Secret Attractions at the Office: A Dirty Office Romance (Working Desires Book 2)

by Hazel Keys

  “That is true enough,” Tristan replied slowly, his hand reaching over to pick up one of the menus, his eyes slowly sweeping over it. He wasn’t really looking at the menu since he tended to order the same thing every time he went there, but it was still nice to see the surprisingly wide variety of bar foods that O’Cleary’s had to offer. He set the menu down after a while, his attention returning to Bradley. “I have something I want to talk to you about. It is a really sensitive subject, so I would appreciate it if you just keep it between us.”

  Bradley raised his eyebrow in obvious curiosity in response to Tristan’s words, his hand moving slowly to slide through his well-combed blonde hair. There was a glimmer in his blue eyes that Tristan couldn’t quite recognize, but judging from his friend’s silence he was waiting for Tristan to continue. His throat suddenly became dry, and Tristan found himself needing to take a moment to take a sip out of his own glass of water before he could begin to speak.

  “I know that we have only been going out for half of a year now, but I am feeling like things are going really well between Bella and I. It might be soon of me to be thinking about this, but I honestly want to ask Bella for her hand in marriage. I think it would make both of us happy, and the prospect of being able to have her as my own for the rest of my life fills my heart with joy each time I think about it,” he admitted sheepishly, his eyes gazing down at the table as he confessed to his friend.

  “That seems sensible,” Bradley replied, his nonchalance taking Tristan by surprise. “If you guys love each other as much as you seem to, then why not consider taking it further? What do you honestly have to lose?”

  “What if it is too early? What if she isn’t ready? I don’t know if I would be able to deal with her rejecting me if I were to work up the courage to propose to her. Every time I even think about asking her I get these terrible butterflies in my stomach,” Tristan said, putting his face in his hands as he shook his head. “I’m not used to feeling this way about someone. I admit it is just a little bit frightening.”

  “We are always afraid of that which we don’t know. Uncertainty has always been our biggest enemy, my dad used to say. He said that there have been countless people who never lived up to their full potential because they were worried that things wouldn’t work out. His advice to me was that if I ever felt uncertain about something that I wanted to do, I should just do it anyway. Better to do it and face the possibility of failure rather than doing nothing and guaranteeing it,” Bradley said sagely, his attention turning over to Marty, who had just approached their table.

  “Can I get anything for you fellas tonight?” Marty seemed to be in his usual cheerful mood, and somehow seeing him at ease helped Tristan feel better, if only slightly.

  “As a matter of fact, you can, Marty,” Bradley said with a smile, pointing towards Tristan across the table. “Why not get me and my buddy here two drinks?”

  “Alright. What are ya having?” Marty asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

  “We’ll each have ascotch on the rocks,” Bradley said casually before pointing to the menu. “I’d also like to try this O’Clearyspecial that you have going on. It sounds intriguing.”

  “I’ll spring for one of the specials as well, Marty,” Tristan added, his hand moving down to his pants pocket so that he could tug out his wallet. “I haven’t had dinner yet, and I would rather not be drinking on an empty stomach. Even if it is the weekend, I don’t want to risk dealing with a killer hangover tomorrow or making a fool of myself tonight. I have a reputation to uphold, after all.”

  “Aye, that ye do. I’ll go ahead and get that started for ye.” Marty strode away quickly after that, leaving the two men sitting alone at the table once more. Bradley was reclining slightly against the booth, his cellphone sitting directly on the table in front of himself, though his attention for the moment didn’t seem to be on it. He looked lost in thought, and Tristan felt like it would be rude to interrupt his friend’s thoughts before he was ready, so he allowed himself to stay quiet for a moment. Instead, he allowed his eyes to glimpse over at one of the many television screens that hung around the bar, catching sight of one of the first football games of the season being played.

  “I had a lot of trouble just getting Rachel to agree to move in with me, so I admit, I am a little worried about your chances,” Bradley said after a while, causing Tristan to slowly direct his gaze back towards his friend.

  “I know what you mean. Though, to be fair, Bella and Rachel are pretty much nothing alike,” Tristan said with a laugh, his dreadlocks swaying in front of his face as he slowly shook his head. “I don’t think that Bella will refuse me if I ask her.”

  “Let us hope that you are right about that,” Bradley replied gently, a reassuring smile spreading across his face then. “I think the two of you are going to be really happy together.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Tristan replied, not feeling nearly as confident as he had hoped to sound.

  ***

  When Tristan returned home later that night, slightly tipsy from the few drinks that he had enjoyed with Bradley at the bar, he was more than a little surprised to find Bella waiting for him inside. She had used the copy of the key he had made for her to let herself in, which Tristan didn’t mind in the least. He gave her a loving kiss upon first seeing her, their lips pressing against one another’s insistently as they held one another close. It was gratifying to Tristan to know that his girlfriend had missed him just as much as he had missed her, and as he gazed deep into her eyes he could feel his resolve slowly beginning to build.

