Loving Maverick

I Just Want You To Take Care Of Yourself

Three weeks passed by and with Garrett's company postponing their meeting again, Maverick had more time than he thought in looking for the perfect land in which to build his home. He was hard-pressed to admit that he was quite excited about the notion of actually building his own abode. Stevie seemed to boost that excitement with her own.

"Knock, knock." 

He looked up to see her standing in his office door with a small smile on her face. "Hey," He said back, and turned back to his phone to see the acres of land that he'd been looking over. "How are you today?" He asked.

"I'm as great as the last time you asked today," Stevie chuckled and came into the office. 

Maverick shot his gaze over to her and when he remembered that he had indeed already asked her how she was doing once today, chuckled. He then shrugged and returned his attention to his phone. "That may be true but considering how random your health is, I'd hope you excuse me from asking at least twice a day,"

Stevie laughed lightly, and stood next to Maverick, leaning her hip against his desk and crossed her arms. "I guess I'll just have to let you slide on that one then, huh?" She teased. She took a deep breath and just enjoyed his scent so much, it was hard not to groan in pleasure of it. "Man, you smell good." She said.

Her groan caught him off guard and forced him to look at her as her eyes closed and her face lifted toward the ceiling. He was glad that she wasn't paying attention to him, however, because no sooner she leaned against the corner of his desk, he became distracted.

Ever since the evening that he kissed her, it was hard to think Stevie Vidal appropriately or even professionally. He'd already found her attractive before he even slipped up and touched her...and kissed her.

Now it was even harder not to notice her. He had noticed how sweet she smelled far before she even acknowledged how good she thought he smelled.

"Thanks," He finally said and returned-or at least tried to return his attention to what he was looking at. Though, it was hard to admit that she made it very difficult to concentrate when she was standing there leaning against his table...so close to him. 

She didn't have on anything particularly flashy that day. In fact, she was quite uniform with her black pencil skirt and white collared button-down. Of course, the shirt, while wasn't necessarily form-fitting did flatter her. Especially, near the top where she couldn't seem to button her shirt up all the way. Probably why she decided to wear her hair down that day; to try and cover it as best she could.

"Have you decided on a place to build?"

When he heard her voice, he pushed away from his inappropriate thoughts and started to answer, his head turning to talk to her when by chance he glanced over to her and saw her rubbing her temples. 

Immediately he pushed back from his desk and stood, startling Stevie during the process. She started to back up and almost tripped when Maverick caught her.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Eyes wide with concern, Maverick asked. "Are you?" 

"I-yeah, I'm fine," She said. "What-"

"Then why are you rubbing your head? Is it-is it a headache? Do you need to go home? Do you need me to take you home?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Stevie touched his arm, her hand falling down his arm to grab his hand. She was amused by his concern and admittedly thought that it was cute. "I'm fine." She reassured her boss, "I promise." She smiled.

Her touch alone calmed Maverick's nerves but he was still concerned. "Then why are you rubbing your head?"

Stevie sighed, "Because I am feeling a little pressure. It's uncomfortable but it's not a migraine. I'm fine, alright?" 

"I don't trust it," Maverick replied."

"Well, I think I know my own body." Stevie countered teasingly. 

"Yeah, well..." Maverick was frustrated with himself for being so concerned about Stevie.

 He did not like how worried he'd suddenly become when she showed any sign of discomfort or pain. He did not like how she caused him to lose focus by just entering a room. She affected him in ways that he never experienced before and it frightened him. What was worse than all of this, however, was the fact that he was constantly wondering if he affected her the same. The realistic side of Maverick knew that...he didn't. 

This was a weakness, that Maverick did not feel comfortable living with and the only way that he could pull away from those feelings was with anger.

"Well, what?"

When he heard Stevie's voice again, he looked at her and grimace. "It's not like you haven't assumed that you knew your body before...and...and"

"And what?" She was getting frustrated as she realized where he was going with this.

"You screwed up and I had to take you home because of it! You missed a full day of work-"

"You gave me that day off! I didn't ask for it!" She spat. "So don't throw that in my face. I didn't ask you to take me home, Mr. Singh." She said.

"What? What? What was I supposed to do, huh? Leave you here alone?!" He snapped. "What kind of boss would I be-what kind of man would I have been to do that?" 

Stevie didn't say anything because he was right. She should have gone home when he offered earlier that day. He certainly would not have had the incident to hold over her head if she had. Still, though, why was he suddenly so angry?

"Did I do something to upset you?" She asked.

Where Maverick had walked toward the window of his office, he suddenly turned around and looked at her incredulously. "Why would you ask that?" 

Stevie's gaze shifted confusedly before she answered. "I mean everything was fine and then...you just snapped on me. I-" She lifted her shoulders and looked at him innocently. "I just wanted to know if I did something wrong. Did I say something that upset you or-"

"No." Maverick cut her off. "No. No, you didn't." He told her. "I..." He trailed off, placing his hand to his face as he said before even thinking how she would take it. "I don't like it...when you're in pain...Ms. Vidal," He exhaled and turned around, leaning against the windowpane of his office.

Needless to say, this was surprising to hear and quite honestly caught Stevie off guard. "Oh," She chuckled uneasily and swallowed the lump in her throat, barely able to look at him, her gaze suddenly magnetized to the floor it seemed. Why did he feel this way? And why did it even matter to her why he felt this way in the first place?

"You are a very good employee, Ms. Vidal, and a great assistant. Losing someone with your work ethic," He said as he approached her. "I'd be quite disappointed to have to say goodbye to that,"

"Oh, oh, um yeah! Yeah, of course!" Why did I say that nonsensical sentence? She asked herself before she chuckled sheepishly. "I understand and I really appreciate that, boss." She said. She cleared her throat as if that would make her recover from her silly response to him. "But I really am alright," She said. 

He nodded. "I just need you to take care of yourself, Stevie." He said. 

Stevie smiled and nudged him. "Now why would I risk losing such bomb boss?" She teased. She rolled her eyes. "Besides, I think I have someone gunning for my job anyway," She chuckled. "I have to be careful." 

Maverick seemed confused by her response. "Gunning for your...who is gunning for your job?" He asked.

Stevie started for the door and stopped when he asked that question. "Your little downstairs receptionist." She chuckled. "I don't think she likes me too much." She headed out of his office. "Let me know when you've narrowed down your land search. Later, boss,"

Maverick smiled. "Later, Stevie."