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“Then riddle me this… has he ever told you he’s glad you’re in his life?”

“Well… yeah. But I’m saving his company.” Anyone would’ve been glad to have our help, right?

“Bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit,” I muttered.

“It’s bullshit,” he said firmly. “Has he ever said anything like, I don’t know… about Fate and her looking down on him?”

That stopped me. I shook my head.

“He’s never mentioned fate?” Gods, Harold was being persistent. He wasn’t going to let this go.

“Well… he thanked the fates once. But that was just sex talk. That doesn’t count.”

“Uh-huh.” Harold raised an eyebrow. “And does he come close to you? Make silly excuses to lean over your desk while you’re typing? Like, I don’t know—‘need more paper clips’?”

I snorted. “They don’t use paper clips.”

“But binder clips, maybe?”

I didn’t answer. He didn’t need me to, my gasp gave it away. He was there for binder clips—every single day.

“This isn’t a fling. And it’s definitely not just coworkers with benefits. You need to talk to him.”

I wish I had his confidence.

“Does he know how you feel?” he asked.

“No.”

“And why is that?”

“Because… it’s complicated,” I said. “He hired us. What if he doesn’t feel the same?” And really, that was it. I was terrified that he didn’t feel the same. So terrified that I actively talked myself out of seeing the hints he’d been leaving me, if I were to believe Harold.

“Oh my gods.” Harold threw his hands up. “I want to wring your neck. How can you be so oblivious?”

“I—”

“No. Get up. Bring your coffee. Go spend whatever time you can with him before this is officially done. And maybe… I don’t know… tell him how you feel?” He flicked my forehead. It was well deserved.

I just stared at him.

“And listen,” he added. “If he turns you down, I’ll be there with chocolate and ice cream and cookies and pretzels.”

All my favorite things when I was down.

“All together?” Because they only reached their true potential when they were all stirred up in a bowl.

“Yes, even though that’s an abomination.” He patted my head like I was a small boy or possibly a puppy. “That’s how good of a friend I am.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was laugh or cry. “Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”

“No one was falling yet. But you were damn close.” He pointed toward the door. “Go.”

So I went. He was right, and dawdling wasn’t going to do me any good.

I spent the morning preparing for an important meeting, and when the time came, it went well. It was a combination of information sharing and tech teaching, so it could’ve easily gone either way. I spent a half-hour going over some of the new backend systems to the middle management team so they’d understand the reason for the procedural shifts. I focused on what was working, where we were headed, and how to streamline the final integrations, trying not to overwhelm them, while at the same time keeping them informed.