Dirty Addiction (Dirty 2)

I yawn for the millionth time this morning.

Thank God I was able to find the biggest coffee that Starbucks makes to keep me awake all day.

“Good morning, Lily,” I say as brightly as I can as I enter her office.

“Morning, Victoria,” Lily says.

She looks happy and beautiful in her red dress while I look like a hot mess. I’m wearing a business suit, my hair is up in a bun, and I barely had time to apply any makeup.

“I’m excited to see what you and Carter come up with. Two days ago, I thought my life was over, and then both of you came into my life and showed me that my career wasn’t over. I just need to regenerate it.”

“I’d be happy to get started on showing you some of my new plans while we wait for Carter,” I say, trying not to add anything snarky at the end.

“We should probably wait. That way, you don’t have to share your plans twice.”

I sigh. So much for blowing her so out of the water with my ideas that she doesn’t even remember that Carter is coming.

A knock rattles on the door before it is thrown open. Carter walks in, dressed in a dark blue suit. Lily’s and my eyes both go to the hot man standing in the meeting room. A man who is equally handsome and awful at the same time.

He prances into the room, with a gleam in his eyes. He very clearly got plenty of sleep last night.

I grab my coffee, trying to ignore him, and stifle a yawn. As the coffee cup reaches my lips, Carter smacks me hard on the back.

“Good morning, Tori,” he says as the coffee spills all over myself.

“Morning,” I say through clenched teeth, trying not to scream from the pain all over my body.

“Oh goodness, did I do that?” Carter says sarcastically, looking at the coffee now dripping all over my face, arms, jacket, and pants.

“Yes, but it’s not a problem. No need to cry over spilled coffee,” I say, wiping off my face with the back of my jacket sleeve. I won’t let him know that he is getting to me. I’ll just pay back the favor later.

I stand up to take my jacket off and see what I should do with my pants.

“Here, let me help you,” Carter says, grabbing my jacket.

Lily looks straight at me with a giant smile on her face. So, as much as I want to knee Carter in the balls for spilling scorching hot coffee all over me, I don’t. I pretend to smile and let Carter remove my jacket.

My hands wrap around my bare arms as I feel the pain of the burn all over. I should have worn a long-sleeved blouse instead of one without any sleeves. Maybe it would have protected me better from the burns.

“Oh my God! Victoria, are you all right? Your face and arms are bright red,” Lily says from across the table.

“I’m fine.”

I feel Carter’s hand touch my shoulder, and I jump. He moves his hand away for a second and then touches me softer, moving me to look at him. When he sees what I’m sure is my bright pink face and arms, he darts out of the room.

“Do you want me to get you a change of clothes or something?” Lily asks.

“No, I’m fine. Really. It’s just a little spilled coffee.”

Lily eyes my arms though, and I know it looks bad. But the pain is already subsiding, so it can’t actually be that bad.

Carter returns with a bowl of water and a washcloth. He sets the bowl on the table. “Put your wrist in the water.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m fine,” I say again, hating the attention I’m getting.

He ignores me and grabs my wrist. He sticks my wrist and forearm into the cool water. The burn on my arm soothes immediately. I voluntarily stick my other arm in. When I look down I realize that my arm is redder than I expected.

“Look at me,” Carter says.