He’s holding his laptop between his thumb and fingers as if it’s a weightless piece of cardboard, not a heavy Alienware of nearly twelve pounds. My eyes linger on the flexed muscles of his forearm under a veil of thin, dark hair. His hands are massive, the hard lines of the tendons and veins enhanced by the neon lights above us.
“Weren’t you two supposed to be in front of your computers ten minutes ago?” he coldly asks.
“Yes, sorry. We came to see Tami for a personal matter,” Oli explains with diplomacy.
“Was the matter resolved?”
“Yes, it was.”
Our boss does nothing for a few seconds, staring at me specifically. I have a great excuse for being here, but something tells me it won’t fly with him. Only my untimely death would.
Maybe.
Possibly.
When he rips his eyes from mine, it’s to check the silver watch around his wrist. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” he starts, looking at me again, “but we’re past your lunch break, aren’t we?”
“Yes, but—”
“And somehow,” he rudely cuts me off, “you’ve decided to corrupt one of your colleagues so you two can frolic around rather than work.”
Okay, now I can’t contain my anger anymore. He’s right about the fact that we should be working, but he doesn’t have to be an ass about it.
“We weren’t frolicking around,” I begin. “Human warmth might be a mysterious notion toy—”
“We’re heading back downstairs right now,” Oli says hurriedly, cutting my rant short. With that, he grabs my arm, just above my elbow, and pulls me to the stairs.
As we walk, I look behind to send an enraged glare at the pompous idiot, earning myself a defying glower. Oli is the only reason why I don’t say anything. “That man needs to chill the fuck out,” I mumble as we get further.
“Seriously, Andy, let it go.”
“I can’t! He is so strict and frigid! How have you been tolerating him forsevenyears?”
“He isn’t normally like this. I guess he’s in a mood.”
“It doesn’t give him the right to lash out at his employees,” I mumble under my breath.
“Andy. I promise he’s a nice guy. He’s just… a little off today.”
Unable to hold back, I twist around to glare at our boss one last time. He’s still standing there, perfectly still as he watches us leave. Something about him riles me up, and if I don’t get better at containing myself, I won’t keep this job for much longer.
I want to trust Oliver’s judgment, so if he thinks our boss is worth the effort, maybe I should listen. I turn away from Alexander and promise myself I’ll try harder to be amiable.
I need this job too much to let some stupid feud with my boss ruin my chances here.
As I stare at my newest employee walking away, I wonder why she rattles me so much. I’ve never been good with people, but I can safely say I’m the worst I’ve ever been when it comes to her.
That is becoming clearer with every interaction we have. I’d decided to avoid her today, but I’m needed in the Lair. And I would have come across her and Oliver anyway.
My eyes lower of their own will, locking on the generous roundness of her behind. Her jeans aren’t a tight fit, except there, and the blue fabric leaves very little to the imagination. There’s something utterly feminine in her shape, but not in the typical hourglass way. Her waist is narrow, like her shoulders, but her hips are wide and round. I envision them bare, with my hands firmly gripping them to pull her in as I—
She twists around to look back at me, and her nasty scowl is enough to kill the vivid fantasy.
This is what’s going on. My biological needs are catching up with me, and she’s alluring enough to trigger them. That’s why my brain turns useless any time she’s around. Before interacting more with her, I need to take care of that.
I shouldn’t have said anything just now. I should have let them go without a word. But the anger I felt upon finding them there, holding each other in a tight embrace, compelled me to say something.
This is a company, not a fun little retreat to meet new people and make friends. And her audacity, lecturing me on break times one day, and then returning to work ten minutes late the next…
