I was about to ask her where we went from here when there was a pounding on the door. I stood and walked to the door, shocked to see Cap standing there with Craig, Rocco, Hunter, and Derek behind him. Craig had a silly smirk on his face. If Cap was here, there were only so many reasons why.
“Cap,” I said, stepping aside to let him in.
“Is Florrie awake?”
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen.” All the guys lumbered through the door and into my house. Hunter and Derek had menacing looks on their faces, but Craig looked just a little too happy.
“What the fuck are you grinning about?”
“Oh, it’s coming,” he smiled wider, rubbing his hands together. “If you thought the beating I gave you was the end, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“You know, you’re taking just a little too much pleasure out of this.”
“Hey, I’ve been dealing with your shit for years. I finally get my payback, and I’m gonna love every second of it.”
I knew he wasn’t really happy about it. He was just excited to see us moving past this.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Takes one to know one,” he shot back.
I mocked his stupid phrase as I turned around, because I could be childish like that when it came to Craig.
“Alright, everyone take a seat,” Cap said as Florrie walked into the room.
“Hey, can I get a cup of coffee?” Derek asked me, raising his hand.
“You want a scone too?”
His eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great. I didn’t get to eat this morning. Claire and I were trying this new thing-” He stopped talking when he saw us all staring at him with murderous expressions on our faces. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, a scone would be great.”
“I’ll take one too,” Hunter piped up.
“Do you have any cream?” Rocco asked. “Coffee has been too acidic lately. I feel like it’s burning a hole in my stomach.”
“Maybe you need some decaf,” Cap suggested.
“Oh, do you maybe have one of those little chocolate sticks that you dip in coffee?” Craig asked. “Those really sound good.”
“There’s no fucking coffee or scones or chocolate sticks,” Florrie said, rolling her eyes.
“But…you’re drinking coffee,” Craig pointed out.
“Yeah, and it’s all mine. There’s none for you.”
“So, you really don’t have any scones?” Derek asked. “Damn, I was really looking forward to that.”
“And I’m looking forward to all of you getting the fuck out of my house,” I snapped. “Can we get on with this?”
Cap smirked at me and got down to business. “First of all, it’s nice to have you back, Florrie.” She nodded. “That being said, next time you need to take off, why don’t you tell someone first. I had jobs lined up for you.”
“I did tell someone. I told Craig.”
“He’s not your boss,” Cap snapped. “Look, this shit has to stop. We need to get these teams up and functioning like they’re supposed to. We can’t have two out of six teams crumbling. Alec and Florrie, you’re going to go to Dr. Sunshine and work through your problems-”
“Cap, that’s bullshit!” Florrie exploded.
“No, what’s bullshit is that everyone else is dealing with the fallout of a workplace romance. Craig has been dealing with this the longest and he’s the one that has been through it day in and day out.”
“It’s true,” Craig grinned, but quickly changed to a solemn expression when Cap looked at him. “I hate being stuck in the middle. I don’t know whose side to take because I love you guys both so much.”
“I say, let them fight it out,” Hunter grumbled.
“I second that,” Derek raised his hand.
“Rocco?” Cap asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t like anyone else in my business.”
“That’s it?” Craig asked. “Come on, guys. These two have been dealing with a ton of shit. They need therapy. It’s detrimental to not only their jobs, but their relationship.”
That fucker just wanted to make me suffer through another session with Dr. Sunshine.
“I don’t see how you have any say in it,” Florrie snapped. “As far as I know, this relationship consists of two people.”
“But…but, Cap, you have to see how much this is affecting the rest of us.”
“It really only seems to be affecting you,” Cap smirked.
“Maybe you should go to therapy,” I suggested.
“Hey,” Craig snapped, “This is an A/B conversation, so C your way out of it.”
I smirked at him. He was losing it. “Yeah, I say sophisticated shit like, go fuck yourself.”
“Jesus Christ,” Cap groaned. “It’s like wrangling cats over here. Enough of the petty bullshit. This is what’s going to happen. Alec and Florrie will go back to therapy and work your shit out. You aren’t coming back to work until Dr. Sunshine says that you can rejoin your teams without wreaking havoc. The rest of you will work install jobs for the teams that are going to have to pick up the slack.” Craig smirked, but then Cap turned to him. “And since you seem to have such a vested interest in what happens with Alec and Florrie, you’ll join them in therapy. You know, for your own mental health.”
Craig’s jaw dropped and he glanced at everyone else in astonishment. “Wait, no! That’s not what- Cap, you can’t-”
“Oh, I can and I will. Think of yourself as their wellness coordinator. You can report to me how the day’s events go. Oh, and Craig, I expect you to participate when Dr. Sunshine requests it.”
He smirked and headed for the door while the rest of us sat there. Craig stood and pointed his finger at me. “You’ve been screwing me over for years. I swear to God, the next time you see me with a bucket of water, you’d better fucking run, because the next time I shove your head in it, I’m not letting you up for air.”
CHAPTER
