He made two coffees. Vanessa accepted hers without asking how he took such liberties inside her house. Something had shifted between them without either person deciding it should. Two exhausted adults were sitting in a kitchen at an hour when titles became harder to maintain.
“How long have you worked for me?” Vanessa asked. Darius corrected her immediately. “For the company.”
Vanessa noticed. “How long?” Darius took a sip. “Three years.”
“I didn’t know your name until tonight.” There was no defensiveness in her admission. Darius nodded. “I assumed that.”
“That bothers me.” Darius looked toward her. Vanessa rotated the mug slowly between her hands. “There are four hundred seventy people in that building, and I know perhaps seventy names.”
“The executives.” Vanessa nodded. “The people who bring problems into meetings.”
She looked toward the binder. “Not necessarily the people who stop those problems before they reach meetings.” Darius said nothing. Vanessa studied him. “Evan told me you handled the entire cooling compliance recertification.”
“Most of it.” Vanessa corrected him. “All of it.”
Darius shrugged. “It needed doing.” Vanessa reached for the binder and opened several pages as though seeing them differently now. “How much do you make?”
He laughed softly. “That’s direct.” Vanessa looked almost embarrassed. “I’m asking as CEO.”
“That somehow makes it less normal.” Darius told her anyway. Vanessa’s face changed immediately.
“That is wrong.” Darius raised an eyebrow. “My paycheck clears.”
“You certified infrastructure protecting systems tied to eleven thousand employee records.” Vanessa closed the binder. “You rebuilt a failure today that could have become a major operational incident.”
“That’s my job.” Vanessa shook her head. “No.”
She stood. “Monday morning, HR.” Darius blinked. “For what?”
“Compensation review.” Vanessa’s executive voice returned. “Bring documentation of the work you actually perform.”
Darius studied her. “I don’t want a favor.” Vanessa looked almost offended.
“I do not give favors through payroll.” Her answer was immediate. “If we are underpaying you, that is a company failure.”
Darius nodded slowly. “Okay.” Vanessa held his gaze.
Something about the word hung there. Perhaps that was why he made the joke. Perhaps exhaustion simply removed the filter that usually caught foolish ideas before they reached his mouth.
He lifted his coffee. “If you’re going to keep me here until nine-thirty while reorganizing my career, you might as well marry me.” Vanessa’s eyebrows rose. “Save us both the commute.”
He grinned. “Fair warning, I can cook better than whoever stocked that refrigerator.” Silence followed.
Vanessa looked at him. Darius drank his coffee. Then she said, “Okay.”
He almost inhaled the drink. “Excuse me?” Vanessa repeated herself. “Okay.”
“That was a joke.” Vanessa stood. “I know.” Darius stared at her.
“Then why are you saying yes?” Vanessa seemed to ask herself the same question. Instead of answering, she extended her hand.
“Come with me.” Darius did not take it immediately. “Where?”
“Upstairs.” Darius glanced toward the front door. “This is becoming a very unusual paperwork delivery.”