by Lechna Baram
“Where are you going?” he asked in a whisper, making sure that no one was watching. I shrugged.
“I don't know yet,” I told him. He gave me a curt nod and let go of my wrist.
“Be careful,” Damian told me. The attack thing must be still bothering him. I nodded and watched as he started walking towards the two other men.
“Wait,” I called, loud enough for my new colleagues to turn to look at us. Damian turned and stared at me, waiting for me to talk. Why was everyone looking at me like that? “Do you want to eat something?” I asked, after clearing my throat and trying to ignore the eyes on us. Damian stared at me, a smirk slowly forming.
“Yes,” he answered after running his tongue over his lip in smoothly. I could see a glint in his eyes. “You...bring me something,” he continued making my heart race. I nodded, trying to ignore the secret message he was trying to pass on to me. Memories of the night spent at my parent's house flooded back.
Do you want to eat something?
The smirk.
Holy mother!
Chapter 32
Work
Gordon sat in front of me in the restaurant. Kelsey was just beside him while Jax thought it would be cool to sit next to me.
“So what did you use to do for a living?” Jax asked, attracting the attention of Kelsey and Gordon.
I blinked several times, not knowing what to say. What was I supposed to say?
Hey! I’m a stripper.
“I used to babysit at times,” I lied. “I'm currently studying psychology.” They all nodded, smiling.
“How old are you?” Gordon asked as a little frown made its way on his face.
“Twenty, and you?” I directed the questions to all the three of them. Soon, the waiter came with our food.
“I'm twenty-four,” Kelsey said, making my eyes go wide. I would have guessed that she was twenty or twenty-one.
“Twenty-five,” Gordon and Jax answered at the same time. I nodded. I felt like a baby. Kelsey seemed to notice that and laughed. She lightly patted my back in a reassuring way.
“I look like I'm twelve,” Kelsey said, making Jax and Gordon nod in agreement, earning a playful glare from Kelsey herself.
“How did you get the job?” Jax asked as he ate his chips. I don't know why I wasn't getting good vibes from that guy. He was wiggling his eyebrows at me as if I... slept my way to this job. Damn. I didn't. Yes. I did sleep with Damian. But not for this job.
“My sister married Damian's brother,” I told them as I pushed my food in my plate. I felt uncomfortable talking about Damian. What if they think I sleep with the boss? Well, I did. But not now. Damn. I wouldn't hesitate to sleep with that sexy ass man again. I miss his touch. I miss the sweet words he'd whisper when he'd thrust in me. I missed him. I loved the way he'd smirk.
“Hello! Athena!” I blinked several times when I realized that someone was waving his hand in front of my face with chips between his fingers. I stared at the owner of the hands and glared at the man who was trying to get oil on my face.
“You spaced out,” he said as he put the chips in his mouth.
“Not reason enough to put these chips on my face.” I retorted playfully.
“They were right in front of you.” Gordon rectified.
“Close enough to touch my face though.” I added.
“But they didn't touch it,” he said with a proud grin.
“You guys are like kids.” Kelsey sighed as she smiled at us.
I shrugged and smiled back. We ate our food while talking about the work. Their advices were really helpful and I learnt about things or persons I should be avoiding.
Before leaving, I ordered a sandwich for Damian, knowing that he hadn't eaten yet. His meeting was more important than food. I rolled my eyes as I picked up the wrapped sandwich and walked to the door where my new friends were waiting for me.
“Hey, I was thinking about something,” Kelsey started as we made our way back to work. We walked till this small restaurant from the building where we worked as it was really close.
“Enlighten me,” I said as we followed the guys.
“Each Friday, we go to the club with other friends from work, do you want to join us?” Kelsey asked me with a small smile. I thought about it for a few seconds. Rose was not here. She was at her parent's and I was left alone with no close friends. I did have friends with whom I study but they were not as close as Rose. Kelsey seemed to be the kind of person I'd love to hang out with.
