Want Me (Mess with Me 4)

“Morning, Mr. Lawson!” Sharon calls out as I pass by.

I respond with a quick wave and hope she doesn’t take offense. As I cross the threshold into my office, I let out a sigh of relief.

Then promptly spill my gas station coffee all over my desk.

“Jesus! What is it with this morning?”

“Hey, boss. Is everything okay?” Wallace sticks his head in the door.

“Does it look like everything is okay?”

His eyes widen as he looks between me and the mess all over the desk. “Uh, not really.” He backs out of the room slowly. A minute later he returns with a roll of paper towels.

Which of course makes me feel like shit. I accept the offering gratefully, feeling even worse about how short I was with him. I take a few deep breaths. It’s not his fault and I don’t want to take my shitty mood out on everyone else.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” He fidgets, shifting from foot to foot while I clean the desk.

“Did you need something?” Now that my desk is clean, if a little sticky, I try to focus on why we’re all here. Work has always been my haven and it never lets me down. It never leaves me to sleep cold and alone with nothing but toast for company.

“No. I mean, maybe. Do I look okay? I mean, how do I look?” Wallace stops fidgeting finally but then starts tugging at his tie.

He’s wearing a nicer suit than usual and his hair looks like it’s been gelled back. Business casual is our standard unless we have a client meeting so this sudden GQ look is a bit of a departure for Wallace.

“You look great. What’s the occasion?” I mentally scan over the last few staff meetings. Is there something going on that I missed?

Just then there’s a commotion in the hallway. A bunch of people I recognize from the accounting department walk by in a flurry of chatter. Wallace suddenly looks green.

/> “It’s the GlowUp campaign meeting. All the beta testers are invited to talk about the launch party on Saturday.” He tugs at his tie again knocking it askew.

I reach over and straighten it. “You look great. There’s no need to be nervous. It’s just Mya and a few people from other departments, rights?”

We walk out into the hallway together and I’m stunned by the crowd heading into the conference room. This many people signed up for the beta test? Several young women walk by that I swear I’ve never even seen before.

“Who are all these people?”

Wallace looks over. “Mya recruited a pretty large test group. The investors were really impressed. Some of these girls are just here for Seth Barrington though. He’s supposed to be coming today.”

Anya walks by then and she stops when she sees Wallace. Keeping her eyes on him, she smiles. “Looking good! Are you ready for this?”

He nods. “Yeah. Yup. Totally not nervous at all.”

Anya still doesn’t look at me. “Just stick by me. We’ll do it together.”

That’s when I notice her outfit. She’s wearing this black wrap dress thing that looks new. And low cut. Her short black bob has been styled messily and to my horror makes her look like she’s just climbed out of bed after having sex. She’s also rimmed her eyes with some kind of black stuff that makes them look even bluer.

In short, she looks completely and totally fuckable.

“Wait? Anya, you’re going? Isn’t this just for the people doing the beta test?”

Clearly I didn’t do a good job sounding professional because Wallace clears his throat.

“I‘ll see you in there, Anya.” He ducks between us and then walks into the conference room.

Anya turns to follow him but I step into her path. She rolls her eyes. “Did you need something, Mr. Lawson?”

My growl startles us both. “Would you stop with the Mr. Lawson crap?”