  “I’m glad you are here, Bella. There is something really important that I want to ask you.” He murmured gently in her ear, his large hands slowly stroking down along her back in such a way that he could feel her shiver beneath his touch.

  “What is it?” she asked curiously, her lips pulling away from his only enough so that she could gaze up at her boyfriend’s face.

  He swallowed nervously, leading her over to the couch and sinking down onto it next to her. He held her hand gently in his, the thumb of his right hand tracing a small circle on the back of her left hand. She was gazing at him so expectantly, the gentle smile on her face helping to soothe some of his anxiety. He held up a finger in a waiting motion, then quickly ran to his room to pull a small black velvet box from the top drawer of his dresser. He took a deep breath as he glanced down at the little box before making his way back towards the living room, where he found Bella waiting somewhat anxiously on the couch.

  He sat back down next to her, the box having been slid into his pocket on the way back so that she wouldn’t be able to see it just yet. He had a few questions for her before they went any further.

  “Have you been enjoying these last six months of us being together?” he asked softly, his hand moving to take hers once more.

  “Of course I have, Tristan. These last six months have been some of the happiest I’ve ever experienced,” she replied enthusiastically, those big brown eyes of hers filled with tenderness as she gazed back into his own eyes.

  “What would you say to the possibility of us moving forward in our relationship?” This was the bigger question that he had been worried about, and how she responded to his inquiry would dictate how things went from that point onward.

  “I wouldn’t mind that. What exactly did you have in mind? Did you want us to move in together like Rachel and Bradley are doing?” A few strands of Bella’s long, black hair had fallen in front of her face when she had gazed up at him, giving her a rather seductive look. Tristan reached forward to gently brush the hair back away from her face, his palm resting against her cheek lightly as he finally replied.

  “Something like that. What I have in mind definitely involves us living together,” he said cheekily, his usual sense of humor finally starting to come out.

  “Tristan Melbourne, stop acting all cryptic and tell me what is on your mind,” she said in what was supposed to be a stern tone, but she bega
n to smile halfway through it, which gave away the fact that she was enjoying their playful little banter.

  “Alright, here goes nothing, I guess,” Tristan said gently, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts before beginning. “I’ve just been thinking that you and I go really well together. I don’t think I have ever felt the kind of comfort and connection that I have felt with you, and it has got me to thinking. I know it might be kind of soon, but I genuinely think that you are the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

  Bella looked somewhat dumbstruck by his words, but he could see happy little tears slowly beginning to build up in the corners of her eyes as she looked up at him. She swallowed but said nothing, which Tristan took as his cue to continue.

  “If you aren’t ready for it, then I will understand, but I figured that there was no harm in asking,” he said quietly, his hand moving to pluck the small black box out of his pocket. He moved to sink down onto one knee before her, slowly pulling back the lid of the box to reveal a stunningly beautiful golden wedding ring that had a very sizeable diamond set into the top of it. “I love you, Bella Chan, and I was hoping that you would do me the very big honor of becoming my wife.”

  “Oh, Tristan,” she breathed quietly, her tears now beginning to run down her cheeks. “You don’t even have to ask. Of course I want to marry you. Nothing in this whole wide world would make me happier than the thought of being yours for the rest of my life,” she added, watching as Tristan slowly slipped the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand. She wiped her eyes with one hand, lifting her hand slowly upward so that the light could catch on it.

  “I was hoping you would say that,” Tristan replied happily, pulling her close to him so that they might share a passionate kiss. This kiss seemed so much more meaningful than any that they had enjoyed before, something about the fact that they had finally managed to reveal just how deeply their affection ran for one another that there was no way to restrain it anymore.

  The next couple of months involved a lot of busy work for Tristan. Between having to help Bella prepare for their wedding and juggling his usual job responsibilities, Tristan was finding himself quite tired on most days. She had often raised concerns about the costs of putting together such a ceremony, but Tristan assured her that he had made certain to take care of such things and that she would have nothing to worry about. He didn’t want to reveal to her yet that Bradley had agreed to help cover half of the costs of the wedding as a favor to his friend, figuring that he would tell her that closer to the day of the wedding because he didn’t want her to feel guilty about getting Bradley’s help.

  They had decided that they didn’t want to wait super long in order to get married, so the two had decided that they wished to be married that very year. They chose to do it the week before Christmas, which would allow them to be able to spend their first Christmas together as a married couple while enjoying their honeymoon at the same time. The closer that it got to his wedding day, the more nervous Tristan felt. At the very least, he had no doubts about what it was he was doing. He was more than ready for what was to come, and he wouldn’t have traded his situation for anything.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bella

  It had been a nerve-wracking couple of months, the strain of planning a wedding obviously having rubbed off a little bit on her. She was so grateful to Isabella and Rachel, both of whom had been a tremendous help in allowing Bella to get all of the planning done on time. Her parents had even flown in from China on short notice just to be present, and she had spent the last few days spending a lot of time with them. It had tested her patience greatly to have to spend so much time away from Tristan for the last couple of days, but she had contented herself with the thought that after their wedding day they would be able to spend as much time together as they wanted. She shivered lightly in anticipation of what their honeymoon would bring.

