by Haley Travis
Building Up Love
Insta Love Shy Girl Romance #10
By Haley Travis
Copyright 2020 Haley Travis. All rights reserved. Cover design by Lexie Renard.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted or duplicated in any form whatsoever without express written permission of the author. This book is intended for sale to adults only. This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual people or specific locations or details is completely coincidental, or intended fictitiously. All characters are over 18, no sex partners are related, all sex is consensual. This is fantasy. In the real world, everyone practices safe sex at all times. Right? Right.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One ~ Alison
Chapter Two ~ Mark
Chapter Three ~ Alison
Chapter Four ~ Mark
Chapter Five ~ Alison
Chapter Six ~ Mark
Chapter Seven ~ Alison
Chapter Eight ~ Mark
Chapter Nine ~ Alison
Chapter Ten ~ Mark
Chapter Eleven ~ Alison
Chapter Twelve ~ Mark
Chapter Thirteen ~ Alison
Epilogue ~ Mark
Other Stories and About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
* Alison *
One more year , I chanted to myself as I arranged the presentation binders on the boardroom table. Just one more year of working for Ralph Jones, then I could escape to a better company.
I placed each binder in front of the chairs I knew Ralph would want to use. He always sat at the head of the table so that the light from the window would hit him full in the face. He thought that made him look younger and more dynamic. Nobody had the nerve to tell him it actually made him look weathered, and brought out the fake orange tint of his spray tan.
Ralph would want Jerry and Todd, his spoiled, useless sons, to sit at his left. He’d want the client on the right, seated a bit farther away so that they could turn more eye to eye. I arranged the chairs perfectly, to put him at ease. Hopefully he wouldn’t raise his voice today.
Many businesspeople have a system for the way they conduct meetings, and some of them are well thought out and logical. Ralph just relied on the idea that if it worked once, it would hopefully work again. He was superstitious, small-minded, and rather dim for someone who was running a company of this size.
But as he was teaching his sons by example, it didn’t take a lot of intelligence to be handed the family business and just muddle along with it.
Even though the company wasn’t well-respected anymore, it had been around for so long that people sort of accepted its existence. Therefore, I hoped, if I had a reasonable amount of time here on my resume, I could get a better job someday. Maybe less than a year from now. But I promised myself it wouldn’t be more than a year. I longed for a good job I could really sink into, and feel like I was improving my career steadily.
This job would have been better if I could just tell my boss how to better organize himself, but I knew that he would never listen. Speaking up to people was not something I’d ever been able to do easily, and nobody wants to be told that they’re doing something wrong. Especially older men, since I’m only twenty-two.
Growing up, my Father tended to yell whenever I disturbed him, so I had learned not to bother him with my issues or opinions. It got to the point where I’d just leave him a note rather than tell him where I’d be. I arranged my life so that I wouldn’t have to intrude with my problems.
If I were able to speak openly with Ralph, I could have helped him a lot more. And if he would stop raising his voice to employees, he could have helped his entire company.
My ultimate goal was to work in a place where co-workers helped each other. I wanted to learn from people, not just courses and books. I craved a dynamic environment where people tried to be their best because they loved the work, not just the paycheck.
After replacing the water bottles, brewing fresh coffee, and examining every single inch of the boardroom to make sure nothing had been left out of place from the morning meetings earlier in the day, I went out to the reception desk to have a sip of tea. I was exhausted after having to work so late last night; the tea would refresh me.
Then I jumped, nearing choking on the hot peppermint water as I saw there was already someone in the office. How could I have been so distracted that I didn’t notice the big man lounging on the sofa in our lobby? He instantly smiled at me as I rushed over.
“Hello,” I said quickly, returning his smile. “May I help you?”
His eyes were deep brown, but as I came closer, I could see lighter flecks of golden warmth through them. His thick, nearly black hair had just a bit of wave, and he was wearing a beautifully-cut black suit with a black shirt. I wondered if he needed to get his suits custom tailored to fit over those broad shoulders. It was hard to place how old he was, but maybe late thirties.
He was impossibly good-looking, and seemed out of place in this boring gray office that was becoming a bit shabby around the edges.
“I’m Mark Green,” he said smoothly. “I’m a little early for my two o’clock with Ralph.”
“Of course, Mr. Green,” I said. “The team is on their way right now. May I fetch you a coffee?”
“Actually, you could help me with a problem I’ve been having,” he said, patting the seat beside him.
