With that, she stalks out of my office, and I exhale a frustrated breath.
In other words, if I step over the line she’s created for me, she’ll fuck my chances of winning that award.
5
Charlize
“What time will you be finished?” Dylan asks as he pulls into a car park outside my work.
It’s Sunday afternoon, just after lunch, and I asked him to drop me off for a few hours so I could get a head start on next week’s work. I’ve been working at North & Co for three days and love it so much that I want to make a good impression by being ahead of the game as much as I can.
“Can I text you? It’ll probably be around five or so.”
He rests his hand on the steering wheel and peers at me over the rim of his aviators. Hitting me with one of his trademark sexy smiles that women line up for, he nods. “Sure thing, babe.” He then taps his cheek, which is something he only does with me.
I grin and lean over to kiss him. It’s something we’ve always done during the entirety of our ten-year friendship. This time, however, he surprises me when he takes hold of my face and murmurs, “Be careful, Char.”
I frown. “How so?”
He lets me go and pulls his aviators off. “You’re working for a guy you’re into, and you’re
working days you don’t need to. That causes me concern. I don’t want to see you get hurt. So be careful, okay?”
I grip his cheeks and squeeze them while blasting a smile his way. “Aww, you love me, Dyl. But there’s nothing to be worried about. I’ve hardly seen Owen since my first morning there. He was all about having coffee with me, and then, nothing. It was like he disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Yeah, well I’m keeping my eye out, and if I see any shit going down like it did with Lincoln, I’m hauling your ass outta here faster than you can argue with me.” My third-last boyfriend sucked me in with lies, and I fell hard for them and him. The relationship ended very messily, and Dylan has been super protective ever since.
My smile turns into a grin. “I like it when you get all bossy and manly on me.” Grabbing my bag, I exit the car. “I’ll text you when I’m ready. And as far as Owen hurting me like Lincoln did, that’s not going to happen because while I might be into him, he’s my boss and I’m not about to ruin this opportunity to finally get ahead in life.”
After I wave him off, I head inside the building that houses the North & Co offices. Owen’s company takes up five floors at the top of the building. The security guard clears me to enter, and a couple of minutes later, I step onto the floor my cubicle is on.
I love the quiet that surrounds me. As I walk to my desk, I confirm I’m the only one here, which makes me more than happy. While I like people, I prefer my own company. Plus, I’ll get more work done without any interruptions.
But first, coffee. And music.
I grab my headphones out of my bag and connect them to my phone, pulling up my current favourite album that’s on repeat. A little bit of Kesha on a Sunday will get my brain working. Taking my Smurf mug with me, I dance my way into the kitchen in search of coffee.
I’m in the middle of what could be one of my best dance sequences yet when I execute the final twirl and collide with a hard chest. Strong arms circle me, stopping me from falling, and just as the song I’m listening to finishes, Owen’s deep voice rumbles, “Who would have known that you can dance as well as you can analyse numbers and rip dresses?”
My heart beats faster as I stare up into those blue eyes of his that make me think of naked swimming. My brain processes the data in front of me as fast as it can, but my scattered thoughts and emotions are too much for it to keep pace. I yank my headphones off and exclaim, “Owen! What are you doing here?”
He chuckles, still holding me. “I own the place.”
“You work on Sundays?” God, Charlize, could you have asked a more stupid question? Of course he works weekends. He owns the damn company. Way to show Owen my intelligence.
Letting me go, he says, “I try not to, but lately I have been.”
He sounds and looks exhausted, and I wonder what’s keeping him up at night. “You want me to make you a coffee?” I ask.
The tiredness lining his face eases a little as he nods. “A coffee with you is just what the doctor ordered.”
Butterflies don’t just whoosh through my tummy at his words; they bloody slam into it. Millions of them. And my naked swimming fantasies? I’m not imagining swimming anymore. Nope, I’m all about being naked in other ways with him.
Trying to slow my mind and heart rate down, I quickly move to the coffee machine and busy myself with making his drink. Owen, on the other hand, has other ideas. It seems he doesn’t care how fast my heart is beating right now or that he’s causing dirty thoughts to take over my brain. He follows me and stands too damn close for my liking.
Well, I mean, I like it. Just a little too much. And we are work colleagues after all now, so him and me and close should never be a real thing.
“Why are you here today?” he asks.