I half smiled and shrugged my shoulders. It was a nice gesture. I hadn’t been this close to him in years. I got another glimpse of my Ian,but this time it lasted more than just a few seconds. Neither of us moved as we searched each other’s eyes. He kept his hand on my shoulder. The feel of it wasn’t lost on me. My body said,Ahhh, isn’t this nice, but my head said,Girl, get your head in the game.
“Are you ready to show me the prototypes?” I asked, once out of my brief stupor.
He dropped his hand slowly and cleared his throat. “Please, have a seat.”
He had already changed the office around. Boss’s desk used to face the adjoining door, like mine. But Ian had it facing the door toward the reception area. He also added some pictures of the Colorado landscape. They were breathtaking. As I looked at them, I thought someday I really should go back and visit that place. I loved living there. The Colorado mountain scenery was second to none. One picture particularly caught my attention. It was of the hot springs near his parents’ home. I had fond memories of that place. During Thanksgiving break, Mr. Greyson, aka Ian, took me there. We spent a very enjoyable day in each other’s arms with the steam rising all around us and the snow lightly falling down. Just the thought made me blush. I had needed some hefty amounts of Chapstick and lotion after that day, but it had been well worth it. The man was an expert kisser. His kisses always conveyed what mood he was in. That day had been one of those rare Ian moments where his mind wasn’t wrapped around fifty different things. He had let go that day and only letusoccupy his thoughts. I think it was the first day he finally gave himself permission to really let me in and see the real him. It was the day he said to heck with what everyone would say about our age difference; he wanted to be with me, and so he was going to be.
I came out of my memory to find Mr. Greyson smiling at me. I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear. “Nice pictures,” I said lamely before I took my seat.
He looked to his right at the picture I had just been admiring. “That’s my favorite.”
I wanted to say, “Mine too,” but that was ridiculous. He probably didn’t even remember that day, and if he did, I didn’t want him to knowI remembered it. I’m sure it was his favorite because it reminded him of his home.
“Ok, so logos,” I said.
“Yes, logos.” He took his seat.
He turned his monitor toward me and showed me three different designs. Right away I abhorred two of them. I wasn’t sure who had done the design, but tacky was putting it nicely. The third design had some promise. I homed in on that one. “I think the C in Chandler should be more prominent, and it would look better if the letters were more rounded and in lower case. And personally, I would increase the font size by two,” I suggested. “Those changes would make it feel cleaner and more modern. It would encompass the new direction of our company.”
He looked at me thoughtfully when I finished my suggestions.
I raised my left brow. “Surprised again?”
“As always, when it comes to you.”
“I’ll let that slide.”
“I meant it as a compliment.”
I stood. “You might want to work on that.” I smiled at him before I could stop myself.
I walked back to my office and downed my bottle of water while I thought of all the reasons I disliked my new boss, because it was better than picturing him shirtless, with my arms around him, kissing him until my lips threw up a white flag and surrendered. And what was I doing using my flirty voice there at the end of our conversation? I think it was time for me to go home.
It was my plan to take the weekend and unwind. I was thinking a marathon weekend of cheesy Netflix movies and ordering-in was the ticket. That seemed to work well on Friday night, but I got up on Saturday feeling crappy about stuffing myself the night before and lying lazily on the couch with Charlie, so I figured I better get my butt to the Y and maybe do some grocery shopping.
Walking outside reminded me it was March, and boy was it coming in like a lion. The rain was coming down in sheets. As I ran to my car, I noticed a moving truck. I felt sorry for whoever had to move in this weather.
After hitting it hard at the Y, I was feeling less like a slug and more like myself. It helped me make better choices when I went to the grocery store. Well, mostly, I needed some chocolate after the week I’d had.
When I returned to my complex, the rain was still coming down. My sister’s words rang in my head, “You could have an attached garage if you would only buy a home.” Yeah, but how lonely would a big empty house be with only Charlie and me?
I took heroic efforts to carry all my grocery bags in at once, even forgoing my umbrella. I figured I was showering when I got home anyway. On my walk in, I noticed the moving truck was still there, along with two soaked movers. I hoped they were getting a good tip. As someone was moving in, the gate was open. Gratefully I didn’t have to maneuver it with full arms and hands, but I quickly became ungrateful as I literally ran into him. You know, thehimwho was causing regular disruption in my life as of late. Yeah, thathim.
I stood there stunned, staring at him, rain dripping down my face. “Mr. Greyson, at the risk of becoming redundant, what are you doing here?”
He flashed me a sly grin before sharing his large umbrella with me. I had to admit that was gentlemanly. He was even more of a gentleman when he reached for my bags. “Let me help you with those.”
I instinctively pulled away from him. “No, thank you.” I repeated my question, “Why are you here?” Then a terrible realization hit me before he even spoke.
“Kelli, as of today, I live here.”
I shook my head no. “No, you don’t,” I stuttered.
His brown eyes danced with amusement.
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” I begged.
He wouldn’t say it. All he did was continue to smile at me. Why wouldn’t he say this was some kind of sick prank? I began walking toward my apartment in a zombie like trance. How could this be happening?
