“Nice to finally meet you, Alexa.” His eyes never left mine. Never wavered to anyone else. I was his only priority at that moment. Even with the introduction, I felt that he knew exactly who I was, by more than just my name. Just like Lilly had said, it seemed he had seen me coming from a mile away. The look in his eyes was one of a hunter and I was his prey. “Did you like theroses?”
I stood there silent for a few minutes with Max’s eyes on me. I didn’t know what to say. This man in front of me sent shivers down to my toes that I didn’t want to acknowledge. There was a power to him that was intriguing and frightening at the sametime.
“I hate flowers.” The words came out of my mouth before I could think of how rude they were. I simply didn’t know what else to say. Max seemed taken aback by the comment as snickers started to fill the room. Lilly pulled me away quickly, and Erica wasn’t far behind. Max was left standing alone in a room full of people, but my eyes never left his until the elevator doors shut. He didn’t look happy. His brow was creased, scrunching his eyes together, mouth in a thin line, not able to say anything more. When we finally reached the sidewalk in front of the building, Lilly stopped Erica andme.
“I can’t believe you just did that.” Lilly voice was too mellow and the look on her face didn’t reveal if she was proud or upset with me. “No one has ever talked to him likethat.”
She clapped her hands together, sending herself into a giggle fit. My shoulders slumped with relief that she wasn’t mad at me for embarrassing our boss in front of everyone. I was confused. How did other girls react to him? Did they all fall for him soeasily?
“Yes, they do.” It was Erica who responded to me and caught my attention. I didn’t know I had asked the question aloud. But the look on her face showed that she hadn’t realized she answered. She sealed her lips as fast as she had opened them. I hadn’t pegged her for a shy one, after greeting me so warmly in theoffice.
“Well, I’m not one of those girls who fall for men like that.” We quickly headed over to the sandwich shop but decided not to come back to the office to finish eating. We all needed a break from what seemed to be a crazy-ass Monday. I checked my phone again. I had a missed message fromAdam.
Have a good day atwork.
I slumped back into the chair I was sitting in. I was so used to being able to talk to Adam at least three times a day, even when we didn’t see each other. The transition, I think, was difficult for both ofus.
“So, what does your husband do?” I looked to Erica, assuming Lilly had told her about Adam. She had half of her sandwich in her mouth, but didn’t seem to care. I was still trying to figure her out, but either way, I already knew us three together was going to beperfect.
“He’s a physician’s assistant. He’ll be at Emory University Hospital.” If there was anything that described my husband, it was his dedication to hisjob.
“Don’t let her sell you short.” Lilly went to throw away her trash; clearly the fruit hadn’t done its job this morning. Erica and I packed up our leftovers for later. Lunch never seemed like a long enough time, no matter what business you were in. “He’s almost a doctor. Just one more year of residency with his currentwork.”
Lilly opened the door to the building for us, and the girls tried to get me to the stairs, but I forced them towards the elevator. It was only day one and we were all already glued at the hip. With what Lilly had said, it was crazy to think my husband’s life was moving in fast-forward mode and I was just starting out with a new company. I always tried to support him, even if it meant not getting to live my dream untilnow.
We rounded the corner to my desk, and there sat another gift. This time it was directly on my keyboard. The black box was small with a white ribbon wrapped around it. My two favoritecolors.
“Who is that from?” Erica and Lilly both asked at the same time. They stopped at my cubicle before going to theirs and watched as I opened the box. A note fell onto the desk. Lilly picked it up as I took the engraved bookmark out of thebox.
“Max.” Lilly’s word came out as a snort. I snatched the note from her to see what itsaid.
“Hope this is better than the flowers.” I stared long at the note and then back to the bookmark. “A Well-Read Woman is a DangerousCreature.”
“Appropriate for you, don’t you think?” I smiled down at the bookmark. Lilly was only teasing me, but I couldn’t help but think the same thing. I had only met this man once, said three words to him, and he was already trying to make up the awkward meeting to me. I may be working at a publishing company, but this was almost too perfect. No one here but Lilly knew that I was a booknerd.
As the day went on, the box sat neatly put back together on the desk. I wasn’t too keen on keeping it, because with a man like Max, I wasn’t sure what accepting a gift like this meant. I wanted Max to see it the next time he came by so that he knew I wasn’t some new employee who could bebought.
