Terms and Conditions (ONC 2023)

09

Harley's POV

 I've been trying to avoid making eye contact with Jonah since the elevator, but I can feel his gaze on my back as I scan the door numbers in search of room 411. My heart is still racing from our kiss, and my mind is reeling from the two warring thoughts in my head. I'm beyond attracted to Jonah. But he's my boss. There are too many things that can go wrong there.

"417, 415, 413..." I trail off as I find our room and wait for Jonah to catch up, since he has the keycard.

I half expect him to say something about me avoiding him, but he doesn't. He scans the card on the reader and pushes the door open, holding it out for me.

I duck past him and set my purse on a stand leaning against the wall. The room isn't very big, but it's still bigger than most. There's a little living section with a microwave, coffeemaker, and a small black couch. At least neither of us has to worry about sleeping on the floor.

"Not what I had been expecting, but I suppose there isn't much they can do if there are limited rooms available." Jonah gently pushes past me and sets his bag down on the couch. "Like I said earlier, you can have the bed. I'll take the couch."

I open my mouth to argue with him, but I feel like the effort will be futile. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure I would mind if he wanted to share the bed. And I know that if I offered to take the couch and let him sleep in the bed, my back would be killing me. And maybe that's selfish of me, but I know I'm not the only person who's ever thought that way.

Jonah looks down at his watch. "It's about 8 a.m. now. That means it's about 10 p.m. in Seattle. But our first meeting here is at two, so the options are to go to the pool, the fitness center, or go get some breakfast. Or, you could stay here and take a nap."

"Is the breakfast option a date invitation or just you being nice?" I ask. It's an automatic response, so I didn't think to much into it, but the second it comes out, I find myself hoping he'll say it's a date invitation.

He shrugs, but I can sense a little smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's whatever you want it to be, fleur."

Arrogant little... he finds this so amusing...

I take in his offer for a second. While a nap would be more beneficial - especially with the amount of yawns I have had to hold back in the past couple of hours - I can't help but want to get breakfast with him more.

"Breakfast, it is," I say.

He quirks an eyebrow, and I turn on my heel, grabbing my purse from where I left it.

"Shall we?" I ask, looking back to see if he'll follow me. When he hesitates, I shrug and start to walk through the door.

"Wait, no. Harley." He takes a few large strides and grabs my arm, pulling me back a little too quickly. I flip and crash into his chest. His hand slips around my back to keep me from falling. "I lied. I don't really want to get breakfast. I'd much rather stay here with you."

"Sir, I'm not sure what you're insinuating but -"

His dark eyebrows pinch together as he looks down at me. I try to move away, but he doesn't move his hand. "You've never called me sir. What's with that all of a sudden?"

I shake my head and look away from him. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm being so weird. It's just that there are two very conflicting thoughts in my mind whenever I'm around you and I never know which one to listen to."

His hand slides up to cup my chin, inching his face ever so close to mine. "Maybe I could help clear up some of the confusion?"

My breath stops. "I think if anything, that would... would confuse me so much more."