Blowing out a heavy sigh, I grabbed my clutch and headed for the front door, purposely leaving my phone in the bedroom. I couldn’t give in. Claire loved to overreact, and I was taking this as an overreaction.
This couldn’t end.
Not yet.
***
I’m an idiot.
I swear I am.
Carlos had given his warning, yet there I was, sitting in the driver’s car in front of his building. On my lap, I had some take out sushi, and in my clutch I had a few dollars and quarters for two sodas from the first vending machine I saw inside. I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I couldn’t help myself. We’d passed the building only thirty minutes ago and all I could do was stare at it. All I could do was look up. I knew Carlos was in there. I knew he was most likely working.
But then I started to wonder…
I wondered how he’d react to seeing me with a nice meal. Isaac told me Carlos didn’t grab any lunch—that he’d gone straight to work. Then I called Jane from Isaac’s cell phone, and she told me Carlos didn’t have a crumb on his desk. He was empty handed.
He had to be hungry. I figured maybe he had too much pride for me, of all people, to bring him lunch.
Well, he was going to have to suck it up. I bought enough for two, and I needed to get to know him. I know it seemed insane, but I wanted to do this. I wanted to see him again, even though it’d been less than an hour since our last encounter.
Bad thoughts came to mind, but I brushed them aside. Nothing was holding me back. I was trying to be a new woman, yes, but my past had nothing to do with this. Nothing. After exhaling a deep breath, I started to push out, but Isaac reached back and grabbed my elbow right before I could exit.
I glanced back with a slight frown.
His face was tight. Concerned. “Miss Sterling… I don’t mean to be in you and Mr. Montero’s business, but are you sure he asked you to come by?”
I blinked at him then remembered the conversation I’d had with him after picking up the sushi. Apparently, Montero gave Isaac a warning about bringing me to his job, but I told Isaac that Montero had changed his mind and wanted sushi. I was a pretty good liar. I knew once I was out of the car that Isaac would call, but it would be too late. I was going up to that top floor whether Carlos liked it or not.
“It’s fine, Isaac,” I said, smiling his way. “He said he was hungry. I’m just here for lunch, and then we can go. I say… twenty minutes?”
Isaac gave me a look full of doubt but removed his hand and nodded. “Twenty minutes.”
My lips stretched to force a smile, and I scurried out of the car, hurrying towards the front door. I took a quick glance back and saw Isaac already had his phone to his ear. Stupid driver! Why couldn’t he just break the rules for once?
I clambered through the lobby and waited for the elevator. It took a while, but when it finally opened, I rushed inside past a few people and pressed the button for the top floor. A few men in suits entered the elevator, which caused me to shift into the corner. It was pretty cramped in here, and with the smell of raw fish in my hands, I knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasant ride.
Fortunately, most of the people got off on the same floor. And that left me with the men in suits. One of them glanced back at me as the doors began to slide shut. I gave him a quick smile before looking away.
But he kept staring. Then he asked. “What you got there? Smells like… fish.”
“It is fish. Raw fish,” I confirmed.
The other men looked back. “Oh. Do you work here?” the same man with the blue eyes asked.
I shook my head. “No. Just having lunch with a friend.”
“What floor?”
“Top floor.”
The man frowned, snatching his blue gaze from mine and placing it on the man to his right. The man on his right stiffened, and the one to his left’s jaw started ticking. I ignored them, assuming they knew what friend I was talking about. He ran this building. He was the CEO.
The elevator stopped two floors below Carlos’s, and the men exited. Before the doors could shut, one of them glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes narrowed. I pressed the button for the doors to shut, and just like that, they were gone.
And I was going up with my raw fish.
The elevator chimed, the doors slid open, and I stepped out. Carlos’s office door was closed, so I headed for Jane, smiling as I neared her. “Hi, Jane, is Carlos in?”
“He is. I’ll page him.”
“Do me a favor,” I said before she could press the button.
Her eyebrows elevated. “What’s that, sweetie?”
“Don’t tell him it’s me. I want him to be surprised.” I grinned.
She smiled and nodded. Then, she paged Carlos. His voice came through the receiver, and hearing it caused hot fuzzies to run through me. I thanked Jane then marched towards Carlos’s office. The door started to open, and my heart pounded. I had high hopes that he wouldn’t get too upset about me showing up even though he’d told me not to. We were just having fun. Having a little lunch wouldn’t kill anyone.
It didn’t take long for his door to open. I was expecting to see his tall stature make its way out of the door, but instead, a short, petite frame walked through. Her brown hair was pinned up, her makeup absolutely flawless. She wore a short green and black dress with black pumps to match, and she walked daintily in my direction, smiling ever so lightly as she met my eyes.
I blinked as she walked past me, gave a quick farewell to Jane, and then stepped onto the elevator. The doors shut before her, and then I turned forward, just as Carlos was stepping out of his office.
Once he spotted me, he froze, and a quick frown came to his face. “Mya,” he breathed, marching towards me. “What the hell are you doing here?” He grabbed me gently by the elbow and hurried into his office. Before the door shut behind him, he glanced over his shoulder, as if he was watching out for someone.