I sat without thinking, curious about what he could possibly want. Turning to him, I became even more aware of how tall he was.
“I’m looking into a development deal with this company,” he said in a hushed tone. “My usual choices are completely booked up for the next quarter, so I’m considering doing one project here. But I’m not sure about their management.”
He leaned in close, a slight smile lighting up his face. “Do you trust the owner and managers who run this company? Are they good people?”
I felt my breathing stop for a moment. There was something about him that was making me feel overheated and tingly. There was nothing he was doing that was remotely inappropriate, yet I felt drawn to him in the strangest way. Those eyes were making my airways feel strangely tight.
I didn’t know if I could lie to him. Lying was probably what was expected of me. As I desperately tried to build up my fledgling career, I knew that company loyalty was valued above all else. Could I break that loyalty to a total stranger, and possibly lose an account?
“I’m not sure what to say,” I murmured. “I mean, they hired me fresh out of school. Does that make someone a good person?”
“Do they treat you well here?” he asked.
It took all of my power to hold my face in a neutral expression. There was absolutely nothing positive that I could say, so I stayed silent. There was a pause.
Mark nodded. “Thank you for your honesty.”
“I didn’t say a word.”
“But I heard you anyway,” he smiled. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He held out his hand. “What’s your name?”
Before I could answer, there was a loud yell from the boardroom. “Where the hell is Alison? I told her to set out fresh coffee. How hard is it for her to obey instructions? That incompetent little–”
Ralph came around the corner to see us sitting there and shaking hands; clearly, we had heard everything. His demeanor changed in a flash as he strode
toward Mark holding out his hand. “Welcome, Mr. Green. So good of you to drop in today. Please, let me show you to the boardroom.”
Mark gave me an uncomfortable look and a nod as he stood up to shake Mark’s hand. As soon as they were gone I dashed to my desk, hoping that I wouldn’t be called into the boardroom in the middle of their meeting.
Ralph did that sometimes, in a twisted attempt to show how powerful he was. If I went in and he yelled at me, he thought it made him project a forceful nature. As if that would impress the clients.
It was all completely pathetic, but the only people who had the nerve to give their opinions on his behavior were his sycophantic sons. They adored him, copying his every move, no matter how ridiculous.
I was starting to wonder – maybe I didn’t have to wait a year. Maybe six months would be enough to show that I could stay at one place for a while. Or, I could always start applying to other jobs right now, just to get some more experience with the whole process.
I’d been here for months without taking a sick day, so if I had to come in late one morning due to a job interview, I could always lie and say I had a doctor’s appointment.
I was still shocked that I hadn’t been able to lie to Mark. Even though I had just met him, I already felt like I was somehow under his spell. And my right hand still tingled from that brief handshake, making me feel like I was blushing, but I didn’t know why.
CHAPTER TWO
* Mark *
After listening to Ralph prattle on about my project for just three straight minutes, I already knew that what Alison had said to me without actually saying it was absolutely true.
He was a total idiot. What was worse, he wasn’t aware of it, and thought that he was being impressive. He was wrong.
I’d dealt with all sorts of corporate types in my time, but he was something else.
Just as I was hoping I could take their presentation paperwork and leave, claiming to want to flip through it in my own office, Ralph’s son Jerry stood up and whipped out a remote control to begin a video presentation.
A blue screen came up, but no video.
He mashed at the buttons like a child trying to type when they didn’t know what the letters meant. “Dad,” he whined, “Alison was supposed to set this up so that it was foolproof.”
“Alison,” Ralph roared, “get in here.”
The poor girl came tearing into the room, already wringing her hands. It broke my heart to see her looking so upset.
Alison was unbelievably beautiful, in a fragile, delicate way. With her dark hair, high cheekbones, and tempting pouty lips, I had wanted to pull her into my arms the first second I saw her. I’d never had a reaction so immediate to a woman before, and it was electrifying.
Watching her try to deal with a man who was yelling at her was pure torture to watch.
She saw the blue screen and dashed over to take the remote from Jerry’s hand while Todd openly laughed at the situation.
“Power, and video one,” Alison whispered. “We went over this ten times last night.” It killed me to notice that she was shaking like a leaf.
“Maybe if you weren’t so busy making typos in the presentation book, you could have made it simpler,” Ralph snapped.
“You sent the text through over forty emails,” she breathed. “I was editing at one in the morning, until–”
Ralph cut her off far too loudly. “That’s no excuse for your incompetence.” Alison jumped back as if she’d been slapped.
