“When do you have to leave?”
“Saturday morning. I have to be at the airport at four o’clock.” He shook his head as if in disbelief. He hated to travel. He had told her that once when they were on the phone, and he was getting ready to go to Saudi Arabia.
“We can stay at Mom and Dad’s if you need us to until you get back.” She didn’t want him to worry about asking them to leave while he was gone if that was it.
“What? No. Why would you need to do that?” He looked at her like she had three heads.
“I just thought maybe you were feeling bad about wanting to kick us out right after we got here, so I just wanted to let you know it’s okay. I understand if you want us to.”
“That’s just silly. I honestly hate traveling. You’re staying in the apartment. Besides, at least this way I know there won’t be any cobwebs when I get home.”
CHAPTER 8
A few hours after getting back to the office there was a soft knock at the door. Ember looked up surprised. She didn’t know anyone here besides Ridge, Blake and her cousin Lance, and didn't think there was a reason for any of them to come by.
“Come in,” Ember called out putting her face in her hands. This resume was like a job in itself.
A stunning young lady stuck her head in the door. “Hi, my name is Jenna.” Her voice was relaxing as she stepped inside.
Ember looked up, “Hi, I’m Ember.”
“Yes, I know. Carla was telling some of the girls on our floor about you, and I just wanted to come and introduce myself.” She spoke fast with an excited energy about her. Ember guessed she was close to the same age as her. She had bright aqua blue eyes and a lovely smile. Ember got the feeling that she would be hard to dislike.
“Carla was talking about me?” She just shook her head. The thought made her aggravated even though she knew that this would happen especially after this morning.
“I know she has a big mouth, but I wouldn’t have known you were here if she hadn’t said anything. There’s a competition at the new karaoke bar tomorrow night, and I just wanted to see if you would like to go with a few of us. There's a small cover charge since it is a competition, but it’s not much. Of course, none of us can actually sing, but it’s fun to watch. We go out once and a while hoping to find our prince charming. Don’t worry; Carla isn’t ever invited.” She smiled as she twisted a lock of her long curly black hair.
“What exactly was she saying?” Ember’s curiosity got the best of her, and she pointed to the chair in front of the desk. Jenna closed the office door and took a seat.
“The same thing she says about anyone new who comes around. You're pretty cozy with not just Mr. O’Neil, but Mr. Tatum too. And she’s so jealous she can’t stand it. Oh, she didn’t say that last part, but it’s true. She is. Of course, most of the single women in the tower are jealous when it comes to those two. Mr. Tatum has never had a woman near his office, though, so that alone has everyone talking.”
“He’s never brought anyone up here?” Ember knew this was probably true, and she wasn’t surprised by it, but to hear someone else say it aloud just made her feel sad for him. He really needed to find someone special.
“No. He is definitely all business when it comes to the office. Well, until you showed up.” She grinned at Ember. “Some people around the offices would have bet a month’s salary that he was gay. I never agreed with that, though. I hope that it’s not true anyway.” She was looking down at her hands and apparently realized what she had just said and looked up, horrified, and Ember just grinned. “I mean I know he’s not gay since…”
Ember laughed. “He’s not gay, but he’s not with me either,” she said.
“He's not?” Ember could tell she was a little skeptical.
“He’s my brother.” She grinned as she watched Jenna go from relieved to perplexed.
“Oh my, I’m not really sure that’s better,” Ember smiled, and Jenna relaxed. Ember could tell she had been right about her first impression of Jenna: she liked her. “Now, what about tomorrow night? Do you think you can get away and come hang out with us?”
Ember grinned. “I would love to go, but I won’t be able to make it tomorrow. I appreciate the offer, though.”
“Well, you're invited anytime. It would be great to hang out with someone new. Take my card and give me a call or text sometime when you can join us.” She handed Ember her card.
“Thank you, I will.” Ember took the card from her putting the number in her phone.
“See you soon!” Jenna smiled and turned to walk out.
“Hi, Mr. O’Neil,” she heard Jenna say as she walked into the lobby. Ember was surprised that Jenna was able to talk to him so casually and not sound like a nervous teenager.
She looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but she found him staring at her instead. He turned back to Jenna as soon as Ember looked up. He answered her with a friendly greeting as they walked into the elevator together.
As she watched them step out of view, she realized Jenna had mentioned Ridge had never brought anyone up to his office but did that mean Blake had, or had Jenna been focusing on Ridge because she evidently had a crush on him? She decided she would wait to get to know Jenna just a little better before she asked her anything about Blake. She liked her, but she didn’t know her well enough to trust she wouldn’t be the next one to run out and spread rumors.
She looked at the computer monitor and was just about to start typing again when her cell phone buzzed with a text. She looked down at it and saw that it was Reece again.
Ok, I know I’m rushing things I
just miss you. We'll wait for
dinner just don’t ignore me pls
I love you, Ember
Sighing, she laid her head on her arms, trying to think of what to say.
“Sleeping again?” His deep voice made her heart skip a beat.
She looked up and quickly went to push her hair out of her face almost knocking over the cup on her desk. He grabbed it out of the way just in time.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” She covered her face with her hands, and he chuckled.
