girlfriend?" Hunter says with a laugh. "Oh?" Her brown eyes flit over to me but she doesn't rise from her chair. Logan looks elated to have me here and I wonder if that is how Chase felt when he came and introduced Ainslee around the office. Is Logan looking at me the same way I hated how Chase looked at Ainslee?

"Stella, this is Hunter. My saleswoman extraordinaire," Logan introduces and Hunter slides upright in her seat. 

"Also office manager, kitchen manager, and development strategist" Hunter adds with an air of authority. 

"You basically run this place then?" I joke and she flips her hair behind her as she darts a glance to Logan. Now that I am paying more attention to her, she does look young. She has a confidence that hasn't been squashed by the injustices of life yet.