“Who was that?” I asked.
He stepped around me. “Just a friend that I work with. You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
I frowned. Just a friend my ass. That didn’t look like just a friend. She didn’t even look like she worked—she seemed more like a leach, sucking up everyone else’s money for her own desires. I couldn’t get worked up about this. I mean, I hadn’t even known Carlos for that long. I barely knew a thing about him. We were just in this for the physical aspect. I had to understand that, so I picked up the bag of sushi and forced a smile at him. “I know you said not to come by, but I figured you were hungry, so I bought some sushi to share. I called Jane, and she said you hadn’t eaten. Isaac also told me you came straight to work so I just figured…”
My voice trailed off the longer he stared at me. Silence filled the space between us. It was truly uncomfortable. “I told you not to come by here today, Mya,” Carlos muttered. “It’s a busy day.”
“I was just being nice,” I said, frowning.
“Today is… it’s not the day,” he said, taking a step back and running the palms of his hands together.
“Why not? Look, I understand you’re busy, but are you really too busy to eat?”
“It’s not about eating or being too busy,” he said, his voice mildly heated. “It’s about you not following orders.”
I swallowed thickly. “Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll leave then.”
I started to turn for the door, but Carlos caught my arm, swinging me back around. “Is it happening?” he questioned.
“Is what happening?”
He gave me a dull look. “You know what I’m talking about.”
I shook my head. “No… I don’t.”
“Yes, you do, Mya. Because if it is, I can just send you home right now. I don’t need you to break commands. When I tell you no, that means no. When I tell you to wait for me, that means wait for me.”
I scoffed. “Why are you so upset about me showing up!? I was coming by to grant you a favor. I was being a friend
. It’s lunch, Carlos. What’s so bad about me bringing lunch?”
“I told you I was fine. Yet, you didn’t listen. Why?” he breathed.
“I was being nice,” I said slowly.
“Nice?” He backed away, laughing dryly. “Nice. Is that right?”
I nodded, folding my arms.
“Well it seems to me you just wanted to come by to see me… you and I both know this isn’t about the lunch.”
I narrowed my brows. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying you need to get out of here and get back to the hotel right now or I will call this whole thing off.” He took a step forward, nostrils flared. “And I know you don’t want it to end yet. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor. All you have to do is listen, and everything will work out. But if you don’t, nothing will work out. This,” he said, pointing between himself and me, “…won’t work out. I need to know you won’t drag your issues into this.”
“I don’t have any issues,” I mumbled.
Carlos smirked. “Oh, you have issues. You just don’t like to admit to them.”
I looked him hard in the eyes, outraged that he’d gone to levels so deep. Why was it that he knew so much about me but I knew nothing about him? Why didn’t he want me to come by his office today? Was it a test? Did he tell me not to come just to see what I would do? Or was he hiding something… something he didn’t want me—or anyone—to know anything about? Like that woman in green, perhaps.
My blood was boiling. I had to get the hell away from him. I needed to calm down. After dramatically dropping the bag of sushi at his feet and whirling around, I snatched his office door open and hurried for the elevator. But when the doors opened, there were those three men in suits again. They eyed me briefly before marching around me and heading for Carlos’s office.
I frowned as I entered the cart. They didn’t even check in with Jane. Who the hell were these guys? Unfortunately, the doors closed before I could see them enter his office. I figured they worked for him as well. Whatever.
I made it out to the car and slid in. Isaac didn’t dare look back. He simply started the car and pulled off. I felt kind of bad lying to him, especially since lunch didn’t go as planned, but I ignored my guilt and focused on all the things Carlos said.
Then, I wondered… was it happening? Had I already lost my constraint? I swore I was only going to be in this for the fun of it, but already, things had transitioned for me. I felt obligated to do things for Carlos. I felt it was my duty to make sure he was satisfied in all ways other than sex.
But he didn’t want that.
I’d ignored his command about coming to his office all because I wanted to see him. He was right about one thing… I wasn’t coming to see him just to provide lunch. No. It was something more.
Something dangerous.
Something I didn’t want to admit.
Something I should’ve been running away from once I had the chance.
But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I was going to control my behavior and myself. I was going to finish off the next few days, and then I was going home.
Nothing more could come of this. I had to get that into my thick skull.
Nothing. More. Could. Come. Of. This.
LET IT GO
Carlos didn’t stop by for dinner, nor did he stop by the next morning.
I panicked. Maybe I really did screw up yesterday. Had I really let this thing go downhill that fast? I knew Carlos was expecting me to follow his orders, but was it really so bad that he refused to come see me? Was he punishing me?
Tears built at the rims of my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. Turning my gaze to my left, I stared at my laptop on my desk. There were a few things I learned last night. Since Carlos didn’t come by, I did some unnecessary digging. What I learned was that Carlos had Jane update his website a lot on his whereabouts and what projects he was working on. There wasn’t an update last night, but I figured there’d be one today. Perhaps he got caught up… but if that were the case, why didn’t he call? Shoot me a text or an email? I hadn’t heard from him since the previous afternoon.