“Hey, it’s your drink. You spill it; you’re the one who has to do without.”
“I didn’t have a drink.” She looked at him, slightly confused, then realized he was holding two cups.
“Just an afternoon pick-me-up. I wasn’t sure if you like coffee, but I took a chance.” He shrugged and set her cup back down. "If you're anything like Ridge, you can drink it all day."
“I love coffee, and yes, I could drink it all day.” She smiled at him. "Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Before he started out of the office, he said, “You should probably answer that text soon.” He sounded a little annoyed.
Ember’s mouth dropped open when she noticed her phone was sitting in front of her with the text from Reece on the screen. She groaned and laid her head back on her arms. Finally picking the phone back up, she hit reply:
No dinner. I’m not ready for
that. I might not ever be, Reece.
Give me time
She hit send and sat back. She took a deep breath and put the phone away and started back on the resume.
The next time she looked at the clock it was fifteen after three and she was finally finished. She called to check on Kaylen and let Jade know she would be leaving soon to pick her up. Then she went to find Ridge.
His door was open, so she knocked on the door frame. He looked up and smiled.
“I’m going to pick up Kaylen, and we’ll be home a little later. I won’t be long. She has picked out “Frozen” to watch tonight, so be ready to get your cartoon on.” She grinned at the blank stare on his face. “It’s not as painful as it sounds, I promise.”
Finally, he smiled. “What do you want me to make for dinner? If you call as you’re leaving, I can start something so we can eat when you get back.”
“How about spaghetti? Kaylen loves that,” she called over her
shoulder as she was heading back toward the door. Ridge may have someone come in and clean once a week, but he did his own cooking. Ember was proud of him for that.
“I can do that.”
As she walked out of Ridge’s office, she had an impulse to thank Blake one more time, since this was probably the last time she was going to see him. She knew she should stay away from him, but it was harder than she wanted to admit.
The thick navy blue curtains concealed his office like Ridge’s. She knocked lightly on the door, and immediately regretted her decision. She hoped that he was out of the office, but before she could turn to leave, he answered.
He looked up from his desk as she opened the door. When he saw her, he leaned back in his chair and invited her in.
“Hi.” Nervously she stepped into his office and closed the door, but not moving much further than a few steps. “I just want to thank you again for the coffee.” She bit her bottom lip nervously.
“You’re welcome." He cocked his head slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You came here just to say thank you for coffee?”
“No.” She shook her head nervously, “I want to say goodbye, too. I finished my resume so I won’t need to come back.” Fumbling for the words she continued, “I mean I may see you around, just not here.” She knew she was rambling, but she suddenly couldn’t think. His scent filled the office, and it was intoxicating. The more she tried to breathe in to clear her head the more of his scent she took in.
Her eyes grew wider as he stood and stalked toward her saying, “Do you remember the night Ridge, Jade, Lance, you and I sat around the bonfire discussing our dreams?” He took her hands while studying her closely. He continued when she nodded, “You said you wanted to help people. You wanted to be a doctor so that you could heal people.”
Ember wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but she was shocked that he had remembered the conversation. Blushing she looked down at their hands and said softly “That was nine years ago.”
“Has that changed? You no longer want to help others?” He furrowed his brows.
“No! Of course, I do.” She was a little frantic that anyone might think that. She looked into his eyes and his expression softened. “That's still my dream; the reality has just changed a little.” She looked back down at their hands unable to keep eye contact. She started to blush thinking he could tell how he affected her.
He lifted her chin, looked into her eyes and before she had a chance to say or do anything he kissed her. It was a soft and slow kiss at first, but he quickly became more forceful parting her lips with his tongue. Moaning into his mouth, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer.
He backed her against the door of the office slowly sliding his hands up her thigh to cup her ass, causing her whole body to tingle. In one quick motion, he lifted her off the ground making her wrap her legs around his waist. He moved his kisses along her jaw, then her neck. She leaned her head back to give him better access.
Then he stilled.
“Shit!” he whispered into her neck before pulling back and setting her down on the floor.
“I’m sorry.” Blake’s voice was low and husky, but he never looked her in the eyes. “There’s a bathroom over there. You can use it if you need to.” He pointed to the corner of his office as he walked back to his desk.
Ember stood watching him for a moment before she went into the bathroom to readjust her clothes. She walked back in the room quietly. He sat with his head in his hands. When she opened the door, she heard him say her name, but there was no way she was going to stop now.
What just happened? Her face flushed as she tried to understand. As Ember fought back tears of humiliation, she realized she was more upset that he stopped, making her feel more rejected than she ever had been before.
Carla was gone when Ember went to Blake’s office, and she hadn’t returned yet. Ember breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about the rumor mill.
She really needed a girlfriend to talk to right now.
