by Ali Parker
It was just my childish desire to make everyone like me roaring to life.
"And you must be Sarah." I shook the last girl's hand, smiling warmly at her as she beamed.
"You're Damon's brother?" Sarah released my hand and bit her bottom lip. "You guys look nothing alike. I mean, you're really good looking too, but so different."
Mandy laughed. "Sarah. Really?"
"Oh, sorry." She pressed her fingers to her lips. "I forget that I work in an office with rules and stuff."
I chuckled. "Where did you work before?"
She ran her hand over her dark hair and let out a soft sigh. "National Geographic. I loved it there, but they closed my division, and Mandy was a good friend from high school. So... a position opened here for design and I decided that it was time to grow up and get a real paycheck. Or a steady one at least."
"I totally know that feeling." I nodded and glanced over toward Joan. "Thanks for showing me down here. Will you let Erica know that I got here early? I'm trying to make a good impression on the new boss."
Joan laughed. "Of course I will. You guys treat Matt like one of your own. He's a great guy."
Warmth spread over my cheeks and chest. "I'm not sure about that, but I'm glad to see my ruse is working."
The group laughed as Lewis pointed to an empty desk. "That one is yours, man. Feel free to get settled and then I'll walk you down to the supply room and give you the grand tour, unless you've already gotten it."
"Nope. I've tried really hard to stay away from office buildings over the last four years." I walked toward the desk and pulled out the chair, fighting back the feeling that I was disappointing free-spirited people all over the universe by putting on a tie and handing my life over to 'the man'.
"I hear that." Lewis dropped down in his chair and smiled as I glanced over my shoulder. "But... your father has done a great job of creating a little haven here for us. We live by a different set of rules than most of the rest of the company. Just follow those, and you'll be good to go."
"And those rules are?" I turned as someone moved into the doorway.
Erica. Looking like sin in her cream-colored skirt, blue heels and light blue top. Her hair was halfway up and her lips were dark red. My balls tightened in anticipation of stripping her down and licking her dry.
"To dream big." She walked in and stood in the middle of the room, giving her full attention to me. "To speak up and to dress comfortably, while still maintaining a professional appearance."
"So, no togas?" I smirked and pushed my chair in.
"Only on Fridays." Mandy leaned around Erica and laughed.
"You have a minute?" My girl was ruling the room, and everything about the power dripping off of her left me hard and achy.
Professional. Stay professional.
"Absolutely." I walked to the door as she moved out into the hall. I paused and glanced back toward Lewis. "I'll get that tour when I get back if you're still up for it."
"Absolutely, man. Take your time."
I walked out into the hall and almost plowed into Erica. I reached out and grabbed the back of her shoulders, not quite sure why she'd stopped.
"Hey." I pressed myself to her back and ran my hands down her arm.
"Sorry. I almost lost a thought from a meeting I had earlier. I need to write it down." And like that, she was jogging down the hall toward her office.
I laughed under my breath and followed her into her spacious corner office. "It's nice in here. Who you gotta sleep with to get one of these big beauties?"
She glanced up from scribbling something down on a post-it note. "Ha. Ha."
"What? This is great." I walked to the tall floor to ceiling windows that took up half the wall space and let my eyes move along the city. "It's peaceful in here."
"It's built for people who spend God awful amounts of hours in their offices." She walked toward the door and closed it.
I spun on my heel to face her. "You locking that?"
"What?" Her cheeks colored pink. "No. Behave."
"Not a chance." I moved toward her, meeting her in the middle of the room and sliding my hands over her perfect hips. "Why is it such a fucking turn on to see you running the show?"
"Because you like strong women?" She pulled my hands from her waist.
"No. I like you." I moved up behind her as she stopped beside her desk and reached for a folder and a pen. "You look really good in this skirt. What color are your panties?"
"Matt!" She jerked around to find me standing right in front of her.
"What?" I touched the side of her face. "I really wanted to wake up next to you this morning. I have this great recipe for sticky buns that I was going to try out, but no... had to kick me out."
"You know why I did that." She cupped her hand over mine. "Rule number one. No touching me at work. I don't need everyone talking. It's hard enough to keep control of these people. They'll think I got my job because of you and that will be the end of it."
"No they won't." I leaned down and kissed her, almost surprised that she didn't pull back. Maybe she hadn't really wanted me to go the night before. If only I had pushed a little, and not just with my hips.
"Let's fill out your paperwork and then Lewis can show you around the building." She kissed my palm and pushed at my chest. "Back up. You're making me wet."
I growled at the thought. "Yeah, cause that's going to help me want to behave."
"Your problem, not mine." She walked to the small table in the center of the room and sat down. "Come here and start filling this stuff out."
"I hate this shit."
"Everyone does. Grow up and come here."
"And what do I get if I do."
She smirked. "A job."
"I want more than that."
"A friend who lets you paint her naked?" She lifted an eyebrow.
"How about a girlfriend who lets me stay overnight and not leave the minute the passion is over."
"Is the passion between two lovers really ever over?"
Now she was playing with me.
