Burning Desire

Chapter 13

Four bullet points into my list, a knock came at my door and I looked up to see Joseph, who was looking rather sharp compared to his usual attire. His hair wasn't messy like it normally was. He'd combed it neatly and apparently used hairspray. He wore slacks and a blue button-up and it looked like he'd even plucked his eyebrows!

"What's got you so fancy today?" I giggled, taking in his appearance. "You look good."

Joseph grinned ear-to-ear and clasped his hands together, flushing a bit as he stepped further into my office.

"I have a date tonight," he smiled, pursing his lips together in an adorable boyish blush.

"That's great!" I returned his smile. "Don't tell Selena or she'll give you an entire novel on why you should bang your date the first night!"

He nodded, chuckling. "Yeah. Good point. That's why I decided to come to you instead."

He took a seat across from me, a more serious look on his face, and I pushed my papers aside to pay more attention to the conversation.

"What's going on?"

Joseph bit his lip and glanced around the room before blurting out his response quickly. "I've decided to come out to my readers since I got picked for that current affairs list, and I wanted your advice on how best to go about it."

It took me a few seconds to digest what he'd said since his words had all run together.

"You're gay?" I asked, though not totally surprised.

Joseph's cheeks flushed and he sat up a little straighter. "Not quite. Uh... halfway. I'm bi. And my date is the first man I will have been with in two years. I'm a little nervous."

I got up and walked around the desk, pulling Joseph into a supportive embrace. I'd always thought there was more to him than meets the eye. I'd had my assumptions, and I was pretty sure Selena did, too, but I'd always wanted to respect his privacy. I figured, if he wanted me to know, he would tell me in his own time.

"I'm so glad you told me," I smiled, hugging him tight. "And you have nothing to be nervous about! Your date is going to love you."

Joseph breathed a seemingly relieved sigh and we pulled apart. He tugged at the collar of his shirt.

"I thought, since the LGBTQ+ community is frequently mentioned in current affairs news reporting, it might be a good way for me to make my introduction into current affairs and let my readers know the real me," he explained, fidgeting less with each word.

"Might?" I raised my brows, smiling at his bright idea. "Joseph, that's a fantastic way to reintroduce yourself!"

"Yeah? You sure?" He looked a little skeptical but his smile was widening.

"I'm positive! You're going to inspire so many readers!"

Another knock came at the door and we looked up to see Andrea, Mandy's assistant.

"Kate, you have a visitor downstairs," she informed me. "Do you want me to send him up?"

I checked the time on my phone. It was already three-thirty! I'd gotten caught up in my work and completely forgot about Jesse picking me up!

"Crap!" I said to myself, rushing to shut down my computer and gather my clutch and jacket. "No. That's alright. I'll be down in a minute. Thank you, Andrea!"

Andrea nodded and headed back down the hall.

"What's going on, Kate?" Joseph cocked an amused brow, watching me.

"I'm so sorry!" I felt so bad for cutting our conversation short. "I forgot a friend is picking me up early today. Can we discuss this more tomorrow morning? Let's go get coffee."

Joseph chuckled at my rushed words and pulled me into a one-armed hug, walking out of the office with me. "It's no problem, babe. I said pretty much everything I wanted to say anyway. But yeah, I'd love to go for coffee in the morning. The usual place?"

"Yes, sir," I smiled.

"You got a deal. See you later."

Joseph and I descended the stairs to the first floor and went our separate ways. I wondered if Selena had gotten wind of his news yet. She would be so happy for him, too! I wondered what on earth she was busying herself with. I hadn't seen her since the meeting. Normally, she was poking her head in my office every fifteen minutes.

I turned the corner around a cluster of cubicles and there was Selena, enthusiastically chatting it up with a tall dark-headed man whose back was to me. When she looked passed him and saw me, her eyes brightened and she directed his attention to me.

The man turned around and I came face to face with Jesse. He was wearing a flattering pinstripe charcoal suit that looked like it was made for him. Hell, it probably had been! As soon as he saw me, his eyes lit up and a big, toothy smile broke out across his handsome face.

"Hey there, beautiful," Jesse greeted me, instantly snaking his arm around my waist.

I was happy to see him and I wanted to stay and chat with Selena – I knew she was enjoying bending his ear about me – but I didn't want to risk Alex seeing us together, especially with Jesse's arm around me. I smiled to Jesse, but my attention was focused elsewhere, trying to determine if Alex was nearby. I prayed Jesse didn't notice.

Selena flashed me a knowing look and piped up again. "Well, Jesse, it was so great meeting you! Unfortunately, I have to be going. I have to meet up with Alex, one of our new hires, who's upstairs waiting for me in the boardroom. We're going to go over some ideas for our columns."

I realized Selena had likely heard Jesse tell someone he was there to see me and she'd purposely made sure Alex wouldn't be within earshot when I came down. I owed her a big hug!

"The pleasure was all mine," Jesse returned her smile and shook her hand.

Selena scampered off upstairs and I blew out a sigh of relief that I hadn't realized I'd been holding onto.

"You alright, love?" Jesse asked, studying my face.

I plastered on a grin and moved in closer to him as we walked toward the doors. "I'm great, actually. Today has been really good."

"Yeah?" he smiled. "Well, hopefully I can make it even better."

We reached the parking garage and Jesse opened the car door for me once again.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked when he got in.

The corners of his mouth curved up in a sexy smirk and he started the engine with a confident, determined expression. "You'll have to wait and see, love."

The sliver of roughness in his voice flipped a switch in my mind and I could feel the heat creeping up my body as a sweet little idea took over my hormones. Jesse wasn't the only one with something up their sleeve.