I fidgeted on the bed, biting at my fingernail while staring at the laptop. It was right there… but getting on it meant I was crossing the line. I swore I wouldn’t be that way with Carlos, so instead of opening up the laptop, I scrambled for the remote and turned the TV on. All I needed was to occupy myself.
That was all.
I surfed through the channels, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep giving that laptop a quick glance every few seconds. After watching an episode of Sex and the City and realizing my phone was still dry and my nerves were on end, I couldn’t handle it. I jumped off the bed and sat in the chair in front of the desk. After lifting the flap and going to the browser, my fingers dwindled over the keyboard.
“Shit,” I sighed. Was I really doing this? Had I already fallen into this trap? Yes, yes I had because it didn’t take very long for me to pull up Carlos’s website and start scrolling.
I clicked the updates section, but when I did, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a reason I hadn’t seen or heard from Carlos since the previous afternoon. Although I couldn’t truly be upset about that reason, I was. In fact, I was pissed.
The top post was a picture of Carlos and the brunette that was in his office only yesterday. They were arm in arm, he in a well-tailored black suit and her in a little black dress to match. They were ideal… and I was jealous. The one liner was simple and gave no details of their relation.
Mr. Montero and his guest, Marilyn Black, after the Marley Rails Dinner.
That woman—I should’ve known she was more than “just a friend” as he said. I recalled the time when Jane confused me for a woman seeking a good time with Carlos in his office, and my blood seemed to boil. My face became hot. My hands balled into tight fists. I stared at the screen—at the perfect picture of them arm in arm—dumbfounded and… hurt?
I was hurting, buy why?
Carlos made it clear that this was nothing more than sex… but what I didn’t know was that there would be other women? Had he slept with her last night? Did he go home with her and do the things that he’d done to me to her?
My heart pounded. I started to pant.
I had to calm down.
I had to get over this.
After all, I didn’t know the whole story. I didn’t know if this woman was truly a friend or perhaps an in-law of his. Unlike me, she didn’t have tan skin or jet-black hair. She didn’t have cat eyes, and she wasn’t very tall. But she was purely Caucasian, and I was that as well, mixed with Egyptian blood.
“Calm down, Mya,” I breathed, pushing from the chair and slowly closing the laptop. “Just calm down.” Turning to my left, I picked up my phone and knew it was time to call Claire.
I entered the TV room, swiping my nose and heading for the sofa. But just before I could press the dial number for Claire, I spotted a folded sheet of paper on the countertop. My eyebrows stitched as I warily made my way towards it. Dropping my phone, I picked up the paper and noticed the handwriting. It was Carlos’s handwriting. Seeing it made my heart race, in a good way of course.
Don’t be angry with me. I totally forgot about the dinner I had to attend. Let’s just say you’ve been stealing my thoughts away ever since you’ve been here. All I seem to think about is you… your body. Your laugh. Your smile. Your lips. Yourother lips. I stopped by after the dinner, but you were sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb you. I will make this up to you. After work today I will be all yours. I left a surprise in the front closet for you. Wear it. I know you’ll look perfect in it. Be ready by seven PM sharp, my sweet Mya.
Carlos
My heart stuttered… it fucking fluttered. My smile grew so wide and so big with each word that I couldn’t believe my face could stretch so much. Carlos came by. He was coming back to me, which meant he didn’t go back with the Marilyn girl. He wanted me for the night. The thought of that thrilled me.
I folded the note back neatly and headed for the front closet. When I opened it and saw what was waiting for me, my jaw dropped. I pulled the black Chanel dress out slowly, disbelieving my eyes. It was short and fitted, strapless with small gold stitches bordering the waist and bust. It. Was. Perfect.
I bounced on my toes with excitement then rushed towards the counter to check the time on my phone. I had three hours to get ready, and that didn’t feel like nearly enough. I knew I was going to have to look my best. I needed to after not seeing Carlos for almost an entire day. I wanted him to drool.
I wanted him to stare.
I wanted him to want me wherever we were at all times. I didn’t want his eyes to stray from me once.
Call my crazy or over the top, but I was thrilled about this, and due to all of my excitement, I decided to keep Claire out of the loop until I was back in Chicago. She could wait. I didn’t want this ruined… not yet. I had one day left. One damn day. I had to get this man out of my system before then, but deep down, I knew that was going to be next to impossible for a girl like me.
***
I finished getting dressed thirty minutes before Isaac arrived. I was a little disappointed when I made it down to the car and saw Carlos wasn’t in the back seat waiting for me. Spotting my disappointment, Isaac said, “Don’t worry, Miss Sterling. The wait will surely be worth it.” I forced a smile at Isaac and slid into the backseat. Once he pulled off, I pulled out my handheld mirror and gave myself a quick once over.
Lips glossed.
Hair curled.
Eyelashes long and batty-like.
Cheeks rosy and somewhat innocent.
I felt great, but it’d been a while since I’d worn so much makeup. Nonetheless, I had to admit, I was flawless. Nervous as shit, but pretty striking for a woman as myself.
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