by Alexis Gold
She felt her cheeks warm and her heart begin to pick up speed again as they walked down a hallway past offices that were functional but not done. She glanced in several of them and saw people working in some spaces and desks empty in other spaces.
“How long will it take you to finish this redesign?” she asked curiously as they continued down the hall.
Liam glanced over at her. “Well, it depends on what we wind up doing. My original suggestion was to tear down more than half of the non-load bearing walls and open up the office space, and Alexander likes the idea, but he hasn’t given me a green light on it yet. We’re waiting on the engineer and the electrician, and neither one of them seems to be able to be here when it works for everyone. In theory, I could have this place redone in two to three weeks, barring any problems, but in reality, it’s probably going to be more like three or four weeks.” He sighed a little and shrugged. He didn’t seem too bothered by it, but Mia knew that he liked to be as efficient as he was able to be.
Liam stopped before a door at the end of the hallway and turned to look at Mia. “You look beautiful. If I was straight, I’d go after you myself. You’re a major catch, and he’s lucky you’re interested in him. Keep that at the forefront of your thoughts, okay?” He gave her a serious look and she blinked in surprise.
“Now? I’m meeting him now?” she asked, her heart leaping into her throat. Liam opened the door and her mouth went dry as she followed him in, feeling her heart beat so fast that she was certain she might get dizzy and pass out.
“Mr. Daniels, good morning,” Liam said, walking over to the large dark wooden desk.
Mia followed Liam in and stood with her chin up and her heart pounding as she stopped beside Liam. The man behind the desk looked up at them and smiled, his eyes moving from Liam to Mia. He took her in for a long moment, and she knew that he was reading her as he gazed at her. He was reading everything about her. It was something that she herself did when she met new business clients or possible dating prospects. She gave him a smile as his eyes stayed on hers and then flicked swiftly over her body and back up to her face.
She could not believe how closely he resembled Mr. Big on the television show Liam had mentioned. It was uncanny. He was broad-shouldered and well-built. He had thick, dark hair that came down in a slight widow’s peak at the top of his forehead. His eyes were warm and brown, though his eyebrows were thick and black like his hair. He had a straight nose and a passive smile on his mouth. There was one lock of hair that fell over the widow’s peak in a single curl, and it reminded her of Superman in a way.
He stood up and moved his eyes from Mia to Liam. “Good morning Liam, how are you doing?”
“I’m very well, thank you. I came to introduce you to my friend Mia James. Mia is here to assist me with some consultation work on the redesign today. You’ll be seeing her around today, and I wanted to make sure you were familiar with her. Mr. Daniels, this is Mia James. Mia, this is Alexander Daniels,” he said with a nod of his head and a smile.
She reached her hand out to him, absurdly aware of herself and of him. She tried to seem as professional and casual as she could manage, knowing full well that she might be coming across as trying too hard. “Please, call me Mia.” She smiled at him sweetly.
He took her hand and shook it firmly though gently. “It’s a pleasure to have you here with us today, Mia, and please call me Alexander.” He tilted his head slightly as he regarded her. “Do you know if you’ll be here at any point after today, or will this be your only working day here?”
She wanted to speak, but her throat closed up the moment she heard his voice directed at her. She had no idea how she was going to seduce him when she could barely speak. Liam smiled at them both and came to her rescue. “Well, Alexander, that depends on how close she gets to her goal.”
His double meaning made Mia’s stomach tighten just a bit more and she turned to look at him, giving him a sharp look along with a toothy smile. He ignored her subtle death glare and looked back at the man standing before them.
“Well, I don’t want to keep you; I know you’re busy, but if you have some time in a while, there are some things that we can go over when you find yourself out in the office today,” Liam said in a friendly way.
Alexander nodded. “I’ll be out soon. I have some work to finish here. It was very nice to meet you, Miss James,” he said, his eyes locked on hers for a brief moment before he turned them to Liam and nodded at him.
“It was so nice to meet you as well, Alexander.” She gave him her sweetest smile and for the briefest of moments, she looked up at him through her thick dark eyelashes and saw a curious look in his eye.
He sat down as they turned to leave and Mia felt sure that the worst of it was over. She reminded herself to add a little sashay to her walk as she headed to the door. She knew what her body looked like in the sweater dress, and she knew there was a good chance that Alexander Daniels was watching her walk away.
Once out in the hall, she exhaled a deep breath she had been holding in her lungs, and Liam reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You did it honey; that was the hard part. He saw you, he likes you, now all you have to do is ask him out and flirt. You’ll get him. You’re much closer than you were before you walked down this hallway, and you’re a lot stronger than you think, too.”
He gave her a wink and she sighed in relief and smiled. Maybe she would be able to do it after all. She followed Liam through the office and met several other people as they went along. She helped him do what she could that morning so that her presence there with him was not wasted. She tried her best not to constantly look over her shoulder to see if Alexander was anywhere around them, and just about the time she made herself stop looking, she heard his deep soft voice almost directly over her shoulder. She turned with a start and found him standing directly behind her, looking down at her with the hint of a smile.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said as his eyes took in her face, seeming to gaze into depths of her that she didn’t let anyone into.
