Room 452

by T. L. Quinn

  Sawyer bites down on his fist, and his eyes darken as he looks me over. “Fuck. You’re driving me crazy.”

  I smirk back. “Good. Then you won’t mind tracking Rachel down and swapping your seats again.”

  He leans back in his seat again. “No can do. I can’t be on the back of the plane again.” He pauses. “Thank you for that by the way.” He adds sarcastically.

  “Hm?” I pretend not to hear him as I place my headphones in my ears and turn up my music. He smirks at me and then turns and starts chatting with some of the other sales guys that are sitting around us.

  I manage to ignore Sawyer the rest of the ride to the airport, and I plan on doing the same thing on the plane. I downloaded a few movies to watch on the flight, and maybe I’ll take a nap. I’m just glad I won’t have to see him on a daily basis after this trip. We usually only run into each other once or twice a week back at the office since we handle different divisions.

  I stop by a little breakfast stand at the airport and grab a muffin since I didn’t wake up in time to eat anything this morning. Erin walks up to the stand and orders a coffee. “So where’d you sneak off to last night?” She asks.

  I groan. “I didn’t get any action if that’s what you’re asking.”

  She opens her mouth in shock. “How the fuck is it possible that someone who looks like you and wanted to get laid didnt get any action? What’s a girl have to do to get a good fuck these days?”

  I can tell by the smile on her face that she definitely got some last night, so I grumble even more. “It was fucking Sawyer.” I mumble.

  Erin opens her eyes wide. “Speak of the devil.”

  I whip around, and Sawyer grins at me. “You talking about me?”

  “Yes.” I grit through my clenched teeth. “About how you are the biggest cock block.”

  He gives Erin an actually friendly smile unlike the smug devilish grins he always throws my way. “She was too drunk for cock. I was a life saver.”

  I roll my eyes. “I already have to deal with you for the flight. Go away.”

  Surprisingly he just smiles at Erin and then walks away. I blow out a breath and turn back toward her. “Please switch seats with me.” I beg.

  She laughs. “No way! Me and Tony already picked out movies for the flight on his laptop.”

  I try harder. “Please! I can’t deal with this man any longer. I’m going to lose my mind.”

  She shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Why don’t you just fuck the man already?”

  I scoff. “Because I find him repulsing.”

  She turns and looks at where Sawyer walked off to, and my eyes follow. He chooses that moment to turn back toward us, and he gives us one of those charming smiles.

  “Really?” Erin asks. “Because I’d definitely hit that if he would take his eyes off of you for five seconds.”

  I turn away from him and look back at Erin. “He’s only doing this to get on my nerves. It’s a game to him. He can’t back out now. It’s a matter of pride. Whoever caves first is the loser.”

  Erin laughs. “Sounds really mature.”

  I laugh now too. “Yeah maybe, but would you back down if you were up against him?” I give her a pointed look.

  She shakes her head. “Fuck no. Take him down.”

  We laugh as we walk over toward the check in. “Oh well, I just have to get through this flight and then things will get back to normal.”

  She gives me a suspicious look. “If you say so.”

  I make it to my seat before Sawyer arrives, so I quickly pull out my phone and earbuds so I don’t have to talk to him. Maybe he’ll fall asleep before he has the chance to try to annoy me. Even if he does look perfectly put together, he was up just as late as me, and I know he was drinking.

  I glance up from my phone and see Sawyer walking toward our seats with some little blonde bimbo propped up under his arm. Oh fuck. That bimbo is Chelsea from marketing. Rumor has it she sucked her way to the position she has now. I can neither confirm nor deny that rumor, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. Of course Sawyer somehow managed to seek her out. That’s good though. He finally found someone more his type.

  He doesn’t even acknowledge me as they sit down. I don’t even know how he got her the seat next to us, and I don’t want to know. I turn my music up louder so I can try to ignore them.