"Touché." I sat down and reached for the pen. "When do we get to move from lovers to being in love?"
"When you convince me that you don't have one foot out the door." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, causing her breasts to lift a little.
I licked my lips and forced myself to stay focused.
A knock on the door sounded, and she huffed and got up, walking slowly toward it.
"I like that skirt on you. I'd like it better on the floor, but beggars can't be choosers."
"Hush." She gave me a stern look that had my heart fluttering in my chest before opening the door.
"Hey. I meant to tell you that I had two tickets to the art show over at Dantana for Friday night. I have to help my daughter with something, so if you and Lanie want to go." Mitch. How the fuck did Mitch know about Lanie? Were him and Erica close enough that she'd brought up her best friend?"
"Yeah. That's awesome. Thank you." Her voice was soft, friendly, but not flirty. His on the other hand.
"Absolutely." He poked his head in the door as Erica took a step back. "Hey, Matt. Good to see you're still alive and kicking."
"Thanks." I chuckled. "I think?"
"Welcome. Let me know if you need anything." He turned back to Erica. "I'll be out for the rest of the day, but you have my cell. Call if you need anything too, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." She smiled and closed the door, turning to face me. It was my turn to hand out a stern look.
"I don't like him."
"I don't like Sophie."
"You don't know her," I protested.
"And I don't want to." She walked toward me and sat down. "Fill out the paperwork."
"Come with me to Saudi Arabia. You'll love her."
"No way. How uncomfortable would that be?" She rolled her eyes.
"Not at all. It's in January. By then you and I will be engaged, so the way I see it... you're stuck, buttercup."
"Where is this boost of confidence coming from?"
"I made love to the most beautiful woman in the world last night. It's hard not to be high on life."
"Oh, you did, did you? Do I know her?"
"No, but you'd like her." I wagged my eyebrows.
"Not this again..."
Chapter 12
Erica
It had been one hell of a week trying to work through some of the things on my long-list of to-dos at work, help Matt with the painting, and avoid both him and Mitch on the relationship front. I had no doubt that Matt and I would end up together, but I wanted to be more cautious about it after knowing how insecure he was.
The man in the bedroom was a little bit different from the one that had everyone laughing at the office and swooning in the boardroom, but not much. When he wasn't paying attention to how people reacted, he was simply himself, and more like his father and Damon than he probably realized.
I sat in my office on Friday morning and flipped through my personal journal. I had so many decisions to make, but I wanted to ensure that they were grounded in truth. The truth was that I loved Matt, and had for two years. The truth was that he left my heart soaring, my body on fire and my mind spinning.
And the truth was simply that I was scared. We were so close to becoming something great, and I half-expected him to pack up and run back to Dallas sooner rather than later, but he hadn't yet.
"Speaking of Dallas." I dropped my journal in a drawer and pulled up my calendar on my computer. Joan already had the details for the flights the next morning and a car to pick us up from the airport and shuttle us over to the office. Everything was set.
Everything but one thing.
How were we supposed to act? Kent and Damon knew that I had feelings for Matt. Were we going as business associates or had Matthew finally fessed up to having feelings for me too?
I pressed the button on my phone and called down to the design room. Lewis answered, sounding chipper as per usual.
"Hey, boss. What can we do you for?"
I smiled. "Matt's not working today, right?"
"He will be, but because of all the hours he put in this week already, Mandy told him just to come back in next week. He’s in Dallas for some of the week, right?"
"Yeah, that’s right. I just forgot." I hung up and called his cell. It went to voicemail. I wasn't surprised seeing that it was only eleven. "Hey. It's Erica. I'm just checking to see if you're still interested in going to the art gallery with me tonight, or if you have other plans. Give me a-" I beep resounded in my ear. He was calling me back.
"Hey. Were you leaving a message?" His voice was gravely and filled with sleep. He sounded impossibly cute.
I lamented over not being there to wake him up myself. "Yeah. I just wanted to see if you were still planning on going with me to Dantana."
"The art gallery?" He let out a loud yawn.
I pulled the phone from my ear and smiled. "Yeah. That's the one."
"Absolutely. We can check it out and then grab something to eat."
"Okay. Am I picking you up or-"
"No. I'll come by the apartment and get you around six. That work?"
"Yeah. And then tomorrow morning, we're going to Dallas. I'll pick you up for that trip."
"Okay." There was an odd pause.
"Something wrong? Are you wanting to drive yourself?"
"No. No, that's not it."
"Then what?" I stood up, feeling less sure about myself by the second. It would seem he wasn't the only one that needed to get over insecurities and grow up.
"It's just that my father and Damon don't know about us."
"Really?" I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice. "I'm pretty sure your brother does."
"Yeah, but my father doesn't, not fully. I know him and Damon are hoping that we’ll get together, but I need to tell him before we just surprise him by showing up as a couple."
"We're not a couple. At least not yet." I pressed my hand to my hip, not sure why I was so offended by the conversation, but I was.
"You know what I mean, Erica."
"Not really, but you can explain tonight. I'll see you around six. Someone just knocked on my door. Enjoy your day off." I let him squeeze in a parting word before hanging up the phone.