“That would be cool,” I told her as we reached the building. Just as I was about to push the door open, I saw a familiar face walking in my direction. I quickly moved to the side to let Kelsey walk in. She turned and stared at me in confusion. “Tell Mr. Spears that I'm talking to a friend, I'll be coming in a few,” I said and watched as she nodded. Gordon and Jax both smiled and walked in.
“Athena,” Jace greeted as soon as he reached me. When I saw him, how I found Rose in the park flashed back. I didn't feel anger. I felt disappointment. I wasn't expecting this from Jace. I stared at him, a frown adorning my face. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to talk. “Where's Rose?” he asked, making me scoff.
“Why are you looking for her?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.
“I looked for her at the apartment but I kept knocking and she didn't open,” Jace said. He didn't look sad nor happy. He had a neutral expression on his face. It was as if he didn't care about Rose.
“She's not home. She left,” I simply said and turned around to walk back into the building. I was brought to a stop when his hand held on my wrist, pulling me backwards slightly.
“Where did she go?” he asked, making me roll my eyes. Slowly, anger started surfacing. I turned and glared at him.
“Why do you ask? Do you care?” I asked after scoffing.
“You know I do,” Jace said, his eyes not meeting mine. He was staring at the ground. He wasn't even man enough to look in my eyes and admit that he messed up.
“You do?” I laughed humorlessly. “Did you know that she was drunk and alone in the park the night you left her?” I asked. “Did you know?” I asked again when he didn't answer. He finally shook his head. “Of course you wouldn't. Because you didn't even call her. You didn't even try to find out how she was after you left her,” I snapped. Jace clenched his jaw then turned to look at me. No. He was glaring at me as if I was the one who fucked everything up.
“Where is she, Athena?” he asked sternly, his voice seeming to be on the edge.
“I don't know,” I snapped and went to make a move again but he quickly stopped me. His grip on my wrist tightened, making me gasp slightly. When he heard me gasp, he quickly let go of my hand, his eyes widening in surprise. He blinked several times before taking a step backward.
“I'm sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I just want to know where she is.” he said, sounding quite helpless. What the hell was wrong with him? A second ago, he was scary as hell and now, he looked scared as hell.
“Jace, what's wrong?” I asked, a little frown forming on my face. Something was off with him. He didn't seem himself.
“Can we talk tonight?” he asked, staring behind me. I turned around to see Damian walking towards me. I then turned back to look at Jace, nodding. “I'll text you where we can meet,” he quickly said before walking away. He didn't wait for Damian to reach us. He simply walked away as if he did something wrong. What was wrong with him? He didn't even ask for Thomas.
“Why did he go?” Damian demanded as he reached me. I shrugged.
“I don't know. Something's wrong,” I simply said as I rubbed my wrist which was hurting. Damn. Jace did have some strength. Damian seemed to notice. He pulled my hand to him and quickly backed away while looking around. “What are you doing?” I asked as I tried to act professional.
“What happened to your hand?” he asked, his stare slowly turning into a glare. I took a deep breath and lifted the plastic bag to him.
“I bought you
food,” I said and started walking into the building with Damian following behind me. Damian was really close to me. When we reached the elevator, we got in without talking to each other.
“If we still had that deal, I would have made sure to take you damn hard till you tell me everything I want to hear from you,” Damian whispered from behind me. I could feel his breath all over my neck. I could see goosebumps all over my arms. Damn. He could see the stupid effect he had on me. I closed my eyes and tried to control my raging hormones. It was difficult to control them when he was around me. I turned around and raised my head to look at him. We were so close that our noses were touching. He smirked slightly, probably seeing the lust that I was feeling for him.
“Unfortunately, the deal is over,” I whispered, leaning slightly so that my mouth was just next to his ear. I grinned when I saw goosebumps on his skin, all over his neck. I pulled away to look at him. His eyes were closed and his jaw was clenched. “How did your meeting go?” I asked, smirking a little bit. Two can play at the game. “Sir.” I added and watched as he took a deep breath. This 'No deal' thing was definitely difficult for both of us.