  He makes it surprisingly easy. Too easy in fact. He’s completely shutting me out. He hasn’t even so much as glanced my way for the past hour, and Chelsea’s annoying fucking giggle is getting on my last nerve.

  They are doing that annoying whisper thing where everyone around them can still hear them. I shouldn’t be able to hear them over my movies, but hey sometimes there’s a break in the sound. It’s most certainly not because I paused the movie to listen to what they were saying.

  There’s finally a moment of peace when she stands to go use the bathroom. I pull out my headphones and stretch my arms over my head. Sawyer glances at me for the first time since the flight took off.

  I raise an eyebrow at him. “What are you still doing here?”

  He gives me a questioning look. “Where exactly am I supposed to be?”

  I nod toward the bathroom. “She’s definitely waiting for you on her knees in that bathroom.”

  He leans back in his chair and smirks. “I don’t sleep with co-workers.”

  I actually ugly snort a laugh. “Since when?”

  He raises an eyebrow at me. “None of your business.” He smirks.

  I laugh again. “Does getting blown in an airplane bathroom count as sleeping with someone?” I joke.

  He grunts a laugh. “You offering?”

  I smirk back. “Oh no, I’d hate to have you bend the rules for me.” I joke.

  He leans his mouth down right next to my ear. “Don’t fucking tempt me Blake. I’ll reach under that little airplane blanket you got there and finger fuck you until you strangle my fingers with your wet cunt while you cum.”

  Jesus fucking Christ. Did he just use every dirty word possible? I whip my face toward him in anger, but I can feel the blush on my cheeks. From the smirk on Sawyer’s face, I can tell he sees it too. I need to level the playing field again.

  I smirk right back. “It’s too bad you had Chuck’s seat switched with Chelsea. He always falls asleep on flights. That’s why I had him in my row.”

  His smile grows like it always does when I play his little game. “I don’t mind an audience.”

  I place my hand over my heart in mock offense. “But baby, then it wouldn’t be special.”

  He lets out a full real laugh, which makes my heart jump a little. I mean, can you say full on swoon? I roll my eyes and put my headphones back in right as Chelsea gets back to the seat.

  Well, that was fun while it lasted. Actually I don’t know if fun is quite the right word for it. Let’s just say I’ll be happy to be back home and have things back to normal. Maybe I can even find the time to finish what I started with Todd. I know we usually try to keep things on a more friendly level at work and only take things up a notch whenever we go on these trips, but we never got to finish what we started in Mexico, so I might be able to bend my rules slightly. Honestly, anything to get my mind off of you know who.

  Chapter 4

  I woke up this morning refreshed and ready to start the week. I was able to get caught up on all my emails this weekend since I didn’t want to leave my house after being away for a whole week. I’m glad I did though because now the work week won’t be crazy trying to get caught up on everything.

  I even wore my new heels with a white blouse that shows off my new tan and a black pencil skirt that shows off my tanned legs. The perfect back from vacation and now ready to kick ass outfit. Nothing is going to ruin this day for me.

  I set my coffee down on my desk and turn on my computer. I am just logging in when I see someone sit on the edge of my desk out of the corner of my eye. I look over and am met with Sawyer’s piercing blue eyes.


  I let out an exacerbated breath. “Oh for fuck’s sake. What the fuck are you doing here?”

  He smiles at me. “I was hoping you could tell me. My whole team was called in for a meeting this morning. Your name was on the list.”

  I saw my dad sent a calendar invite to a meeting this morning, but I didn’t notice it was with Sawyer’s sales team. I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

  He chuckles. “Losing your touch Blake. You used to have daddy wrapped around your little finger.”

  I grumble. “I don’t know anything because I didn’t bother checking into anything that concerns you or your team. My dad probably just wanted me present when he cans your ass.”

  He laughs. “How soon you forget that you’d have no sales without me.”

  I roll my eyes. “Exaggerate much?”

  His team is the top performing division though, and one of the main reasons is because of him. Now I am curious about what this meeting is about. I forgot about what my dad said about needing to talk to me about Sawyer. I wonder if that’s what this is about.