CHAPTER 9
Ember pulled into Jade’s driveway just a few minutes after five o’clock. Jade’s house was smaller than their parents’, but it was in a nice, family-friendly neighborhood. Tanner was in his last year of general surgery residency, and he was planning on doing two more years for plastic surgery. Jade hadn’t worked since she had Hunter five years ago, but their parents wanted her to stay home, so they helped Jade and Tanner with money when they needed it. Ember felt a tinge of jealousy as she got out of the car and started walking toward the house, but she shot the feeling down as quickly as it started. She wanted to be happy for her sister, and she wasn’t going to dwell on the fact that her dad was more willing to help Jade just because she was married before she got pregnant.
Kaylen ran into Ember’s arms as soon as she heard her walk in the door. She began immediately telling Ember stories about her adventures that day and was so excited to share it all that Ember wasn’t going to stop her. After almost five minutes of talking about the crafts they made, the cookies they baked, the movie they watched and the dolls she had played with, Kaylen ran back to the bedroom to play some more. It was apparent that she loved having someone to play with, and Ember felt a bit of guilt that she had not been able to give her a sibling yet. Reece didn’t act like he wanted Kaylen most of the time, so she didn’t think it would be appropriate to bring another child into the situation. She smiled sadly as she watched Kaylen run off toward the room.
Ember made her way to the kitchen, where Jade was working on dinner, and she sat down at the bar. She had never seen Jade do anything domestic, so the sight was intriguing. Jade looked up at her. “Are you hungry? I’m making homemade pizza.” She smiled at Ember, and then her face changed to concern. “What’s wrong? Your eyes are red like you’ve been crying. Reece didn’t show back up did he?”
Ember forced a smile and played with the ring she wore as she thought about how much she wanted to tell Jade. If any of it ever got back to Ridge, she was sure he would flip out, but she wanted to talk about it.
“Do you remember Blake O’Neil?”
Jade furrowed her eyebrows as she thought then looked at Ember confused. “Ridge’s partner?”
Ember nodded.
“I’ve met him before,” pausing she went from confused to anxious, “why?”
Still playing with her ring, she said, “I went to his office before I left the tower, you know, just to say goodbye.” She glanced up to watch Jade’s reaction as she told her, “We made out.”
Jade’s face fell. “Ember, you don’t know this guy that well. What would Ridge say if he knew that? Does he know?”
“Oh, no! He can’t know, please Jade,” Ember pleaded.
“I’m not going to tell him anything, but I’ve heard Ridge mention his reputation before, and I just want you to be careful. Remember it’s not just you. You have to think about Kaylen too.”
“I will, but what do you mean his reputation? Not that it matters, I probably won’t even see him again. I’m done with my resume so I won’t be going back to TTO.” She wasn’t going to tell Jade she was living across the hall from the man, though.
“I don’t remember what we were talking about, but he said that Blake likes the ladies.” Ember just nodded as her heart fell to pieces. “Well,” Jade asked with a mischievous grin, “Does he kiss good?”
Ember immediately felt the heat in her face as she blushed, “Good doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said with a shy smile.
Jade grinned as she went back to work on the pizza. “You didn’t get a chance to answer me about dinner.”
“Ridge is making spaghetti, so we'll have to pass tonight. He has to leave for Africa Saturday, so he wants to spend some time with Kaylen.”
“Okay. Poor guy. I know how much he hates to travel. Maybe you can come down sometime next week, and the kids can play together. Hunter enjoys having Kaylen around. Hayden is still a little too young to pl
ay. They had a lot of fun together. Kaylen is such a sweetie.” Jade continued working the pizza dough into the pan, creating the edges.
“I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time waiting to hear back from potential employers, so hopefully we can visit. It will be nice to get to spend some time with you.” Ember smiled at the thought. She was looking forward to seeing Jade more.
They continued to talk about Ember’s plans as Jade finished up the pizza. When she placed it in the oven and set the timer, she turned to Ember looking her up and down. With a glint in her eyes, she said, “I want you to try something on. I bought it a while back, but it’s just a little small for me. You’re smaller, so I think it may fit you.” She hurried out of the kitchen, through the open living area and into the master bedroom. She was moving so quickly that Ember almost had to run to catch up with her.
As Ember stood at the door of the closet, she watched Jade scooting hangers around. Slowly she pulled something off the rod that was still inside a plastic bag. Jade’s smile was so big that Ember was becoming impatient to see what it was. Jade walked back into the bedroom and slid the plastic off of the dress. It was a black, strapless, mini A-line, taffeta cocktail dress with an empire waist. Silver beads made up the embellishment on the waist. Jade held it out for Ember to take, but she was so shocked she just continued to stare at it.
Jade laughed. “Well, go try it on! See if it fits. I have some shoes that you can choose from too.” Ember was still just staring at the dress when Jade took her hand and placed the hanger in it.
“Jade, I love it, but I don’t have anywhere I would get to wear this.” Ember tried to protest, but Jade wasn't going to have it.
“Believe me, if you take this home, you'll find a place to wear it.” She smiled at Ember.
Ember went into the master bathroom and put the dress on. She couldn’t believe how it hugged every curve and accentuated them just enough to be alluring without being sleazy. The fabric felt wonderful against her skin. She stepped back into the bedroom for Jade to see, and she could tell from the grin on Jade’s face that she agreed with Ember. It made her look sexy.
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