by Lauren Wood
Our eyes met for a minute and he faltered in his speech. Stopping, he looked down and then continued. He didn’t look at me again and I was sure that I was just seeing something that wasn’t there. I wanted it to be there, I wanted him to really see me, but things had changed since that lunch at the sushi place. I took it as I had gone too far with a couple of my comments and he was distancing himself. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I was trying to take his lead on it and keep my distance.
“I would like to welcome all of our newcomers. We had a lot this quarter and I have to say that I am very happy with who we hired in. You guys are already like family.”
He finally looked at me and for a moment his smile looked like it was just for me. I wanted it to be for me, but then it was gone and his attention was elsewhere.
“So to everyone that is waiting, I would like to congratulate our top saver for the quarter. It was a good one and the prize is going to be a good one as well.”
There was a murmur from the people that were in front of me and I didn’t know what the fuss was about. It couldn’t be that good of a prize, not from what I was thinking.
“Without further ado, I want to announce that Claire Adams won the title of top saver this quarter. While she has only been with us at Future Plans for a little over a month, she has really done some amazing things. Everyone congratulate her with me for doing such a great job. I know that I will see good things out of you Claire.”
I smiled at him and I could feel my face getting red. I didn’t like all of the attention, but it could have been for so many other things. Now all I could wonder was what was the prize?
“So you must be wondering what you get?”
I kind of shrugged, realizing that everyone in the office was staring at me. I wanted this over, but I couldn’t very well tell him to get on with it, no matter how much I wanted to.
“Yes Sir, I am wondering what the prize is.”
“We have a conference in Europe that you are cordially invited to. It is this weekend, so I hope you have a clear schedule because you are going to Prague!”
Everyone in there was more excited than I was. I had a real fear of flying and this last trip to move here was the most I had traveled in a long time. I went places when I was young, but that was so long ago that I didn’t even remember it. Amber was the adventurer, not me.
“Oh wow.”
He said I looked shocked and I was shocked, so it made sense. I didn’t know what to say, but I plastered a smile on my face that I know was expected to be there. What the hell was I going to do in Prague? Do they even speak English there?
Rick pulled me to the side and asked if everything is okay.
“Yes, everything is fine. I just am surprised, that’s all. It wasn’t what I expected when I came into work today.”
“Well you deserve it Claire. You have done an awesome job since you started here and I am really glad you are here.”
I thanked him, but I was starting to feel a tingling throughout my body. I didn’t want him to see me like this, but I don’t think there was anything that I could do about it. He was so close and the proximity was weighing on my senses. Rick even smelled heavenly and I had to stop the urge to lean in and let it overtake me. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe Rick was right to keep his distance. I wasn’t myself when I was around him.
“So I wanted to talk to you about something of a delicate matter.”
Oh no. Here it comes. I was waiting for this. He was going to bring up the inappropriate things that I had said to him at the restaurant. I was already shrinking inside because I didn’t want to be present for this conversation.
“It is about the way you dress.”
I looked down at the suit and skirt. I was certainly not showing more than I should have. There was nothing wrong with my clothes whatsoever and when I told him that he kind of chuckled.
“No, of course not. It is very professional. I am just saying that this weekend you are going to be around a lot of people and this will not be work. You can loosen up your dress code if you would like.”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this and I had to ask for clarification, no matter how much I didn’t want to.
“I didn’t think this was going to be so hard. I am not saying what you wear is bad, just add some color. You will thank me when you get there.”
“Have you been there before?”
“Many times. It is a beautiful country and I know you will enjoy it as much as I did when I went there the first time. There are some of the most breathtaking views you have ever seen.”
The way he talked about it made me want to go. I could tell that he genuinely loved the place and I liked that he was going to share it with me. I just had to remember that I was only going with him because of my savings profile, nothing more. There was nothing more to this between us. Better yet, there was no us at all.
***
“So what are you going to be doing?”
Amber was pulling a few things out of her closet as she talked. She wanted to shop her closet first and I knew that there most likely wasn’t anything in there that I could wear out. We definitely had different tastes.
“I don’t know. It is some kind of efficiency conference.”
“That sounds like fun.” She made a face to the opposite and I tried to keep a straight face.
“It won’t be fun, but I will learn something, that is always good.”
She just kind of nodded, but I knew that she was just never going to get it. We both had different hobbies. That was just the way it was.
“Let’s go down to the mall. It won’t take long to find a couple of things.” I picked up a see-through top that would leave nothing to the imagination. “I don’t think we are going to find anything in here.”
“It’s not all fun stuff. I have some boring things that will fit you just fine. My boring will be a step up for you. It will be fine, you’ll see.”
