Caught by the Boss

34

HENRY/HECTOR

Before Leila, I didn't know what I was missing. Success filled me with temporary satisfaction. Every business deal made me feel like I was living life. But I wasn't. The late nights at the office were lonely. I was sharing my life with only the zeroes in my bank account. They didn't make me laugh. Didn't make my blood pump with lust. Didn't make me feel alive.

Only Leila gives me these things. Meeting her in The Machine was the best spontaneous decision I ever made. Leila is easy to love. She's like a magnet, and that's why I couldn't settle with another woman like Grace. That's why the dates with Grace felt so unnatural. She couldn't fake the innocent, quirky, confident light that shines on Leila.

I fall deeper for her every day as we work together at the office. The employees have discovered that we're dating and have been treating her differently, but she won't have it. She insists on not getting special treatment. She's so humble and down to Earth. All she wants is to make friends at the office, learn about business, and play with me in The Machine. It's our special place because that's where we fell in love. Every day after work, we put on our helmets and lay in bed together as we explore a new virtual world. But my favorite part is taking the helmet off and looking at her beautiful face. There is no better world than the one I live in. The real one, where I can touch Leila's skin.

Snow gently falls outside. The winter has been hard, but we always warm ourselves at home. Leila has filled every room with Christmas decorations. Dramatic decorations I've never cared for–tinsel, a Christmas three in every damn room, and cookies and milk for Santa. I suspect she keeps setting them down because she knows I sneak the cookies off the plates.

The most eventful part of the fall was meeting her family. Leila didn't drop any hints of my identity, so plenty of eyebrows were raised when I showed up, hovering over my petite girlfriend and wearing a pressed suit. Leila seemed the most nervous of them all. She must have kept many secrets from them, including how we met and the drama I dragged her through. That's why her family treated me warmly. They had no idea the pain I caused Leila.

Her thoughtfulness and strength made me love her even more.

"Hey, can you put this star on top of the tree?"

I clear my thoughts and turn to face her. She's wearing adorable fuzzy socks and my long-sleeve shirt that swallows her. She stands beside the eight-foot tree because I forbade her from using stairs after she nearly fell.

"I thought I told you that you can't set a Christmas tree in the kitchen? It's a fire hazard!"

"Please, this will be the last one!"

I groan. Bankruptcy by Christmas decorations will be a sad way for me to go.

I rise from the couch and enter the kitchen, setting the sparkling star atop the tree.

"Benefits of having a tall boyfriend," she says with a clap to her hands.

"I'm tall in height but short in temper. If you put another Christmas tree up, I'll..."

She giggles, because she knows I'm full of shit. She could turn the house into a forest if it pleased her and there's not a damned thing I could do about it.

"No more trees!"

She laughs. "Sucker."

I check my watch. It's almost ten o'clock. In a few minutes, we'll see who the sucker is.

I lean against the counter as she adds a few more ornament balls to the tree. She hums as she fluffs the leaves.

Then, right on time, we're submerged in darkness when the light goes off. Everything stops working: the fridge, our cellphones, the bright LED lights wrapped around the tree.

She gasps. "What the hell?"

"I'm right here," I murmur and reach into the darkness to grasp her arm.

"The lights went out. And my phone–it's dead."

"I know," I reply. "I asked Cassius to hack me and turn off everything electronic in the house."

"What! Why?"

I lower myself to one knee and grab her hips. "Because knowing you, you would throw yourself into the nearest distraction. There are no helmets here to save you."

"Wait a minute..." she whispers. "I have to finish decorating the tree, and—"

"Leila, you would make me the happiest man in every virtual world and in this one if you married me."

She squirms in my hold. "Are you sure? What if we change? What if I become a gold digger in the future?"

I chuckle. "You sneak chips under your shirt into the movie theater because you refuse to spend ten dollars. Trust me, baby. You're not becoming a gold-digger any time soon. Marry me, Leila. Or I'll have to make Cassius hack the entire fucking city to turn off the lights."

She exhales shakily. "Okay... your coercion has worked. I'll marry you."

The lights come back on. I dig into my pocket and pull out a diamond engagement ring. Leila's eyes go wide when she sees the size. I picked a fat and sparkly ring so no bastard missed it. I want them to know she's mine.

"It's too big," she says as I slide the ring into her finger. "I can't—I can't wear this. It's so flashy and..."

I sigh. "I'll let you put another fucking tree up if you just wear it."

"Deal!"

I rise and pull her into my arms, crushing her and smelling her sweet vanilla scent.

"I'm glad you asked at home," she murmurs. "I feared you would want a flashy scene."

"Crossed my mind to toss you over my shoulder like a barbarian in the office, but I know you would have beat me with one of your trees."

She laughs. "That's right."

I stroke her cheek with my thumb. "Logging into The Machine and meeting you was the best thing that happened to my life."

She lowers her gaze, shy under the scrutiny of my love.

I kiss her forehead. "Go dress warmly. I want to go to Cassius' place to pop champagne and celebrate."

"Is he expecting us?"

I chuckle. "No. If he knew I was on my way to see him, he would hack my car and drive me off a cliff."

She rolls her eyes. "You're so dramatic."

I follow her into the room where she retrieves pants and her coat and sets them on the edge of the bed. She dresses quickly, and we head for the door.

"This ring is so heavy," she whines. "Why couldn't you settle with something simpler?"

"You knew from day one when you met me in The Machine that I am far from simple."

"Did I ever tell you that your in-game avatar is much hotter than you?" She asks.

I slap her ass, and she jolts. I embrace her and slap her ass again. "Be a good fiancé, will you?"

She grins. "You knew from day one when you met me in The Machine that I am far from good."

Damn right. She's a pain, but that's why I love her.

END | NEXT STORY: CAUGHT BY THE HACKER (Cassius' story). Description:
I finally bought a Machine. I was excited when I wore the helmet and logged into the virtual world, but I quickly discovered something's wrong: I'm stuck. I'm locked inside this virtual world, unable to wake up. All thanks to my sexy, angry neighbor that just so happens to be a hacker.
This complete, 6-part story is available on www.patreon.com/ancientt