I was on my feet before I even realized I’d moved. “That’s enough.” Four heads snapped around to look at me, surprised by my angry tone.
I walked around the table to where Alison was trying to cringe out of existence.
“I’m terribly sorry these assholes are so rude to you,” I said as gently as I could. “I know it’s not my place, but I just can’t let a nice girl like you work for these people a second longer. Will you please come to my company? I can hire you as an intern immediately, then we’ll figure out a proper job for you.”
As I was speaking, I inadvertently inched closer. Her beautiful face tipped up to mine as I took in her wide-eyed shock. To my huge relief, she nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
Tucking an arm around her, I led her out of the boardroom, slamming the door behind me so that they understood they were not to follow.
“Get your things.”
She nodded, dashing to her desk and digging out a shopping bag. She grabbed her huge happy face mug full of pens, two notebooks, a fake plant, and her purse, then met me at the elevator.
I could hear angry voices in the boardroom, as Ralph seemed to have turned his fury on his sons. The second we were in the elevator, she began to shake.
“Alison?” Her bottom lip was quivering.
I knew it was unprofessional, but she was obviously completely rattled. Holding out my arms, I asked her, “Would you like a hug?” She paused for only a second before stepping into my embrace, cuddling against my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she choked.
“Don’t be, Alison. I’m so sorry that you ended up with those horrible jackasses. Nobody should ever treat a woman like that. Nobody should ever treat an employee like that. I’ll be making sure that the entire construction and development community knows what a complete loser Ralph is.”
“I didn’t mean to make any trouble,” she whispered, quickly moving away from me as the elevator doors opened.
“Of course you didn’t. And I’m sorry if I caused any trouble stepping in. I know that I can be a bit overbearing, but I just couldn’t let that continue.”
She nodded. “Thank you. Honestly, I’d meant to stick it out here for at least a year, but the thought of even one more week was killing me.”
I took her down to my car, placing her things in the back seat. Just as I was starting the engine, my phone beeped. Quickly skimming the text, I muttered, “Dammit.”
“If you’re busy, I can leave you alone,” Alison said immediately. “I don’t mean to interrupt you.”
Looking over into her expressive blue eyes, it was upsetting how she seemed to think she could be so easily dismissed. “No, I’m not letting you go,” I said. “But do you mind swinging by a construction site for just a few minutes?”
“Not at all.”
“Good,” I said, driving out of the underground lot and into traffic. “And then we can talk about how your job skills can be transferred to my company, and figure out where to put you. What sort of position would be your dream job?”
Alison turned in her seat to face me a bit more, quickly rattling off a list of programs she used extensively, and what courses she had taken.
“But really, I’m just looking to be as useful and productive as possible,” she said. “I want to help people and projects come together. Sometimes that might mean putting together proposals, and sometimes it might mean getting coffee. Working on a team, or working alone, it doesn’t matter. As long as I have a clear direction, I’ll work hard at anything.”
Pulling into a parking spot and turning off the engine, I turned to her. “I believe that,” I said. “You’re obviously a go-getter. Someone who would jump out of a lousy job and into a new one sight unseen is obviously a person who is ready for big opportunities, and someday, the top.”
She shook her head quickly, her slightly wavy hair swishing around her shoulders. “Not the top. I’m not the kind of person to be wheeling and dealing and making the big calls,” she smiled.
“Well, we’re going to see about that,” I said. I recited my email address so that she could fire off her resume to me immediately, and so that I’d have her number.
When she was done we got out of the car and went into the lobby of an office and condo building that was still under construction. It was amusing to watch her eyes light up as she stared around at the workers rushing in all directions around us. Holding up two fingers to my foreman, he tossed me a hard hat that I passed to Alison, then another for me.
“Wh
ere are we going?” she asked as she put the hard hat on with hands that were twitching slightly.
“We’re not going to be in any dangerous areas, it’s just a formality,” I said. “The big scary action is up on twenty, but we’re only going to the fourth floor, which is almost finished.”
She followed me into the elevator, sticking close by my side. “It’s okay,” I chuckled. “There are walls there and everything.”
As the elevator opened on four, we walked into what would soon be the giant lobby of a high-end software company. At the moment, it was the building’s command center, with a dozen plain desks in rows, and three massive shelves full of blueprints and work orders.
“When we’re working on a job, we make a mobile office on site,” I explained. “Everyone here still has the full support of our main office, but each project team is fairly self-sufficient. We use whatever space is finished, but won’t be painted and decorated for a while.”