Drunk or not, I wasn't a stupid man.
She was ravishing, and she carried herself like she knew it.
"Yes, sir." Veda strolled in on those sky-high heels with legs for days that grabbed my attention.
I cleared my throat, but I couldn’t pull my attention from her as she walked around my desk and set the mug down, unfortunately a little too close to the edge.
When she backed away, her sleeve caught the rim and the cup toppled, dousing my Italian leather computer chair in hot brew.
"Crap!" she hissed, dancing backward as the coffee sluiced off the desk and dotted her shoes, but she avoided being scalded.
"Oh, my God." My temper erupted like Mount Vesuvius without making a pass through frustration or irritation.
I'd had a short fuse for months, maybe years now, and the slightest thing set me off.
My team called me the "intern eater" because I chewed them up and spat them out like rotten meat. "Do you have to be so clumsy!"
Veda straightened, standing with her head down, watching the coffee puddle and drip from my chair as I stomped over to her.
"How much effort does it take to be careful? Huh? Can't you see how expensive that chair is? And now I don't have a coffee to drink. You're clumsy, and you need to get that cleaned up and get me a new cup immediately."
My chest puffed out a little as I pulled my suit jacket open and planted my hands on my hips.
Veda nodded a few times and said, "Yes, sir, Mr. Locke. Right away." There was no whining or apologizing a million times.
Veda didn't sniffle or plead for forgiveness.
She plucked a few tissues from the box on my desk and dropped them on the floor, then grabbed several more and wiped the chair down before scooping them all into the trash.
Her smile as she said, "Be right back," was jarring.
It left me utterly speechless long after she took the mug and breezed out of my office like nothing had happened.
I stood there stunned and staring, wondering if she hadn't heard me or if she was oblivious to the shouting.
Most interns wilted like a desert flower when I raised my voice.
One in particular tried to tell Sherise in HR that I should be sued for verbal abuse, then quit when Sherise suggested if he'd done his job better, there'd have been no need for my temper flare.
My team often had to clean up my messes like that, but this?
Veda had acted like what just happened was perfectly normal, and it unsettled me.
My head spun for a few moments while I checked the time on my cell phone and decided another encounter with her in my office wasn't a good idea.
Clearly, my temper was overcompensating for the insane attraction I felt toward her—about which I was baffled.
I hadn't been even slightly intrigued by a single woman since I met Emma, and now one had entered my orbit who threatened to unravel me thread by thread, one thought at a time.
Deciding to not be here when she got back, I picked up my portfolio for today's meeting and strode into the hall, hoping to be safely in the company of at least a half-dozen board members before Veda discovered me with the fresh coffee.
I was halfway to my goal, and the board room, when she caught up.
Her heels clicked violently on the floor behind me, or that's how it seemed because of my headache.
I winced and side-eyed her as she fell into step without speaking, then I took the mug from her but didn't drink from it yet.
"Meeting starts in seven minutes, sir, but I suggest you have some of these." From her pocket she produced a pill packet and popped the cellophane, freeing the pills.
