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Waking up to the sound of your alarm is nobody's favorite thing, but knowing that Josh was still in bed beside me and we were back in New York, not New Orleans, and somehow everything was still the same, it all made me happier than anything.

I turned the alarm off before he woke up from it and stretched in bed before rolling over to face him, squinting my eyes open.

He was fast asleep, an arm loosely thrown over my waist and one leg over both of mine.

Not being able to bring myself to pull him out of his slumber yet, I took a minute to just look at him. One minute bled into another and another and I'd wasted ten minutes falling deeper in love with him this morning. Finally, I realized we had to get going. I brushed his hair out of his eyes before stroking his cheek. "Josh," I said a couple of times before he woke up, groaning softly.

He rubbed his eyes open before looking at me. "What?"

"We have to go to work," I reminded him.

He sat up in confusion and took a look around. "God, for a second I thought we were back in New Orleans."

"I wish," I chuckled, leaning over and grabbing the shirt from last night. I slipped it on before standing up. "I'm heading to shower," I told him, stopping at the bathroom door. "Want to come?"

"Just shower?" he asked with a sleepy smile, his eyes falling shut while he sat there, elbow resting on his knee, and held his head.

"Yes," I laughed, "just shower."

He nodded in a daze.

I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth first before turning the shower on and then calling for him. He came stumbling in not even wholly awake yet and grabbed my toothbrush. "No, no," I laughed, handing him his. "Yours is the pink, mine's the black one," I reminded.

"I like pink," he mumbled, running it under the water.

I watched him in amusement, waiting for the shower water to get hot while he brushed his teeth. While he finished up, I hopped in the shower once I pulled my hair back in a bun to keep it dry.

He joined me in the shower and I got lucky enough to see him use floral body wash. "I'm getting out," he said a while later, running a hand through his wet hair, pushing it back.

I nodded, humming and he leaned down, kissing me once before stepping out while I rinsed and then stood in the doorway, holding a towel for me with one wrapped around his waist. I turned the water off and stuck an arm out, taking the towel. I dried myself off quickly, feeling a little cold, and then wrapped the towel around my chest before getting out. I stopped at the sink to put lotion and sunscreen on and expected him to get dressed but he only stood there watching me. I laughed to myself, watching him in the mirror. "You look like you're in love, Mr. Nilsen."

"Well, I am, Ms. Valentine."

I spun around, dotting moisturizer onto his face and quickly rubbing it in. "Get dressed before we get late," I grinned, going up on my toes and stealing another kiss. I turned back to the mirror but he only came up behind me and dropped kisses on my neck and shoulder before leaving to get ready.

He gave me my clothes when I asked and I got dressed in the bathroom before walking out to my vanity and brushing my hair, leaving it down, but I put a hair tie around my wrist in case I needed it later.

Today, I chose to wear a skirt, which I don't wear very often at work, but I felt like it today. It was a black, fitted, mini-skirt and with that, I grabbed a sheer blood-red button-up blouse with a matching bralette underneath. I slipped on a pair of black kitten heels with them and then put a bit of perfume on while Josh tied his shoes. Before I forgot, I grabbed my purse, laptop, and keys which I tucked into my purse.

Josh stood up just then, picking up all his things. I stopped, noticing his crooked tie. Despite it, he looked fucking gorgeous in the classic white button-up, charcoal black pants, and the blue striped tie.

"Your tie is crooked," I told him.

"Fix it," he grinned.

Dropping my things on the bed, I straightened it out, feeling his arms go around me.

"You look hot today," he smirked.

"Why? Is it because I'm wearing a skirt?"

"No. But I do like the skirt, I'd love it if you wore them often." It was adorable that he wasn't telling me to wear them, but rather asking so sweetly.

"Noted," I replied, "I'll keep that in mind. Now, let's go before we're late. I don't want to hear an earful on our first day back."

So, we headed off to work and the moment we stepped into our building, I felt weary of Valerie. Upstairs in our office, as expected, the room wasn't full like it usually was because some people still weren't back from their trips. Jealousy briefly surged through me but then I remembered that despite still being on a trip, nobody had a trip like we did.

Josh and I sat in our seats, across from each other, and made use of the empty room before it would get busier. I rested my hand on the table and he grabbed it immediately, watching me over our computers before he wheeled his chair and bit to the left and watched me with a grin.

"We have to be careful," I reminded him.

"I know. But it's not like we have cameras here."

"Actually, we do," I laughed, "but yes, it's been broken for six months and nobody's bothered enough to notice or fix it."

"We should have a sign."

"What sign?" I asked.

"Whenever we want to meet alone, we should signal each other."

I watched him, suppressing a chuckle. "And where would we meet?"

"Either in the coffee room. If that's busy, then..." He seemed stumped. There aren't a lot of places of privacy in this building.

"Janitor's closet?" I prompted.

He shrugged, "Sure. If not even that, we'll go for lunch together."

I nodded, both of us pulling our hands away as London walked in, holding onto her coffee cup.

"Hey, guys," she greeted, settling at her desk.

