Forbidden Fruit (gxg)

Part 6

I was grateful that the next day was Friday, and my second week would be over at my new job.

As I was at my new desk at work, I could feel the exhaustion settling in, as I had woken up too late that morning and didn't have time to make coffee.

Grace came up to me with a coffee cup in hand.

"Hey," she smiled at me, "Happy Friday."

"TGIF," I nodded, "I am so jealous to see a coffee in your hand. I woke up late and had no time to make an espresso. I'll probably have to wait until lunch to get an iced latte or something. I haven't seen any Nespressos or Keurigs around here."

"The Accounting Department has a Keurig in their break room, but even better, Kori has a mini Keurig and Nespresso in her office. It's tucked away into a corner so it's kind of easy to miss. That's how I got my coffee this morning."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to bother Kori just for coffee," I said back to Grace.

"She won't care! I promise. I make coffee in her office multiple times a week, she's used to it. She has a mini fridge too with creamers. I think she secretly doesn't mind us coming into her office for it. I mentioned to her once that I use almond milk creamer, and next time it was in her fridge."

"That's very thoughtful," I nodded, "Okay. I'll go to her office."

Even though I felt apprehensive, I got up and walked down the hall to Kori's office, and when I reached it, the door was closed.

I held my breath and knocked.

A second later, Kori's voice came through, "Come in."

I opened the door, took a step into her office, and closed the door.

She looked up from her laptop and her eyes slightly widened when she saw me.

"Ashley, good morning," she said, "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm sorry to bother. Grace told me you had a Nespresso and Keurig in here. May I make myself coffee?"

"Go ahead," Kori nodded, and I couldn't tell if she was annoyed or not.

"Sorry," I said, not moving, "I overslept and had no time to make myself a shot of espresso."

Kori looked at me blankly, "You don't have to apologize."

"Thank you," I mumbled, and I walked over to the small table with a Nespresso and Keurig. I decided to make myself two shots of espresso, and I wanted to add a splash of creamer in there as well.

As I was making my second shot of espresso, Kori said to me, "If you ever oversleep and are running late, just text me. I'm not going to be mad at you for being a bit late for work."

I turned to look at her, "Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I actually don't believe I have your phone number."

"Finish making your coffee, and I'll put it in your phone. I prefer that everyone that reports to me has my phone number."

I nodded, "Makes sense. Do you have any creamer?"

Kori nodded, "In the mini fridge by my desk. Any preference on what kind or flavor?"

"Do you have oat milk creamer?" I asked Kori.

"I do. It's vanilla, is that okay?"

"Of course," I nodded.

I watched as Kori grabbed the bottle of creamer, got up and walked to hand it to me. As she did, her hand lightly brushed against me, and I was very conscious of even the slightest touch from her.