by Cole, Cassie
“I will bring you doggy bag from lunch!” Kai announced helpfully.
But when we pulled up to the three story Blackrock headquarters, Tex got out of the car. I gave him a reassuring look before we went through the front door.
Milton Bryson was waiting for us in the lobby, looking like a job site manager rather than a natural gas magnate. His face lit up when he saw us, genuine and warm.
I reminded myself that he was responsible for more work-related deaths in North Dakota than the rest of the oil companies combined.
“There they are!” he announced cheerfully, striding across the lobby to shake our hands right after we came through the door. “Glad you could make it. How was the drive out from Fargo?”
“Not too bad,” I said, shaking his firm hand. Instinctively, I wanted to like him. He seemed like a nice guy.
All part of the persona, I’m sure.
“Great. That’s just great.” He moved down the line, shaking Kai’s massive hand and joking about his overalls.
I caught the secretary staring at me. At a glance I saw that she was pretty enough, with straight black hair hanging to her shoulders. Full, pink lips poking out from the desk. Any other time she would have required my full and undivided attention, but I turned back to Bryson and the others.
“Ja,” Kai was saying with that big stupid grin on his face. “Why put on pants and a shirt?”
“That’s just efficient,” Bryson agreed. He moved on to Tex, who shook his hand and smiled nervously.
I could still feel the secretary staring me down. Me, not us.
It hit me like a guide pole slamming into bedrock.
I whipped my head back around. I knew those lips because I’d kissed them. I knew that hair because I’d clenched it in my hands, feeling her scalp with my fingers.
The girl from the bar that night.
That night.
Oh fuck.
I’d done nothing but think about her for the past few weeks. The way her perfect breasts felt against my chest, and the way her back arched with ecstasy while she moaned in the storage closet. The way she’d made me come faster than anyone ever had.
I’d been trying to find her. The bartender refused to give up her name, which I couldn’t really blame him for. I visited the bar a few times a week in the hopes that she would show up. She hadn’t. Aside from that, I knew literally nothing about her. I had begun wondering if she was a random angel who dropped out of the sky to fuck my brains out and then disappear again.
And now here she was, sitting behind the desk of this place.
I couldn’t help but glance at the nameplate on the desk: Andrea Thompson. Finally knowing her name was like having a weight lifted from my shoulders.
My emotions shifted to concerns about our present job. What had I told her that night? Did I tell her why I was at the bar so late, looking to drink away my sorrows? I searched my memory but all I could remember was what we’d done in the supply closet, and how she’s disappeared after.
“We’ve got a conference room all set up,” Bryson was saying, ushering us along with a hand. “And lunch will be here shortly.”
“Ohh, lunch!” Kai said.
I stared straight ahead, avoiding her stare while following Bryson deeper into the building. I felt a deep despair in my gut that would have put Tex to shame. This was our most important contract. Our last contract.
And she could ruin everything.
6
Lexa
He could ruin everything.
I burned a hole in his back with my gaze until he and the others disappeared into the building, the big German overall guy’s voice echoing with laughter.
This was a new job. It was literally my first full day. And the only one night stand I’d ever had in my life walked through the front door like the Ghost of Hookups Past. My mind raced out of control. Would I get in trouble? How did this work? Obviously screwing a coworker was a good way to lose your job, but I hadn’t worked here at the time, and Bryson said these guys were outside contractors.
But there was no logic in that moment. My fear was intense.
“Hey there, girl!”
I jumped as Andrea popped her head out the door. Her cheerful smile turned into a frown. “You look like you just witnessed someone kicking a puppy.”
“Sorry—was zoning out,” I said.
“Yeah, that happens sometimes at the front desk!” She leaned in. “A little secret? Crossword puzzles. Helps the day go by, and keeps your mind sharp!”
“I’ll give those a try,” I said.
“They’re in the first drawer on the left. Sorry I’ve already filled in half of them. You can always close your eyes and erase them, if you want!”
“I might do that.”
I waited until she finally left me alone to assess my situation. Seeing my bar hookup in person brought back a flood of memories and emotions. I could still feel like steel eyes boring into me, stripping away my inhibition faster than any stiff drink. And the memory of the way I’d jumped him in the bathroom hallway was enough to get my heart racing again. And then the supply closet…
I didn’t regret it—definitely not—but it felt like it had happened to a different girl. A freebie I was allowed since I’d just lost my job.
Now? I didn’t know how to feel.
I wondered what they were talking about in the conference room. Even the nicest of guys bragged about their sexual exploits. I could hear his smooth voice now: “Hey, that secretary of yours? We totally fucked last month in a bar.” The vulgarity made me wince.
My embarrassment ran deeper than just awkwardness, too. It was dumb since I’d only had two interactions with Mr. Bryson, but I liked him as a boss. He really did remind me of my uncle Steve. I didn’t want him thinking any less of me, especially after I’d shown him the creepy texts on my phone.
And then I had the age old fear that all women felt at one point or another: I didn’t want my new boss to think I was a slut. It was a stupid fear born from years of sexism and double-standards, but it didn’t stop me from feeling it.