Her heart began to thud against her chest and she felt transparent as if there was nothing inside of her heart or mind that wasn’t his to know, and panic coursed through her, but she smiled and shook her head. “Oh, not at all. We’re just going over some of the changes that Liam wants to make here in the office. I’m trying to be helpful for him.” She paused there and watched him, giving him one of her sweet smiles.
He nodded and regarded her quietly for a moment. “I’m ordering lunch for the office. I was thinking Japanese and Chinese delivery. There’s a menu in the kitchen that everyone is ordering off of if you would like to have a look; I’d be glad to buy you lunch to thank you for the work that you’re doing here today.”
There was a lilt to her laugh and she nodded. “I’ll look at it. Thank you, that’s very thoughtful,” she replied. “So it looks like you haven’t been here long. When did you move in?”
Alexander looked around the room they were standing in. “No, I haven’t been here long. I just moved in a week before Liam was able to come start the redesign. It’s a good location and everything about the place had great potential, although it doesn’t really look like it at first glance, but with some hard work and a little time, this place will really shine. It’s a good investment for me to make.”
She listened as he explained and her mind wrapped around the concept that he was sharing with her, and it told her a good deal about what kind of person he was. “Do you do that often? See things that others might pass by and pick them up, dust them off, and make them shine again?”
He smiled quietly at her, his eyes searching hers in surprise for a moment before he gave a small nod. “Yes. I do that now and then. It’s almost a form of treasure hunting, I think. Things aren’t always what they seem on the outside, and it takes the right person to look at something and see the treasure on the inside. This place is like that, and Liam is helping me dust it off and make it what it could be.”
He nodded and chuckled. “I agree. I researched several people before I decided on hiring him for the job. He’s the best at what he does, and I want the best. I would rather have it done right the first time than have someone have to come and fix mistakes and problems afterward. I’m a fairly busy man, and I don’t have time for situations like that. Besides, I really like Liam. He’s a good man who does excellent work, and you can’t really ask for much more than that.”
Pride and happiness brightened her smile at hearing such good things about her friend. “I’m so glad that you brought him on. You’re right about him.” She tilted her head and searched his eyes with hers, wondering just who it was behind them that she was beginning to find so intriguing. He was different from any man she had ever met, right from the very beginning, and she felt pulled to him, fascinated with the mysteriousness of him.
“I believe I am. Now we just need to get all of the work here going so that I can run my office the way that it needs to be run. There are a lot of employees that rely on me to have this business going, and they need an office to do their jobs in,” he said seriously.
“Do you mind if I ask you what kind of business it is that you do?” She took a step toward him and he stayed where he was, watching her.
“We provide housing for low income families and we create community service facilities to offer them assistance and aide,” he told her matter-of-factly, his eyes steady on hers as he spoke.
She blinked and her mouth opened slightly. “You… you make money doing that?” she asked in disbelief.
He was silent a moment, as he regarded her, and then he shook his head slightly. “This isn’t the only business I do. This is just one of the most important things I do.”
Mia shook her head as the grin on her face widened a bit more. “You are so fascinating!” she spoke softly. She wanted to get to know him better, and she knew that if she was going to ask him out that she needed to do it. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, giving him a subtly flirtatious smile. “You know, I think I could talk with you for a long while and have nothing but more questions for you afterward.” She bit her lip a moment as she looked up at him and he stayed contemplative and still as he watched her, giving her no hint of his thoughts.
“I hope it doesn’t sound too forward of me, I know we just met, but would you be interested in having dinner with me some night soon?” she was sure that her blood pressure had hit an all-time high as her heart raced and her lungs tightened, but she remained calm and collected on the outside, trying her best to flirt a little without going too far.
Like her dress, she wanted to be alluring without seeming too obvious. He didn’t answer her right away, but instead he looked around the room for a moment and she thought she saw a small frown at the corner of his mouth, although it wasn’t entirely clear and she couldn’t be sure it was there at all.
She waited, and every moment that passed while she was waiting felt like an eternity. She watched him as he thought it over, and then he turned back to her and gave her a kind smile and she saw genuine care in his warm brown eyes.
“I am flattered, Miss James, and I appreciate the offer, but things here are really just too busy for me to take any personal time away from it just now. I need to keep my focus on the changes I’m making here and I’m afraid you would be quite a distraction for me, but thank you for asking.” He turned away from her and then stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, giving her another smile as his eyes met hers once more, briefly.
“Don’t forget, that lunch menu is in the kitchen. You’re welcome to get whatever you like.” He turned then and walked out of the room and back down the hall with his hands in his pockets and his head down as if his eyes were on the floor in front of him.
She watched him, the corners of her mouth turning downward and she felt the pout forming as her lower lip projected just slightly. There was a soft voice over her shoulder, quiet and consoling.