It was going to be a long weekend, and one that was sure to honestly define how I felt about taking the next step with him. If he hadn't told Kent how he felt about me, how serious was he? They were close... like my father and I used to be.
If he were still alive, there wasn't much he wouldn't know about Matt.
The fact that Kent was in the dark with Matt and I becoming more than friends spoke volumes... or maybe it didn't. I wasn't sure.
*
"Hey, pretty girl." He turned toward me as I opened the door and got into the car.
"Hey. The traffic bad on the way over here?" I buckled up and stiffened a little as he leaned over and pulled me into a warm kiss. It only took a second of being pressed against him to loosen me up. How lame were my standards?
"Not bad at all. I'd drive anywhere to get to you though." He wagged his eyebrows before moving back into his seat. "So tell me about this gallery. I haven't heard much about it."
"It's locally owned, like a lot of the galleries around here. The artist actually lives in Paris, but his sister runs the gallery here for him. His pieces are abstract, complex, hard to decipher."
"Hmmm... sounds like my kind of guy."
"Very true." I clasped my hands in my lap and sunk back against my seat. "I'm so glad this week is over."
"I bet." He reached over and wrapped his hand around mine. "I'm looking forward to the weekend."
"Me too. It'll be nice to get out of here for a while."
"Who's watching Zek?"
"Lanie said she would do it."
"That's great, and are you planning on staying at my place tomorrow night or you want me to get us a hotel?"
"I think it might be best if you stay at your place and I get my own hotel. I'm on a business trip, and even though Kent is your father, I don't want him thinking less of me." I shrugged. "I mean, maybe it's a good thing that he doesn't know that we're working through our feelings together. It's not very professional of me to-"
"You're upset." He pulled his hand back into his lap. "I knew it. I knew the minute you hung up on me earlier that you were upset about me not mentioning us to my father."
"No, it's fine." I glanced over at him as the tightness in my chest got worse. "I get it. Honestly."
"It's not fine, but I don't want to drag my family in the middle of this until you and I settle on whether we're together or we're not. My dad already thinks I’m a flake. This will only make it worse. You mean a lot to him at the company and he’s on edge that I’m going to mess that up."
"And who's making that call?" I moved my arms up to wrap them around my chest, as if I could protect myself from the oncoming fight.
"We both are, Erica." He pulled onto the freeway. "Let's just have fun tonight. Can we? I know you’re tired of thinking about everything that happened. Let’s forget about it for one night and just enjoy each other’s company. I love being with you."
"Yeah, okay. You’re right." I let out a long exhale through my nose and reached up to turn on the radio. We could have fun together and not think about the consequences, but he would be ten shades of pissed when the night ended with a quick hug at my door and him headed home to jerk off alone. I wasn't making another move until I understood where we stood together. My heart couldn’t handle it.
"Cool." He let out a sigh and turned toward the art district. "You're gonna love how the portrait of you turned out. I'm a little tense about sharing it with anyone besides you."
"Oh yeah? Why?" I glanced over toward him as sadness filled my chest. We weren't going to move past our immaturities and ever become anything solid with the way we were headed. He wanted to pretend that we were together until it got too real, too uncomfortable, and then he would
back off, leaving me standing there, holding the empty bag that I believed to be our future.
"Because, baby... You're insanely hot. That picture is going to give every man in the room a woody." He snorted. "I'm just not sure I want all that competition."
I let the conversation die, because the way my mood was souring, he wouldn't have wanted to hear my response to it.
"This it right here?" He pointed to the art gallery ahead of us.
"Yeah. That's it. The woman who runs it is a little odd, but you'll appreciate why. She lives alone with ten cats and a million abstract paintings." I smiled and unbuckled as he parked the car.
"Hey." He turned and reached out, grabbing my hand. "You okay? I feel a shift in our evening. I just want to make sure that you know that I plan on talking to my father about us."
There was no 'us’, but I was getting blue in the face from saying it.
"I'm good." I reached for the door and got out, feeling for the first time since meeting Matt that maybe we weren't evenly matched. He was brilliant and funny, and fucked like a wild man, but there was more to life than a few chuckles and a hot romp in the sheets. Where would he be when I needed him most?
How would he present me to other people? Like my father, who would flaunt me around as the best thing since sliced bread, or like my mother, someone to be brought in the limelight when it best served her or silenced when it didn't?
I was sure a couple of weeks ago, but now... not so much.
"You staying the night with me?" Matt touched my lower back as we walked to the door.
"No. I need to wash clothes and pack tonight. Maybe when we get back." I reached for the door and walked in, not giving him a chance to respond.
As much as I wanted to forget the fear of loss, I just couldn’t. There were no guarantees in life, but I needed more than he’d given so far. Maybe then I could step back into the unknown with him and really give ‘us’ a try.
Chapter 13
Matt
She was pulling back - big time. Where I was the one trying with all my might to prove myself to her, the more I pushed, the farther she seemed to pull back. She was fine with sex, but talking about the relationship? No.