I pulled up the meeting invite on the computer and looked at the invitees. Casimiro Floyd, Jason Padmore, Kai Mendelssohn, Milton Bryson, and Theodore Matthews. Kai was almost certainly the big German in the overalls, and Casimiro sounded too foreign to be him.
I spent the next few minutes wondering if he was more of a Jason or a Theodore until the food delivery guy arrived. I signed for the food—a tray of sandwiches, and another tray of chips and cookies—and then stared at it sitting on my desk. The food had to be delivered to the conference room.
Just then, nothing terrified me more.
The lobby felt safer. My new natural habitat. Delivering the food meant I’d be intruding on their meeting, and then they would all look at me, and I might see knowledge in their eyes. I didn’t think I could bear that right now.
I grabbed the phone receiver and punched in Andrea’s extension. “Hey, it’s me. I have a favor to ask…”
“Anything!”
“The food just arrived at the front desk. Can you deliver it to the conference room?”
“Oh, honey. He won’t bite. He’s only the CEO.”
“No, it’s not…”
“Just take the food in. You won’t be a bother. They’re probably so hungry they won’t even notice you ‘cause their eyes will be on the food!”
I tried to think of a good excuse. I could tell her I had to make an emergency bathroom trip, but that seemed even more embarrassing than facing the room full of men. Now that I thought about it, Bryson would probably ask why Andrea was delivering it instead of me.
“Alright,” I said as I hung up.
Oh my God, this was the worst. I didn’t want to move. Curling up in a ball underneath the desk sounded better than delivering the food. But the guy might not have told the others anything. Maybe it hadn’t come up naturally. Maybe I could stop him before he did.
I noticed the stack of napkins on top of the tra
ys, which gave me an idea.
Carrying the trays in both hands, I felt like I was walking down death row. In sharp contrast to the doom I felt, the food made me the most popular person in the building; I was accosted five or six times by people making the same, “I want to be in that meeting!” joke. By the sixth time I was barely smiling back.
I reached the conference room, pausing before passing in front of the windows. Mustering my courage took a few extra seconds, and then I opened the door without knocking.
Bryson sat at the head of the table, farthest from the door. The four visitors were divided on either side of that end, leaving the close part of the table empty. All eyes looked at me, and then returned to their discussion.
All except for him. He looked at me with more alarm than even I felt. Having someone to share the discomfort actually made me feel a little less alone.
“…any other concerns,” Bryson was saying. “We have a spotless record with our audit history, something we’re proud of. Especially in our dangerous industry.”
“History is good, but so are regular stress tests,” said one of the guys with a slight country accent. He looked like he had been complaining.
Bryson spread his hands. “Which is why you are here. My company looks forward to your feedback—and I mean that, truly.”
I placed the trays at the opposite end of the table and removed the plastic lids of the sandwiches, then the chips and cookies. My hands felt numb, or like there was a delay between what I wanted them to do and when I did them. Like my mind was a puppeteer for my body.
Calm down, Lexa. Everything’s going to be okay.
They kept talking while I picked up the stack of napkins. I placed one in front of the German guy Kai, and then the country accent complainer. Bryson flashed a polite smile as I placed one in front of him, then the next guy…
My nameless lover was next. He sat very still as I leaned over him to place his napkin. Sweet Jesus, he smelled the same as he had that night: like spicy cloves. I let my fingers rest on the napkin for an extra breath before pulling them away, long enough for him to notice.
As I walked back to the other end of the table I sensed him reaching forward to take the note I’d hidden in the napkin out, slipping it casually into his lap. By the time I turned around he was hunched back, reading the note.
DON’T TELL MR. BRYSON ANYTHING.
He carefully folded the note back up and glanced at me.
Bryson chuckled. “You two passin’ love notes?”
I froze. Everyone looked over at me.
Crap. What a stupid plan, and stupid of me to think Bryson wouldn’t notice the note stuffed in the napkin. I tried to think of something to say, anything other than standing there like a deer about to be hit by a semi-truck, when my lover came to my rescue.
“Phone message,” he said, holding up the note. He took care to keep it folded between his fingers so Bryson couldn’t see what I’d written.
“That’s right,” I said, seizing on the excuse. “Someone called for him.” I almost stumbled over the fact that I didn’t know his name.
Bryson looked a little suspicious, like he was aware there was something going on. “They called our front desk looking for you, Cas?”
Cas? Is that short for Casimiro?
“Guess my phone’s on silent,” he said.
Bryson paused a heartbeat before saying, “No trouble, I hope?”
“Nah, just a reminder about something I need to do,” he said, shoving the note in his pocket. He looked at me with those stormy eyes and said, “Thanks, Andrea.”
Andrea? I was confused for a second, then said, “Oh. I still don’t have a new nameplate on the desk. I’m Lexa.”
“Well thanks, Lexa.” The way my name sounded on his tongue sent a flock of birds to flight in my stomach.
I swept my hand like Vanna White. “Food is here, if you couldn’t tell.”
“Ohh, lunch!” Kai said. He leaped up and rubbed his hands together. “I could eat an entire bull in one sitting.”
