Hard Rider

She had a pretty little ass at the top of those long legs that swung when she walked. The tight gray pencil skirt she wore came down to right above her knees and her classic white blouse contoured over her back to show off just a little bit of the curve in her figure.

Not even that monotone mid-western drawl in Mrs. Hemlock’s voice could put a stay on the boner I was sporting. She could have been reading the phone book and I would have stayed as solid as platinum. Whenever I got even a hint of something sexual after one of my workouts, it turned me into a desperate teenager. But seeing her, with those two-inch heels and that long hair cascading down her back, had me on the verge of going absolutely wild.

When she glanced back over her shoulder, my testosterone damn near made me get out of my chair. Her lips pouted but her eyes told a different story. She was looking at me like we were familiar to each other. It only lingered on her face for a second before she turned back and rounded the corner, but it was there. I badly needed to know what was on her mind.

Riley

Deep breaths. Be present. Slow down.

I leaned against the door as it closed behind me. I knew it was him the very second I saw those dark, probing eyes. But why was it bothering me so much? He was twice as good-looking as he was in the photo, but that didn’t explain why he practically took the breath out of my lungs.

My fingers laid against the door as straight as my spine did. I inhaled sharply and tried to hold my stomach tight. If felt good to be pressed up against it so firmly, like if I didn’t, I might float right up to the ceiling.

The sun filtered in through the slatted blinds on my window and cast a perfect column of light over the only uncrowded work space on my desk. It was like a sign for me to sit down and do something. I didn’t bother with turning on my overhead as I grabbed his file and pulled my chair out.

Troy Eason. I flipped it open and began to read over the contents more carefully this time. It almost felt wrong to have access to so much of a person’s life like this. Normally, the thought never crossed my mind, but that was because I’d only used the information for work purposes before now. This, however, was treading dangerously close to creepy. I kept reading.

According to his personal history, he’d grown up in foster care. By the look of all the different families he was connected to, it appeared that it hadn’t been a picnic, either. Most of the notes centered around him getting into fights and being difficult to handle in general. I wondered what it would have been like to grow up in such an unstable environment.

Guilt washed over me.

I slammed the file shut and spun it beneath my fingers. The muscles in my shoulders and necked knotted up something fierce as the I tried to feel my way through how I should deal with this. Troy Eason was going to be one of my clients. I was scheduled to conduct his program exit evaluation and interviews, but how could I if the mere sight of him turned me into a jabbering mess?

Someone hammered out a rhythmic beat on my office door. For a second, I contemplated pretending I wasn’t in. The light was off, so I could probably get away with it.

Knock. Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock!

I chewed my bottom lip as my chin dropped to my chest. I really didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!

They weren’t going to go away easily. Two feet darkened the space beneath my door and a sinking feeling settled in my stomach. There was only one person who would be so insistent. Kyle.

“Come in,” I said, cautiously. I was all out of options and it seemed best just to get this over with. If I didn’t answer, the weirdo would probably stalk my office until I came out.

The door flew open and her ran through on happy feet. “Hey! Watcha doin’?”

“Kyle, I have a lot of work to do today, what is it?”

He was wearing his six-thousand-dollar custom suit and the same tie he had on every Friday. Kyle was the type of guy who spent a lot of time researching the perfect business attire.

“Whoa, whoa! Easy, Kitten. I just walked in.”

Kitten? Fuck you.

“I have a lot of work, is all. I don’t have much time to talk.”

“That’s fine,” he said, ignoring me and pulling up a chair at the side of my desk. “What’s on the docket today?” He glanced down at Troy’s file but I flipped it over so he couldn’t see.

“Kyle… what do you need?”

He hooked his thumbs inside of his suspenders and stretched them out. The spot he chose to sit in had me feeling trapped behind the desk. “The Board Member’s Banquet is next week. I was just stopping by to see what time you wanted me to pick you up?”

His pathetic come on attempts were so lame that I hardly even blinked anymore when he assaulted me with one of them. “Excuse me?”

“I figured we could go grab a drink before. Does seven work for you?” He smiled like a used car salesmen.

“As a matter of fact, it doesn’t. Sorry, but I already have plans to go with Casey. She’s coming over to my place and we’re leaving from there.”

He never missed a beat. “That’s okay, maybe the three of us could meet up beforehand. I’ve never had a problem entertaining two ladies.”

I didn’t know for sure if that last bit was an attempt at some kind of sexual innuendo, but it still turned my stomach. I grimaced at him and shook my head “no.”

Kyle simply nodded and looked around my office. “Bit of a mess in here, isn’t it?” It seemed like he was inspecting everything as if it would yield a clue that would allow him to topple my defenses.

“Yeah, that can happen sometimes when you’ve got a lot of work to do. Speaking of which…”

“Let me ask you something,” he said. “Why is it that you college girls always have that ‘stuck up’ thing going on?”

He’d always been crass, but never so downright rude. “Wow,” I said. “That’s kind of insolent. And, I’m getting tired of you calling me ‘college girl’. I have the same degree as you, remember?”

“Aw, I’m sorry,” he said, kicking his chair back and standing up. “It’s just that you always act like you’re too good for the rest of us.” He walked to my window and plucked the picture of my parents off the sill. “It’s like you don’t even want to be here sometimes.”

Seeing his greasy fingers leave prints on my picture frame made me feel like breaking something. I stood up too, so he couldn’t loom over me. I was sure that he’d read some book about ‘controlling a room’ and I didn’t want him to think he had a power position on me.

“I’m here to work, Kyle, not make sure everyone likes me, like we’re in high school or something.”

He seemed to ponder this, as if it were a completely foreign concept. “But that’s how you make strides in business,” he said. “Knowing all the book stuff is great… essential even, but everybody really knows that you make the most progress through the relationships you have with your co-workers.”

“Really? Because I’m not trying to make ‘strides in business’. I’m trying to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s what we do here, in case you forgot.”

Kyle scoffed so loudly that even he realized it was over the top. He backed his voice down to a whisper. “Listen, I think it’s great that you want to help people. It’s really, really cute, actually. But I’m just trying to give you some real-world advice. And the truth of it is, that people like working with people who are open and friendly. You’ll be able to get further ahead if you take that into consideration.”

My hands clenched in tight fists and it took everything I had to keep them from shaking. Sweat formed in the cracks of my palms.

Deep breaths. Be present. Slow down.

I should’ve sent him on his way. I should’ve been diplomatic… professional. But I wasn’t.

I spoke low, through gritted teeth. “Kyle, how long have you worked here with Fitting In?”

“Three years,” he said proudly, straightening his tie. ?

??That’s why I-”

“And who have you helped in those three years?”

“Wha- what do you mean?”

“A name, Kyle. Tell me the name of someone you’ve made a positive impact on. Can you do that?”

He stumbled over his words. “That’s not the point. The point is-”