“Yes! And he said that this place was a gold mine, and he wanted to buy it. That’s why he made you such a good offer.”
“Did he now?” he says as he stops heading toward me, and I feel relieved that I’ve kept him at bay. I stand up and turn for the door.
“Maybe you should just contact him.”
But I’m surprised by how fast he moves to stop me opening the door. I don’t feel comfortable being so near to him. His breathing becomes heavy as the only thing between us and the door is his belly.
He shakes his head, then his finger strokes underneath my chin. I back away.
Eric was doing the same thing the other night, and I just wanted Eric’s touch even more when he did this. Ryan’s old enough to be my dad and creepy as hell; it just makes me want throw up now that I realize that my boss Ryan has hit on me before. I guess I just didn’t realize it those other times. Now I’m just fighting the urge to hurl.
I had said that I’ll talk to Eric. Part of the reason was so that I could get close to the billionaire, and the other part was so that I’ll keep my job once he buys the place.
Now, I’m thinking that being close to Ryan, everything in me recoils. All the erotic flashbacks from Eric last night are a distant memory.
“Look,” Ryan starts, stroking the thin strands of hair on his balding head. He adjusts his glasses, “When you see him next, tell him that I’m really busy. Hint that I have other offers on the table.”
I pause for a minute. “If you do that then he may back out. He may think that it’s not worth it.”
I was going to ask why he thinks that I’m going to see Eric again. It brings a smile to my face, to think that he’s confident about us having another rendezvous and it is a nice distraction from how gross Ryan makes me feel.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ryan sneers. “Just do what I told you to do.”
“Okay, I’ll do that then.” I swallow. I want out of this room.
I see my chance for escape, and I take it like a duck to water. Even though I have a feeling that if I stayed longer, then Ryan might have tried something more with me. I feel so relieved that I got out of there, secure in the knowledge that he didn’t. I push those thoughts away and think instead that hopefully Eric will want to see me again.
I go back to the front of the store. As soon as I get there Becca leaves. I’ve got nothing to do but play on my phone and wait for Eric to call me, unless a customer comes in.
“I’m looking for an Anne Rice novel,” a customer pops in nearly an hour later, and I’m glad to stop wasting my brain on stupid phone games. I help the customer and remember just how much I love this store.
I hope that I get to keep working here.
Maybe even with a much sexier boss.
Eric
I park my car across from the bookstore. I sigh as I turn off the ignition and pull out the key then step out of the car. I’m already walking away as I press a button on my key fob to lock the car.
I hope she likes the present that I have in my hand. I’ve given up trying to avoid calling her and just decided to come down here to surprise her.
I get to the bookstore and pause outside as I hear Elia’s laughter from inside. I push the door open and walk inside. She’s standing beside her coworker next to a bookshelf. Her laughter dies when I walk in, and she looks up to see me.
I almost feel bad, wanting to hear her laugh some more, but then she smiles at me, and I can’t help smiling back.
“Hey, Eric,” she says in greeting, then freezes almost immediately, a blush covering her cheeks as she glances at the woman beside her. “It’s been a while.” Elia smiles as if she’s telling me off for keeping away.
I want to tell her that it’s been four days and ten hours. But hey, I wasn’t counting. Not really.
“What are you doing here? If it’s Ryan that you’re…”
“I came to see you. I got you something.”
I shove the box in her hand, and the dark-haired girl that she was laughing with moves away from us. Elia’s eyes dart from the box to mine as if she’s in shock.
“Another present?”
I nod, confirming that it’s for her and she needs to open it.