I wasn’t sure I would see, but Amber was hard headed so I wasn’t going to argue. There was no point when she had something in her mind. So I took a sip of wine she had poured for me and just waited.
“Oh, I was going to tell you about this guy that walked up to me the other day. Said his name was Carl and he was trying to get a hold of you. Asked me if I had your number.”
“You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“No, I didn’t rat you out like you did me to Jack.”
She looked away guiltily and tried not to show her face. “You know that I think you two were perfect for each other.”
“Not hardly, but I got his number if you want it.”
Amber shook her head and said that she didn’t. “Not a chance. One date was enough with that guy. Sorry you keep getting mistaken for me.”
“Guys like him are okay. It’s just the Tonys of the world that I want to stay away from. I wish you would find something else to do.”
“I am good at it. What can I say?”
There was no telling her that she could have been good at anything. I had tried that argument before and she would just tell me that there was no way for me to have known.
“Besides you are not the only one that gets mistaken. I was at work and I had a real handsome man ask me if my name was Claire.”
“What did you say?”
“I asked if he liked her and he turned a little red. I think he was talking about you. He kept looking at me.”
“Yeah, I bet he did.”
“No, not like that. I don’t know. It was weird. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about it.”
“Well it doesn’t matter. I don’t know who it would have been.”
“He was really cute. Dark hair, dark eyes. Really tall.”
“I don’t know. Kind of sounds like my boss, but I couldn’t imagine him in a place like that.”
She looked away and I realized that I had offended her. Sometimes I didn’t think.
“Sorry Amber, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”
I waved her off and tried to get the focus back to something to wear. Everything was going to be closing soon and I wanted to make sure that I was able to get something for the weekend. My excitement was getting higher and it wasn’t long before I was ready to go.
“Here, we don’t have to go anywhere. I told you I had something for you to wear.”
I looked at the dresses in my hands and I was torn between what to do. I knew that I was supposed to take it up a notch, but I wasn’t sure if this was the notch that I wanted to take. I would be showing a lot of skin, no matter which things I picked to wear.
“You know, if that was your boss that I talked to, you should go with this.”
She pulled the velvety black dress from my hands and held it up to me. “It looks really good on me, so it will look good on you sis. Wear this and he won’t ever be able to hold back.”
Chapter 10
Rick
I was nervous to leave on the trip with Claire. I shouldn’t be of course, but ever since I saw her look-a-like at that club, I haven’t been able to get her off of my mind. The woman’s body became Claire’s and I saw it every night when I closed my eyes. Now I was going to be on a plane with her for hours and together with her all the time for days. My confidence that I was going to be able to keep it all together was lacking at the very least.
“Are you ready to go Rick?”
Claire had popped up next to me and I jumped a little, which made her giggle and embarrassed the crap out of me. I didn’t like being this way and I certainly didn’t want Claire to see me in such a state.
“Yes, are you?”
She lifted up a bag and said that she was.
“Is that all you are bringing?”
“What more do I need?”
I shrugged and was a little surprised. Most women that I knew would have brought a lot more. The case for them needing it all eluded me, but I liked the fact that she wasn’t that type. I still caught myself looking around for another bag or two.
We made our way to the airport in silence and Claire was doing something on her Ipad. She was constantly on it and I knew that it was something to do with work.
“Don’t you ever stop?”
Claire looked up a little surprised. “Why would I stop?”
“I don’t know, relax.”
She smiled like I was being silly and went back to work. “You are the one that keeps giving me these big clients. What else am I supposed to do?”
“Your boss is telling you to take some time off this weekend and relax.”
I took the device from her hands and she gave me a pouty lip for a minute. I could tell that I had thrown her off and I almost gave it back to her with a guilty look on my face. Had I given her too much to do? She was just so damn good at it and quick. I didn’t think about how much time Claire had to put into work lately.
“Fine, I will relax.”
She closed her eyes and put her head back. I had to laugh at myself. I was failing miserably with her, over and over again and it didn’t seem to matter what I tried to do. There was nothing that could be done. I was her boss after all. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Claire in that way.
I took a cue from her and laid my head back as well. It was a long flight to Prague and I was ready to get there. Maybe if I got her away from work and everything else, she would loosen up and I would get to see her outside of all of this. I wanted her to see me as more than just a boss, even as I told myself that Claire was off limits.
***
I almost swallowed my whole damn tongue.
We were at the hotel after the long flight and I was waiting for Claire down in the hotel lobby. We had different rooms and I thought that meeting downstairs would make it easier for both of us. The restaurant wasn’t that far from the hotel and I was looking around at the art. Then I saw her and everything that I had tried so hard to deny was gone, right out of my head.