"Hey, London," I smiled while Josh said nothing. I'd forgotten over the course of this trip that in reality, Josh wasn't like that. Except for me, nobody actually got to see his smiles or feel his gentle touches or feel so adored by a man like him. And that just made me feel so much more special. "How was Tokyo?" I asked, making conversation.

"Oh, so much fun. But Landon got sick as soon as we landed," she groaned, referring to her photographer. "He's such a picky eater and everything he chose to eat only made him sicker."

"I hope you took care of him, Lydia really likes his photographs every month," I laughed.

"I tried. Plus, it's not like Lydia cares about anybody's articles except you two, so Jamie gets to be a priority by default. Oh, I heard a new photographer joined you guys on the trip. How was she?"

"Horrible," Josh answered without removing his gaze from me.

"Really?" London asked, sounding extremely surprised. "I heard good things before leaving."

"From who?" I frowned in confusion.

"A few of the others were talking about her. I can't remember her name but..." she trailed off as Brady walked into the room. "Brady," she called him, "what's the name of that new photographer who was supposed to join Josh and Poppy?"

"Valerie?" he answered, sending me a quick wave that I sent back.

"Yeah, her. Apparently, she's horrible."

Brady shrugged, "She might be, yeah. Just keep that thought to yourselves, guys, and don't say it too loud."

Josh and I both blinked in confusion before facing Brady. I stood up so I could look at him while Josh spun his chair around. "What do you mean?" I questioned.

Brady looked at all of us in confusion. "Don't you know who she is?" he chuckled dryly.

"A photographer?" London guessed.

"Well, yes, but not just that."

"Spit it out already, Brady," Josh demanded.

"She's—" He quickly shut up as someone's heels clicked on the floor.

We all looked to the door as Valerie showed up, holding a tablet in her hand. She stopped at the door, her eyes scanning the room before landing on me. "Hey, Poppy," she grinned brightly.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled to myself, my eyes meeting Josh's.

"Can I talk to you for a minute? I had some photos to finalize with you." She waved the tablet at me.

"Sure," I said warily before walking out with her. We stopped in the hallway and her smile dropped. "What do you want?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Nothing. You have nothing to offer me," she smiled.

"Good. Glad we had this conversation." I turned to leave.

"I'm telling Lydia."

I froze in my steps, faltering for a beat. "What do you mean?" I played dumb, facing her again.

"Don't act so innocent. I know," she laughed, "about you and Josh."

Fuck.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Valerie."

"Sure you do. I saw you guys at the bar. In that little alley, kissing, making out. Then leaving the bar together, hand in hand, running under the rain. How romantic," she taunted.

I huffed, rolling my eyes. "So? What do you want? You want to tell Lydia? Be my guest, go ahead. I doubt she'll believe you."

"Why?"

"Josh is her prized possession at this company."

"Yeah, but you're not."

"You want to get me fired? Please do. I don't mind. Really. Is this your idea of a threat? If it is, it's not the best."

She seemed a bit confused but then she shrugged. "Yeah, it is a threat. I'll tell her and she will believe me. But since you don't care about this job, taking it away from you isn't fun."

I stared at her, trying to keep my composure.

"I'm going have to take it from somebody else. Somebody like... Josh? The prized possession?" She smiled, taking a step closer to me. "You don't care. But what about him? Come on, Poppy. Do you really want to cost him his job? His whole career? He's the best at this company, isn't he? As far as Lydia thinks anyway. She'll hate you and he might too, you know."

"No, he won't."

"How are you sure?"

"Because I love her." We both looked over as Josh strolled in, his hands tucked into his pockets calmly, making Valerie falter for a beat. "You can get her fired, or me, it doesn't matter."

But it does...

"In fact, I'll tell Lydia myself. She might not believe you, so let me make this easier for you, Valerie."

Valerie laughed, shaking her head. "Why wouldn't she believe me? I'm her daughter after all."

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

"Are you really that surprised? People say I look more like Mom than I do Dad. But whatever," she shrugged. "I was dying to get your reactions but I must say, they're a little underwhelming. That surprised? Really?"

I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Think about it again," she ordered.

"What? Think about what? What do you want?" I huffed, stopping as Josh grabbed my arm.

"Resign," she said nonchalantly.

"Me?" I asked.

"No," she shook her head, facing Josh. "You."

No, no, no, damn it! I don't want to be the reason he loses his job.

"It's annoying to be your mother's least favorite employee," she explained.

"Is that your reason?" Josh asked, lifting a brow.

"Not really. You are breaking the rules, play fair. You've worked here for so long anyway, move on. Give others a chance."

"How nice of you to think of others for once," he bit back at her sarcastically.

"You deserve the same punishment everyone else gets. You're not special, Josh. Working here the longest and having the best work doesn't mean you can break the rules. And knowing Mom, she'll let you. I can't," she shook her head. "I'll give you until the end of the day. Quit the job. Or I'll make sure you're fired. Bye," she grinned, strutting off.

I groaned once she left. "God, I hate that bitch. Who is she to tell us what to do? Here, she's just another employee."

"No," Josh sighed, "here, she's an employee who is our boss's daughter. Fuck," he groaned softly.

Now, what do we do?

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