“An entire bull?” the complainer said. He was cuter when he wasn’t wearing a scowl on his face. “Might want to skip the horns…”
“No. The horns make you strong!” He hit his chest with a fist.
I took their friendly banter as an excuse to flee the room.
7
Cas
Lexa. The name echoed in my head like a seductive whisper. It suited her. She looked like a Lexa.
I watched her go. I couldn’t help it. The pencil skirt she was wearing made her ass look incredible, the same way it had looked that night. I could still imagine how it felt beneath my fingers, plump and firm and demanding to be squeezed.
She was more gorgeous than I remembered. Like an old friend from college who had somehow become more beautiful. The desire I felt for her was intense. It made it hard to think.
Her flowery scent lingered on the air after she was gone.
Bryson was looking at me with a funny expression on his face. “You sure everything’s alright?”
He seemed suspicious. My three buddies were all looking at me too. Tex was outright glaring at me.
“Yeah, it’s nothing. Let’s talk about your job site distribution, and which ones we plan to hit.”
We ate our sandwiches while going over the next few months of audits. It wasn’t our real plan, of course. Just what we wanted Bryson to think. We’d be gathering as much information as we could without his knowledge, and visiting job sites he wouldn’t expect. But we couldn’t let him get suspicious.
This was all supposed to be a routine safety audit.
Tex went over the OSHA checklists next. Bryson was an attentive man, and asked a lot of good specific questions. For a CEO, he paid close attention to the safety regulations he was supposed to follow.
That only made me angrier about why we were here.
Bryson gave us a tour of the building when our meeting was over, and introduced Tex and Jason to the heads of the departments with whom they’d be working. Everyone was polite and formal—they knew who we were and why we were here.
And then we were back in the lobby, saying our goodbyes.
Lexa was pretending to be busy at the front desk, squinting at something on her computer screen. Nobody else paid any attention to her while Bryson was telling some story about the building’s original construction and the heartache involved. Jason laughed at one of his jokes that I missed. I couldn’t take my eyes of Lexa. I wanted her to glance up and acknowledge me.
“You’ll get started tomorrow?” Bryson asked.
“That’s the plan,” Jason said. “Gotta check into our hotel over on Arbor Ave.”
“By the casino?” Bryson said. “Kind of a dump over there. Gets noisy at night, even on weekdays.”
“Maybe we will play some poker,” Kai said. With his accent, poker sounded like polka.
“Hey!” Bryson suddenly turned toward the front desk. “Lexa? How many people can your condo sleep?”
She glanced up, pursing those incredible pink lips together. All I could think about was how they would feel against my skin. “Uhh… I have three spare bedrooms.”
Bryson turned back to us. “That’s too bad. Lexa’s got a condo downtown she’s looking to rent out.”
“Downtown?” Jason asked. “How far away?”
“It’s a few blocks away…” she began. “But like I said, I only have three rooms.”
“We can share!” Jason said. “Tex and I will bunk together.”
“Shoot, I don’t mind,” Tex said.
It was all happening so fast. This was a bad idea. The more we were around her, the more likely they were to finding out what had happened. “We don’t want to impose,” I quickly said. “A hotel’s fine.”
Bryson waved a hand. “Hotels are terrible, especially the one y’all are staying in. Listen, you’d be doing me a huge favor by renting Lexa’s place.”
“No!” she quickly said. “You don’t have to rent my rooms if you
don’t want…”
“Nonsense. You said you’ve only gotten offers from creepy guys.” He gestured at us. “These four are all upstanding men. Better than a stranger from the internet.”
“Stayin’ at a condo sounds better than a dingy motel…” Tex said.
“That’s nice and all,” I said, “but we don’t know how long we’re going to be on this job. Could be two weeks, could be two months.”
But Bryson was like a dog with a bone. “Lexa can be flexible. Rent as you go. You’ll save money, stay at a nicer place, and she gets her rooms rented out. Everybody wins. What’s the problem?”
The problem is Lexa and I hooked up. Lexa’s mouth hung open, unable to think of any other reasonable protests. I couldn’t either.
“We’ll consider it,” I said, hoping to push it off. “Thanks again for meeting with us today. We’re looking forward to working with you.”
“So are we,” he said, shaking my hand.
We walked outside to our car. There was still a crispness to the air, but the sun was warming things up nicely. The others waited until we were all in the car to speak, but when they did it wasn’t about the condo.
“Who the hell called to give you a message?” Tex demanded.
The change of topic caught me off guard. “It was nothing.”
“Nothing?” Jason asked. “Bro. It’s really fucken weird that you got a random message in the middle of our meeting. Bryson thought so, too.”
“It was unrelated to what we’re doing,” I said, which was the complete truth.
Tex leaned forward from the back seat to look at me. “Seriously? ‘Cause that looks awfully suspicious.”
“Forget about it. The meeting went well.”
“Ja!” Kai said. “Especially this condo.”
Tex jerked his head in a nod. “Right? That’s much better than a smoky hotel next to a casino...”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Doesn’t it seem convenient that Bryson happens to have a secretary who’s renting out rooms?”