  As she walked down the aisle towards where Tristan was waiting, her father walking by her side, she was grateful for the veil that currently covered her face. It was slightly nerve-wracking to have so many eyes on her, even if they did belong to friends and family. There was a gentle smile on Tristan’s face that set her heart to fluttering rapidly in her chest, her husband-to-be obviously approving of her current outfit. The music that was playing as she walked was not the traditional bridal procession song, the couple having decided to use the song "Always and Forever" by Luther Vandross. It was a song that Tristan’s grandfather had been quite fond of, and it had been one of the special requests that he had made of Bella while they were planning the wedding. One she had been only too happy to agree to.

  She could see tears flowing down some of the faces of the older African American women that comprised Tristan’s elderly relatives, feeling silently grateful that she could share this moment with the people whose family she would soon be joining. The song must have had great meaning to them, so it made sense to her now why Tristan had requested they use it. As she approached the raised dais, Tristan reached out his hand towards her in welcome. He looked so handsome in the stylish black and white tuxedo that he had bought specially for today. His dreadlocks had been taken out, and his long black hair flowed gracefully down his shoulders, brushed back from his face.

  The wedding ceremony seemed to drag on for Bella, her impulse to tap her foot in mild impatience growing despite how wonderfully the wedding was going. Ryan had agreed to marry them, and as he stood before them in a golden tuxedo that seemed to glitter with its own dull light she couldn’t help but feel slightly upstaged. It didn’t bother her too much, her attention currently transfixed on the man that a year ago she wouldn’t have dreamed she would be standing before like this. It was overwhelming, but in such a way that her happiness and excitement far outweighed whatever negative thoughts she might have been harboring.

  After what felt like an eternity, they finally got to the part where they got to exchange their vows. It felt somewhat gratifying to know that they had coordinated it in such a way that he would be speaking in Chinese, while she would be replying in English. This was to ensure that they catered to both sides of the family, not wanting to show favoritism. There was also something poetic about it, a showing of the two cultures seamlessly blending together. That was the idea behind it, anyway.

  After they said “I Do” with all their loved ones cheering as Tristan lifted her veil and kissed her for the first time as her husband, Bella felt like she was experiencing a dream. When they got to the wedding reception area, a large cheer erupted once again from all of their assembled guests. Food and alcohol was served, and everyone seemed to allow themselves to at least respectively partake of the beverages. Sometime during the night, Ryan pulled her and Tristan aside, the three of them stepping out of the room so that they could talk without having to try and compete with the music.

  “First of all, I want to congratulate the two of you on tying the knot. I hope that you all get to thoroughly enjoy your marriage. As a way of helping that along, I have a gift for the two of you,” he said, reaching into the inside pocket of his suit and pulling out a small white envelope from it, which he handed to Bella. “This is a check for $250,000. Consider it my little way of helping you all get started in appreciation of the services you have rendered to the company. It is also an incentive for you to accept the promotion that I have in mind for the two of you, which would have the two of you working in your own little office as the new heads of the IT department for the sister company that I am thinking of starting.”

  Bella looked at him in great surprise, looking towards Tristan only to find a similar look of astonishment on his face. It was not something that you rushed into, and there was no way that he expected an answer from the two of them right away. He seemed to be of the same opinion, clapping them both on the arm gently.

  “I have to leave now, but I know you will need time to think about it. Enjoy a honeymoon for as long as you would like, and when you return we can talk more about all of this
,” Ryan said, flashing them both a grin and a salute before he left.

  When the party finally died down, Tristan and Bella drove to the hotel that they had rented a room for the night in, planning on catching a flight to begin their honeymoon the next evening. They had refrained from drinking in the interest of being able to enjoy their alone time at the hotel, and Bella was immediately grateful for that when they were finally alone. Tristan had wasted no time in throwing her onto the bed, gently stripping her out of her gown and subjecting her to one of the most passionate bouts of sex that she had ever enjoyed.

  Once they were laying spent together on the bed, Bella’s head resting on his chest, she heard him speak gently.

  “Are you truly happy right now, Bella?” he asked quietly, kissing her forehead.

  “I am happier than I have ever been,” she whispered back gently, exhaustion quickly overtaking her as she kissed his chest. “I’m so glad that you asked me to marry you.”

  He smiled at that, and after drawing the blankets over their two bodies, they fell asleep.

  ***THE END***

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