“That was a really good try. You did it all right,” Liam said.
Mia started just a little and lowered her brows. “Where have you been? How do you know what happened?” she asked in a light whisper.
“Oh, I’ve had my eye on you all day, and as soon as I saw him walk out of his office and come here to find you and talk with you, I knew I needed to be close but out of sight. I was just around the corner there.” He spoke in a hush over her shoulder.
She shrugged one shoulder as she watched Alexander’s door close. “You were spying!” she accused quietly.
“I was silently supporting and wishing for success in your endeavor. Don’t be so negative,” he justified. You were really close.”
“He said no.” Then she turned her face toward Liam’s and looked at him pointedly. “The bet is still on. I’m not done with him yet.”
Liam grinned and nodded. “I agree. The bet is still on. I didn’t really expect immediate success, I mean, there are miracles, but it would have surprised me if he had agreed to it. He just met you. You still have a shot at him. I think if he was around you a little more, if he saw you here a time or two more, you might get him to go out with you for whatever, and then maybe you could get him where you want him.”
Mia raised one brow. “Then I can get a ticket to Rome,” she said confidently. “I’m going to do it. I have commitments the next two days in a row, but I can certainly come back after that, and I will make sure the next time I see him he says yes to spending some time with me outside of here. I don’t feel bad about him saying no; he just met me. It will happen.” She narrowed her eyes and smiled, and Liam laughed at her.
“I don’t doubt it. Now, let’s get into the kitchen and have a look at that lunch menu.” He nudged her with his elbow and she followed him out of the room.
Lunch was delivered to the office and when Liam and Mia had finished eating, she knew that it was time to go. She had been there, she had met Alexander, she’d talked with him and she had even asked him to go out with her. She knew that there was nothing more that she could do that day and that there was no reason to stay longer than she already was.
Mia did want to do one last thing before she left the office, however. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin and walked down the hallway toward Alexander’s office. She knocked on the door softly and heard him bid entrance. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside and he looked up from his computer. As she walked toward him, she could feel his eyes on her and though he was subtle, she knew he was watching her.
“Mia, what can I do for you?” he asked with a polite smile as his eyes met hers.
She stopped just before his desk, and curled her mouth into a wide grin. “I just wanted to thank you for lunch. That was sweet. Also, I’m leaving for the day, and I won’t be back right away, so I wanted to leave my number with you. I know you said that you have a lot to work on getting this place ready and the business up and running here, but if you happen to find yourself with some free time, I would love to visit with you.”
She slid her business card across the desk and he stared at it a moment and then raised his eyes to meet hers. She wasn’t waiting for any kind of answers. She was just there to give him her number. He nodded and slipped it into his pocket.
“Thank you, I appreciate the gesture,” he said lightly. He turned from her just a little, but his eyes stayed on her and he watched her as she turned to go.
“My pleasure. Have a good afternoon Alexander,” she said smoothly, and then she turned and headed toward the door, remembering her little sashay as she walked. When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder at him and found him still gazing at her. She smiled and winked at him and then closed the door behind her. As it clicked shut, she let out a huge sigh of relief and looked down the hallway to see Liam leaning against the wall at the end of it, watching her.
She walked toward him and h
e grinned almost ear-to-ear at her. She felt her cheeks warm and she bit her lower lip, holding his gaze as she approached him.
“Come with me,” he said quietly as he slid his hand through her arm. “I’ll walk with you to the elevator and go down with you.”
They entered the elevator and when the doors slid closed, he turned to look at her. “So? How did it go? What did you say?”
She giggled a little and looked at him with a sidelong glance. “Oh not much. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me, and when I gave him my number, he put it in his pocket instead of in his desk.” She laughed out loud then and Liam gave her a scandalous look as he winked.
“Good girl! Just give him some time. I bet he’ll call and you’ll wind up with your ticket to Italy!” he reached an arm around her and hugged her close as the elevator came to a stop. She hugged him back and thanked him, waving as she walked out and the silver doors closed between them.
***
The day after she met Alexander, Mia looked at her phone twice during the day with Alexander on her mind, checking for messages. There were no messages. The second day, she checked it more frequently, but not to excess. By the third day after she’d met him, she was checking it even more often, wondering if she should message him or go back into the office. She was less busy, she told herself, and she had said that she would be back in to work with Liam, but she didn’t want to seem desperate at all. She was quickly becoming impatient with Alexander, waiting to hear from him.
Mia had told herself and Liam that he would call her. She had been sure of it. She had seen him watch her as she walked. She had seen him put her card into his wallet. She knew that he was single and she was beautiful and coming on to him, and by the fourth day she was incensed with his lack of communication, and she didn’t look at her phone once, although she did think of him often. Every time he crossed her mind, she pushed him out of it and focused on what she was supposed to be doing. She couldn’t fall behind in her work because of some man who was becoming more ever present in her thoughts.