  Sawyer fiddles with the pens on my desk. I fold my arms over my chest. “The meeting is not for 15 minutes. Go bother someone else.”

  “Come on B, our time is limited now that we are back. Just enjoy the moment together.” He smirks.

  “Two days was not enough time apart. I can’t miss you if you never leave.” I snap back.

  Erin walks up to my desk. “Did you hear?” She glances at Sawyer but doesn’t seem to mind that he’s here.

  “Hm?” I ask.

  “Bob Verdank up and quit. Apparently he ran away with his mistress or something.” She says.

  Both Sawyer and I stare at her in disbelief. “What?” I ask. “When?”

  She nods. “It was last week while everyone was in Mexico. Apparently he gave his notice that he wasn’t going to be back when we all got back. Crazy right?”

  I turn toward Sawyer. “Well, now we know what the meeting is about.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me. “I don’t see how you are involved.”

  I roll my eyes. “Oh please. You know I’m going to have to help manage these accounts until we have a replacement.”

  Erin gets called away, and I decide to head to the conference room. Maybe I can catch my dad before everyone gets in there. Unfortunately Sawyer follows behind me. I glance over my shoulder. “Do you have to be everywhere I am?”

  “Yes.” He says as he sits down in one of the chairs and places his hands behind his head. I see my dad heading in, so I wait by the door. “Hey sweetie.” He says as he walks in.

  “We heard about Bob. What’s going on here?” I ask.

  A few of the other sales guys trickle in, so my dad gives me a small smile. “Might as well tell everyone at once.” He motions for me to sit down.

  I sit on the opposite side of the room from Sawyer. My dad clears his throat as the last of the sales guys walk in. “Hey everyone, I’m sure you all have heard rumors about Bob. I want to address that first. Yes, Bob is no longer with the company. As far as the why, we don’t need to get into that.”

  A few of the guys groan. “C’mon! Spill the details!” One of them shouts.

  My dad laughs. “Moving on. We obviously need to fill in for all the work Bob was doing, so we need an interim manager. I brought Blake to the meeting today because she is going to be acting manager of your team for the time being.”

  I open my eyes, surprised. I’ve been asking my dad for more responsibility lately, and I have put in enough time to be due for a promotion, but I’m still surprised. In fact, I can tell by his tone that there is definitely a ‘but’ coming. I just can’t for the life of me figure out what it would be.

  My dad continues. “Since she will be learning the whole new territory, this will be a joint effort with Sawyer.”

  I feel the blood drain from my face, and I whip my eyes over to Sawyer. It’s like he knew what was coming because he was already staring back at me with a satisfied smirk. I turn back to my dad in disbelief. He hates Sawyer even more than I do. How could he do this?

  He continues. “Sawyer will be handling the hands-on sales responsibilities and Blake will handle the administrative side. I’m not sure exactly how long we will keep this arrangement, but in the meantime please direct all your questions to them. That’s all. Thanks for coming in. Let’s get back to it.”

  The guys start to funnel out of the conference room, but Sawyer doesn’t follow. I feel him approach my chair from behind. I haven’t even stood up yet because I’m in too much shock. He leans down closer. “How cute. We can play mommy and daddy.”

  I push my chair back as I stand abruptly. I whip around. “Give me a minute with my dad before I fucking murder you.” I grit out.

  He gives me a full blown smile. “Whatever you say boss.”

  He turns and walks out the door, so I am left with only my dad. I turn to him and narrow my eyes. “How could you?”

  He gives me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Hey, don’t think I’m happy about this situation either, but why are you upset? You’ve been asking for this promotion.”

  I sag back down into the chair across from him. “Yeah, but that promotion wasn’t supposed to include a side of douchebag.”

  My dad raises an eyebrow at me. “You think I wanted to invite him here? He fucking walks in here like he owns the Goddamn company. Sometimes sweetie we have to set aside our pride and do what’s best for business. Prove that you can do that by working with him, and then we can talk about a more long-term solution to the problem.”