“It went well,” Damian said. I could sense the control in his tone. “Until Kelsey told me that you were talking with your friend,” Damian continued. I rolled my eyes. “I told you not to be outside on your own,” he said, sounding so serious.
“I was just in front of the building and it was Jace.” I deadpanned.
“You don't seem to get that your life is in danger, Athena,” Damian snapped when the elevator stopped.
“I get it!” I exclaimed when we walked out of the elevator. “But nothing happened, right?” I asked in disbelief. Why was he so protective?
“Trouble in paradise?” we turned to see Dean walking towards us.
“Oh shut up!” I exclaimed, not wanting to deal with all this right now. Damian was too protective. Dean was going to annoy me. “I have work,” I announced before walking away. Dean was staring at me in amusement. I didn't have time to look at Damian. When I walked in my office, I nearly had a heart attack. My sister was sitting in my seat, tossing a ball of paper in the air over and over again.
“Hello Sister!” Alena exclaimed as she noticed me. “How's work?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“It's awesome.” I admitted after calming myself down. “I made new friends,” I told her and instead of smiling, she stood up, a frown on her face.
“Why didn't you tell me about the attack?” Alena asked.
“You're here because of that, right?” I sighed. She nodded. “It's not that important,” I told her and by her groan, I knew that I shouldn't have said that.
“You should take that more seriously, Athena,” Alena said, shaking her head. Her phone buzzed in her hand, signaling that she got a message. After reading it, she raised her head and stared at me. “I have to go right now. I heard that you're staying at Damian's. I'll be coming there to talk,” Alena told me as she walked to the door.
“See you soon. I love you,” I told her as she turned to look at me. She sighed and walked back to me. She wrapped her arms around me and sighed.
“Take care of yourself, Athena.” She practically begged. “Else I'll have to tell Damian to look after you.” She added laughing.
“He already is.” I sighed.
“And how is he?” Alena asked, her tone a little bit suggestive as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Pretty intense.” She laughed.
“We'll continue this talk later, sweetheart,” she said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I gotta go.”
I nodded. She walked away and waved goodbye.
Alena was, sure as hell, going to interrogate me about what was going on between Damian and me.
Chapter 33
Work is Over
I was sitting in my office, already planning Damian's meeting for tomorrow so that I wouldn't have to do it and lose time the next day. My phone beeped two times, signaling that I got a message. I took a deep breath and pulled my phone from my back.
From: Jace
The Berry Café at Six
I stared at the messsage, trying to fix a plan about how I was going to meet him, without Damian freaking out or tagging along. Maybe Damian should come. Jace seemed to be unpredictable and unstable. My eyes drifted to my wrist where his tight grip had left a mark. I picked up the phone on my desk and dialed Damian's number. I was too lazy to actually stand up and walk to his office.
“Yes, Miss Amington,” he answered, his voice deep and husky.
Since when did he call me 'Miss Amington'? I cleared my throat and tried to focus on what I needed to tell him.
“I need to tell you something,” I said, trying to act all professional. I could hear him turning pages. In my head, I could imagine him with his phone blocked between his shoulder and his ear while he tried to concentrate on his files at the same time.
“Come into my office.” Damian ordered.
“What?” I asked, thinking that I might have heard him wrong.
“Are you deaf, Miss Amington?”
I rolled my eyes at his question.
“I'm coming,” I mumbled before ending the call. I stood up and before walking out of the office, I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Work was ending in five minutes. I made my way to Damian's office. I stood in front of it and debated on whether I should knock or not. It was the polite thing to do. But he already knew that I was coming. The debate went on for several minutes until I decided to knock.
“Come in.”
I walked in to see Damian staring at me in amusement. What? I bit my lips when I saw that he was wearing his glasses. Dude. He was sexy as hell when he wore those glasses.
“What took you so long to come in?” he asked.
I stared at him in confusion. How did he know?
“I just came.” I lied.
He shook his desk and pointed at the monitor on his desk.
