I leaned back against the closed door and took in slow breaths to stop my racing heart.
God…things were going to be awkward at the office tomorrow.
Chapter Three
I skulked into the office the next day, fifteen minutes late, hoping that everyone would be in their morning meetings and I could get to my office without running into Parker. Or Cooper. I breathed a sigh of relief when I was in my office, the door shut tightly behind me. I sank into my soft chair, kicked on my computer, and leaned back, closing my eyes against the overhead lights while it booted up.
As soon as the computer came to life, it started chirping with new email messages.
The beeping perked my interest and I leaned over the keyboard and started to read through the messages. Most of them were inter-office memos that I was automatically included in, but actually had very little to do with my position. Cooper had placed me in the IT department for Brighton Enterprises, but technically, I was off on my own thing, under the Plush branch.
To say it was complicated would be an understatement.
The last email is the one that caught my attention and made me jolt upright in my chair. It was from Cooper, demanding that I be in his office, at eight-thirty for a briefing.
My eyes flicked to the corner of my computer screen, where a blaring digital clock showed it was eight twenty-three.
“Fuck!” I jumped up out of my chair and raced around the desk and back into the hallway. Cooper’s office was only one floor above, but it would take at least five minutes to get there, and that was if the elevators were cooperating with me.
I scuttled down the hallway, trying to hurry, but also keep my ankles from rolling in my ridiculous heels. I was so busy focusing on my mission that when Parker came into view, I barely registered his presence.
“Allison! Hey,” he said as I barreled down the hall.
“Sorry, can’t talk.”
He looked a little puzzled and I couldn’t help but wonder what he would think of me now. Our date had ended so abruptly and I’d acted like a complete nut case. A handshake? Really, Allie? I rolled my eyes at myself and continued down my path to the elevators.
I made it to Cooper’s receptionist from hell, Kimberly, with less than a minute to spare.
“Good morning,” she sneered. I didn’t know what her problem was, but she’d been a bitch to me since the very beginning. Secretly, I wondered if she either had slept with—or was trying to sleep with—Cooper and that was the reason for her overwhelming hostility.
“I have an appointment.”
“I will notify Mr. Brighton.” She pressed some buttons on her phone and I walked away. I was in no mood for her today, and knew that if she said anything rude, it would be very difficult for me to hold back.
Luckily, I wasn’t left alone with her for long. Cooper stepped out of his office to collect me. He was wearing a dark gray suit, and I almost melted at the sight of him. I took him in, but when I reached his eyes, the flutter of desire was quickly replaced with anxiety.
“Miss Rand,” he said.
Keep it together, Allie, I told myself.
I nodded and stepped past Kimberly’s desk and followed Cooper into his corner office.
Once inside, he shut the door behind me and crossed the room to sit behind his desk. He indicated that I should sit opposite him, in one of the two leather chairs sitting on the other side of his desk.
I struggled to keep from turning crimson as I stared at the edge of the desk, realizing that was where I’d been perched, with my legs wrapped around his hips the first time that he fucked me. It had been several weeks since, but the memory was surprisingly fresh as I stared at the polished oak. It was hard to push it all to the side and regain my focus. When I lifted my eyes, he was staring at me and I could feel the fire in my cheeks.
“Allison, sit,” he said.
I hadn’t realized I was still standing. I’d gotten lost in a rush of memories and lost track of myself. I smiled and lowered into the seat he indicated and waited.
“Did you go out with Parker last night?”
Something inside me told me that he already knew the answer, and that his question was entirely rhetorical. There was no point in lying to him. At the end of all this personal drama between the two of us, my place at Brighton Enterprises was a job. One that I desperately needed to keep in order to avoid going back to stripping—or worse—Kansas.
“Yes, I did. We went to dinner. Nothing happened.” I don’t know why I added the last part. It slipped out before I could stop it.
Cooper nodded and his eyes seemed to shift as he watched me squirm. My limbs were suddenly restless as I tried to figure out what he was thinking. The harder he stared at me, the more I wanted to jump up and run from his office.