Erica bee-lined for the bathroom when the end of the day came upon us. I loved this part of the workday, especially when it meant I could call Adam before he went in for the night. Lilly stepped into the elevator first; I still wasn’t up for using the stairs just yet. Erica was going to meet us at the apartment later tonight after she went home to change. I wasn’t quick enough to the elevator though. The doors started to close almost immediately, but before I could stop them to get in, a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. I thought it was Erica, because she was the only one left on the floor, but when I was turned around, I was facing Max’s chest. His fingers brushed against the inside of mywrist.
“You didn’t like the bookmark.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. He held the box in his other hand. He had been waiting for the end of the day just to see what I thought of the gift. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I almost swooned, and I couldn’t even begin to understandwhy.
I was his new employee. I didn’t think a boss would want to impress someone so new, unless I had everything wrong. Was he trying to impress me in a romanticway?
I slipped my hand from his and crossed my arms in front of me, placing my left hand in view and blocking him from coming any closer. The shimmer from my ring could be seen out of the corner of my eye, but all I could focus on were Max’s eyes searching mine. He loomed over me from where he was standing. A part of me felt almost excited. Adam and I hadn’t had this kind of tension in years, and it was making me yearn to have more. I looked at Max’s face, and my breath caught. Up close he was more intense. It seemed like Max was a completely different kind of man, one that I wasn’t used to, and definitely one I wasn’t preparedfor.
No words came from me this time. I didn’t know what to say to him. He seemed to be the kind of man who always got what he wanted, and I just couldn’t give that to him, whatever it was he wanted. For all I knew, he was trying to be a nice boss. Then again, the stares and his stance told me somethingdifferent.
“I want to know you.” My eyes grew wide at his bold remark, and despite my effort to block him, he took a step closer to me. I stepped back from him, trying to build a gap. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Erica coming towards us. Her eyes moved between the two of us, and her steps almost doubled to get to usfaster.
“Let me walk you home, Alexa.” Erica’s words rang in the quiet office, and she didn’t wait for Max to move away before she ushered me towards the stairs, and I didn’t complain. It made it so that Max couldn’t interfere with my second attempt at an exit. When we reached the lobby, Lilly was pacing back and forth in front of theelevator.
“What happened to you? I saw Max grab for you just before the door closed, and then you never came down after the elevator went back up.” We all moved outside to the twilight that was engulfing thesky.
“He wanted to know if I liked the bookmark or not. Erica was there to walk me out of the office.” It was nice to think that I could have another good friend in Georgia, especially when I only knew one person so far. But as I thought about Erica saving me from Max, I remembered his hand grabbing me and how my first instinct wasn’t to pull away. His touch felt safe and secure, even if he was coming on strong. That wasn’t something I had felt in a long time. I shook my head. I had no idea where these thoughts were coming from. Adam and I had been happily married for years. Yes, we had each had our crushes throughout the years, from celebrities to friends from college, but they were just that, crushes, and I knew that’s all that Max would everbe.
“I say we make it a night of chick flicks and ice cream to celebrate your first day, Alexa.” Lilly sang out, as she led the way back to theapartment.
Erica ended up staying for a few hours and left after the first movie. She lived outside of downtown Atlanta and needed to be back early to work in the morning, just likeus.
I had tried to call Adam when we had gotten home but ended up leaving a message, knowing he would get back to me when he could. He must have gone in early. He seemed to do that more lately, now that I wasn’t home. Working every day, almost all day long. His job had put a slight struggle on our relationship, ever since we found out that he was going to be transferring to Georgia, but it also made me work harder to make sure we would have time together. If we worked hard now, we wouldn’t have to once we got our own apartment. My phone chimed,Adam.
I love you. Goodnight,beautiful.
I made my way into my room. Lilly had a two-bedroom apartment supplied by our company, and it came in handy when I had to start working before Adam. I laid myself down, closed my eyes and tried to think about how my first day of this new life had been. It definitely was one for the books, but it was the smile on my face that made it hard for me to sleep. I looked back to the text one more time before clutching the phone to my chest and fallingasleep.