“Oh my God.”
I kept repeating those words, over and over again. I hadn’t expected to see her like this and she was absolutely beautiful. Now Claire looked just like the girl that I saw a few weeks back. Her blonde hair was down and flowing around her shoulders. The makeup wasn’t as dark, but it accentuated her bright blue eyes in a way that made me swallow hard. I stopped the chant as she got closer, but I was no closer to figuring out what it was I was supposed to say.
“How is this?”
She was asking me a question, I knew that, heard the words, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out a way to answer her. She was stunning and there were no words. I just nodded my head and Claire smiled back at me. “You look rather handsome yourself.”
My eyes followed the tight material down her body and I could see the stripper in her stead. They could have been twins because I imagined that they looked just alike with their clothes off as well. When I met her gaze again, Claire was blushing and barely looking at me. Did she know what I was thinking?
I was thinking that I had given up the steady stream of women that I was used to. Hadn’t even tried in a couple of weeks to go out with one because I would rather be at home, visualizing Claire instead. Now I had more to go on, but even more of an urge to push away the rules of not having her. I wanted to pull her to me, feel her lithe body against mine and devour her whole. That is what I wanted and more importantly what I think we both needed. My gaze stopped at her throat, watching her heart beat quickly as her breathing got faster as well.
“Are you ready?”
“For so many things.”
She blushed at my answer and it really was astonishing. the contrast of the sassy girl in the sushi place. Now Claire could barely meet my gaze, which was just as well because I was feeling out of sorts as well. At least I wasn’t the only one. That was the only good thing about it all.
I put my arm out to offer it to her and Claire took it after a moment. She was shaking a little when I moved next to her and I liked how close we were.
“You look beautiful Claire. Where did you get that dress?”
“Just something I had around in the closet. Haven’t had anywhere to wear it to in a while.”
“That seems a shame.”
She looked up at me and smiled in a shy way. “Where are we going?”
I gave her the name as I thought it was pronounced, but I was sure that I was chopping it up horribly. I didn’t speak the language either, so we both laughed when the host said the name as we entered. We were way off.
“I thought you were the cultured one?”
“My parents are cultured, I am just rich.”
“Oh. Well that explains a lot.”
She didn’t go any further and I didn’t have to ask what she meant. We were taken to a table and I was glad to see that we had a great view as well as some privacy. I wanted to spend some time with Claire with no one else around, but this was going to have to do for now.
“I can’t get over the change in you Claire. You look like a completely different person.”
“I guess that is a good thing huh?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you have been staring at me since I started coming down the stairs. You make a girl blush.”
I was staring again and I turned away. It was hard not to stare when she looked like that. She was absolutely stunning and I wasn’t the only one getting an eyeful of Claire. I saw several men and women looking our way as we were seated.
“With a dress like that, it is hard not to stare. It is even harder to remember that you work for me.”
I didn’t mean to say that last bit, but it made her turn a little redder through the face. “No work this weekend, remember?”
“Right, no work.”
We sat in silence for a minute until the waiter brought out the men
us and took our drink order. She ordered some wine and I did the same. I wanted to savor the night and a little relaxation wasn’t going to hurt anything at all. We were both wound up for completely different reasons.
“So why are you single Claire?”
“That was out of the blue.”
“Not really, I have wondered that since I met you. A woman like you should be snatched up by now. How has no one snatched you up yet?”
“Maybe I don’t want to be snatched up Rick.”
“Every girl does.”
“Not me.”
“Are you sure?”
She wasn’t and she bit her lip. Taking a drink of her wine, I watched her hand tremble a little bit. Claire was a mystery. Now she was nervous and I liked that it was her and not me. I was getting over the initial shock of her new look and was getting back into the swing of things.
The food came before she would answer my question and I didn’t bring it up again. I was glad that it didn’t get around to me and Lisa. That was a marriage and a divorce that I would like to forget about if at all possible.
“I almost got married once. A few months back I broke it off though. It just wasn’t for me.”
“Talk about out of the blue.”
Claire looked down. “Well you asked, so I thought I would answer. I had to think about it. What about you?”
I groaned inwardly and wished that I hadn’t opened the door to this. “I was married once, a long time ago and it was a mistake.”
“Oh.”
“Nothing to really say to that, is there?”
“No, I guess not. I am sorry to hear that.”
I waved her off. “It was a while ago. Something I would never do again.”
“Right. I could see why not.”
Claire was a bit quieter after that. I don’t know why, but she wasn’t as quick to flirt. I asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t answer me. The only thing I could think of was my comment about marriage, though I didn’t see the relation.