“I have a camera in front of the door, Athena.” He deadpanned.
Oh, the embarrassment! I could feel the blood running to my cheeks. Holy shit! Why didn't I notice it before?
“I was debating on whether to knock or not.”
The hot man sitting in front of me chuckled and said nothing else about it. I still thank God for it.
“What did you have to ask, Athena?” Damian asked.
I quirked my eyebrows at him, crossing my arms.
“No more 'Miss Amington'?” I asked and watched as he shook his head, his usual smirk plastered on his face as he pointed to the clock.
“Work's over” Ah. He was right. “What did you have to ask?” Damian asked.
“Jace sent me a message, asking me to meet him at six,” I informed him and watched as a frown slowly started forming on his beautiful face.
“Why?” he simply asked. I shrugged.
“I should go find out,” I responded smartly.
“Where did he ask to meet you?” Damian asked.
“The Berry Café.”
“We'll be going there then,” he said as he stood up. Wait. What?
“We?” I asked, frowning.
“Yes. As in you and I,” he said as if I was stupid. “Go take your bag, we'll be leaving soon.”
“Is it necessary that you come?” I asked when he walked closer to me. He was just a few feet away from me. He stared at me, wonder in his eyes.
“Will there be a problem if I come?” he asked as he took a step forward. I quickly shook my head. Nope. No problem.
“I don't have any problem. But Jace might,” I told him.
“Too bad. I'm not letting you go on your own,” Damian said as he took another step closer. I could feel his breath all over my face. He slowly brought his hand to his glasses and took it off. I unconsciously licked my lips at how handsome and controlling he was. I have to admit that even though controlling Damian was sometimes annoying, he was most of the times sexy as hell.
“Let's go then.” I conceded, knowing tha
t it was useless to argue with him. “I'm going to take my handbag,” I informed him before walking out of the office, leaving him standing there. As soon as I was out, I took a deep breath, trying to recover from Damian's unsettling presence. I quickly walked to my office and took my handbag and some of the files that I would be working on at home. Well, I mean at Damian's house. Just as I walked out of my office, I noticed Damian already waiting for me.
“Let's go,” he said, and I walked ahead.
As we walked down the corridor, we could see several heads peeking to look at us. I was sure that there were going to be rumors. Wait. Aren't they supposed to end work? Why are they still here?
“Why aren't they going?” I asked Damian.
“They end at five-thirty,” he told me when we got in the elevator.
“Why do I end at five?” I asked, frowning. He didn't answer. Instead he ignored me. He took his phone out of his pocket and started typing a message, as if I didn't just ask a question. “Asshole,” I mumbled under my breath, earning his usual sexy smirk.
“Not a good idea to call your boss an asshole,” Damian told me as he put his phone back in his pocket. I turned to look at him, a smirk forming on my face.
“Work is over,” I whispered as I leaned closer to him. He clenched his jaw and in a few seconds, I was pinned to the wall of the elevator. Damian had my arms pinned over my head and his nose was touching mine. His forehead rested against mine as he stared at me. I bit my lips, trying to stop myself from jumping on his sexy self.
“Work is over,” he repeated, his lips gently touching mine. I was about to push myself on him, claiming his lips with mine when the elevator stopped. In a fraction of a second, Damian pulled away from me, leaving me breathless. We got out of the elevator and I tried to ignore his eyes. I didn't want him to see the lust and desire I was feeling for him. I followed him to his car, no words were exchanged between us. It was sure as hell going to be difficult not to touch him. It was going to be difficult to resist his sexy self. It seemed like he didn't want to end the deal.
When we got in the car, the sexual tension was suffocating. He started driving, concentrating on the road while I concentrated on him. His jaw was clenched and his grip on the steering wheel was tight. His knuckles were turning white. He turned his head slightly to look at me, making me turn my head away. Too late. He already saw me gawking. I saw one droplet of water fall, then a second. It started raining heavily. We could barely see the road. We could see people running for shelter on the pavements