Saltwater Kisses (The Kisses 1)

“I haven’t seen him since I arrived. Rachel says he has been working nonstop at the office, so I thought I would surprise him.”

Dean’s face clouded for a moment. His mouth made a twist, like he was going to tell me bad news. “So, his secretary doesn’t know you are coming? This may not be the best idea Emma.”

Indignation flared up in my stomach. His secretary? His secretary was the reason I was in this mess in the first place. I was away from my home, my friends, and my family because a secretary released a picture. I was here because Jack wanted me here and no secretary was going to stop me. I bit down a flippant remark and smiled instead.

“I want to see Jack. He’s the reason I’m here and it feels weird sleepi

ng at his house and eating his food, but never seeing him.”

Dean frowned, but nodded and turned back in his seat. He wore the ‘she’s got to make her own mistakes’ expression that my dad wore whenever I was about to do something stupid. I sighed, suddenly feeling a little less confident. I was going to see Jack today, even if it meant breaking the rules.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, the city flying past in shades of gray and glass. The DS Oil and Gas building quickly loomed up in front of us, a tower lost in a sea of murky sky. Dean opened the door and I stepped out, the air colder than I remembered. I hurried though the big glass doors and into the yellow warmth of the lobby.

Business suits swam around me like a school of giant black and gray fish as I worked my way towards a security desk. I stepped up to the desk and a man in an imposing uniform glared down at me. I was about to speak when Dean stepped up. The security guard broke out in a smile, completely changing his features from scary to pleasant.

“Dean! How’s it going?” The big guard greeted Dean. Dean leaned up against the counter, his frame shielding me from the people entering and exiting the elevators.

“Doing good. I want to introduce you to Emma LaRue. She is to have full access to Jack Saunders’ floor.”

The big man smiled at me, suddenly friendly. “Nice to meet you Ms. LaRue. Or will it be Mrs. Saunders?”

“Emma is fine,” I said. I wasn’t sure myself.

“Of course Ms. Emma. Let me get you a badge. I believe Ms. Weber had one made for you already.” The man ducked under the desk and unlocked a cabinet. He reappeared with an official looking badge with my picture smiling on the front. “This should get you onto his floor. The rest is up to you and his new secretary. Dean, you’ll show her the way it works, won’t you?”

“Of course. Thanks Jim,” Dean said. The big guard waved and replaced his friendly smile with the threatening frown as Dean guided me towards green elevators. I stayed close to him, not wanting to lose my guide. We stepped onto a green elevator with several other people and Dean hit the highest button, 27. I was sure that Jack’s office was higher than that, but I didn’t say anything.

We stepped out at our stop and Dean led me around a corner to another elevator. This one was golden instead of green.

“If you come in through the front door, this is the path you should take. The main elevators don’t go up to the higher floors for security reasons.” He hit the button for the gold doors and we stepped inside. “Scan your card against the button there and then press the 45 button. If you don’t scan your card, the elevator won’t move and security will be called.”

I held the card up to the reader and a green light blinked. I hit 45 and the elevator whizzed upward. It took only a couple of seconds for the doors to open into the lobby I recognized from my first night. It was more brightly lit than in the evening, and there was a hum of energy. A man and a woman in expensive suits hurried past toward the offices, deep in discussion. An older woman sat at the big desk, speaking confidently into her headset.

Dean caught my arm. “This elevator goes down to the garage. If you come in through the garage, you can take this without having to get off as you would if you use the main elevators. I will be over there when you’re ready to leave.” He pointed to some comfortable looking leather chairs in the lobby by the secretary’s desk. I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. Now that I was actually up here, my courage had disappeared.

I took a steadying breath and headed towards the big desk guarding Jack’s office. The woman looked up at me as I approached and smiled kindly.

“You must be Emma. I’m Jeanette. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” she greeted me warmly. I smiled at her. She was probably in her early sixties, but despite the gray of her hair, she showed no signs of slowing down.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too. I would like to see Jack please,” I said politely.

“I’m afraid he’s in a meeting right now. I would be happy to let him know you stopped by though.”

“I can wait. I’d really like to see him.” I didn’t come all the way to his office to be stopped at the threshold by a secretary. Besides, how long could a meeting take?

Jeanette sighed. “The meeting is scheduled for another three hours. He’s meeting with investors. If you would like, I can schedule you in to see him tomorrow.”

“What if I just peeked my head in the door?” Frustration was starting to build. I gave serious thought to barging past the secretary and opening his office door, but knew I was too chicken to actually do it.

“I’m afraid he’s not in the building for this meeting. He is meeting them downtown. I’m very sorry Ms. LaRue. If I had known you were coming, I would have scheduled something.” Jeanette looked apologetic, but I felt ridiculous. I should have known better. Jack was a busy man, he wouldn’t be sitting in his office waiting for me to show up.

“Thank you for your time, Jeanette. Will you let him know I stopped by?” Jeanette nodded and smiled understandingly at me. “I guess I’ll go say hi to Rachel.”

“Ms. LaRue, I’m afraid Rachel isn’t here either. She went with Mr. Saunders to the meeting.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for telling me.” I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. I thanked Jeanette again and headed slowly back towards the golden elevators.

“I’m sorry that didn’t work out like you expected, Emma,” Dean said softly behind me as the golden doors opened. Dean hit the button marked garage.