  “So you’re saying if I can get through this without murdering the man, I’ll get a real promotion?” I ask smugly.

  My dad laughs. “You have a deal if you can beat last quarter’s numbers.”

  I open my mouth wide. “Beat? We just lost the sales manager. Can’t we at least make it match last quarter?”

  My dad grins at me. “Negotiating. I like it.”

  I smile back thinking I’m going to get my way, but then my dad adds on. “Sometimes negotiations don’t go your way. Rule number one. Beat last quarter and we’ll talk.”

  I make a grumbling noise and stand up. “Fine.”

  I walk towards the door, but my dad stops me. “Love you sweetie!” He calls out.

  I glance back at him and smile. “Love you too.” I roll my eyes.

  I whip back around and take a step forward, but I slam right into someone. “Jesus.” I pull back to Sawyer’s smiling face. “Were you just waiting here the whole time?”

  He nods. “Of course. We need to work out custody of our children.”

  I roll my eyes as I walk back toward my desk. “How about you continue to be the irresponsible dad who leaves all the real work for the mom, and you can continue to schmooze your way into more sales.”

  He smirks. “I knew we could come to an agreement.”

  I sit back down at my desk. “I’m going to have Marcy help me get all the accounts organized today. We can talk details tomorrow once I know what I’m dealing with.”

  He places his hands on my desk and leans forward. “Perfect because I need you on a sales call tomorrow.”

  I raise an eyebrow at him. “What for?”

  “Trust me.” He says.

  “That’s the last thing I’d ever do.” I snap back.

  He lets out an annoyed sigh. “It’s the McCormick account.”

  Fuck. Even though that account wasn’t in my previous division, I know they are one that we’ve been trying to snag for the past three years. I blow out a breath. “Fine.” I pause. “But whatever it is you have planned better work. We need to beat last quarter’s sales.”

  The last part catches his attention, and I already regret the words. He smirks at me. “Oh yeah? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a little record breaking, but it seems like there is a deal involved. A deal I wasn’t involved with.”

  I close my eyes to gather my thoughts for a moment. “Don’t you worry
about it. You get paid on commission. More sales equals more pay.”

  He shakes his head and sits on the side of my desk. “No way. I need to know what you’re getting out of this.”

  I stare up at him. “Nothing. I just won’t have to deal with you anymore.”

  His smile grows. “All I’m hearing is that I should tank the sales this quarter.”

  I clench my jaw. “Sawyer, you bastard! You are going to fucking get out there and put on your stupid sexy smile and fucking charm your way into your best sales quarter to date or so help me God!”

  “You think my smile is sexy?” He asks as he gives me an even sexier smile.

  I roll my eyes. “Let’s just say you aren’t making sales from your vast knowledge of our products.”

  He fakes offense. “Blake, are you saying I use sex to make sales?”

  I smile back. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. How does it feel to always get everything you want?”

  He runs his eyes down me. “I’ll let you know once I get it.”

  I let out a sarcastic laugh. “I’d love to see you deal with an actual real problem.”

  His jaw ticks a little, and he doesn’t smile back. “Don’t be late tomorrow. I’d hate to see you lose this sale.”

  Then he turns and walks away. This is the second time he’s done this, leaving me feeling like I’m some kind of bitch. Now I feel kind of bad. Maybe he did go through something difficult.

  No. Stop. I don’t care about that asshole. He brings it on himself. This is just another one of his games. I can’t let him get to me. I just have to get through these next three months.

  Chapter 5

  My alarm goes off thirty minutes earlier than usual. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get ready since we are meeting at McCormicks today. After I finish putting my hair up, I take a quick glance in my full length mirror. There. Perfect. I think I look very professional.

  I grab my phone off my nightstand and see a text.

  Fuckface: Meet at McCormicks at nine. Bring your A-game. I’d hate to see you screw this up.