I glance at her, my eyes tight and worried. “Are you okay, Grandma?” I ask. “Do I need to take you to the hospital?”
“No, no I am fine, I was just missing sleep,” she assures me. “So how was work?”
I sigh inwardly at her question, wanting to tell her how I felt around my boss, how stupidly infatuated I am with him. I also want to tell her how my day was long and tiring, wanting to discuss with her the unspeakable emotions that came to life every time my eyes got locked to his. There is so much that my hearts wants to pour but I can’t tell her any of it, not when her health is deteriorating.
I fake a smile. “Yes, Grandma, it was great. Challenging, but great.”
I head back upstairs to get ready for work after chit chatting a little with Grandma. Waking up early definitely has its benefits. I decide to take my time to dress. Searching through my closet, I notice that I definitely need to buy more clothes in order to match people’s fashion taste at my workplace. I can’t be Mr. Adams’ assistant and dress like a little high schooler.
My eyes find the dress that Grandma got me for my last birthday, a very professional yet elegant V-neck, beige dress that emphasizes my curves. I let my hair down after wearing the dress, put some mascara on and red lipstick. I slide my feet in my black Louboutin heels, the only expensive heels I own which, were also, a gift from Jason that I received for my birthday. He knew how much I wanted to own a pair so he actually got them for me and I remember I almost cried of happiness. I study myself in the mirror.
Perfect, I might as well ask him to fuck me at this point!
Even if the thought of him slamming inside of me is making my body sizzle, I grab my makeup remover and wipe the bright red lipstick away. I decide to replace it with a pink nude.
Much Better.
I grab my coat and head downstairs. I walk past my grandma, who’s watching her favorite morning show while snacking on some peanuts. I get in the kitchen, the aroma of freshly baked cookies fill my nostrils. I pack them in an airtight plastic container and head to the door.
“Bye, Grandma,” I shout from the door.
“Bye, sweetie.”
The heels are only making it intolerable for me to walk faster as I try to catch my morning bus. Dressing fashionably and pretty definitely comes with costs. As I listen to my music on the bus, my usual routine, I keep playing the scene in my head of when he sees me, wondering whether he is going to find my outfit of the day alluring or not. It’s ironic how I care so much about his opinion yet he probably doesn’t give one single shit about me, there are so many lovely-looking ladies in that building that my outfit is the least of his concerns.
It’s not like I am dressed like this to impress him anyway!
Am I?
Growing up with a conservative grandmother, her Christian values taught me to be generous, humble, kind-hearted, and giving. She also taught me to value myself and to never give my soul or body away to any undeserving guy, and I have practically lived on that principle my whole life. I did make out with a guy once, and I remember it was the most off-putting experience ever. I was in college at a random sorority party with Jason when this random blond guy who smelled like pure and heavy alcohol came up to me, introduced himself, and slid his tongue right inside my mouth. I still believe he was probably given a dare but the kiss was so obnoxious I felt like puking while our mouths collided, and I did puke after I pushed him away from me. Ever since that day, I never stepped foot in other sorority party nor did I kiss a guy again. I did have a crush on my Philosophy professor in second year of college, but never to the extent of having wild and filthy thoughts about him like I do about Liam.
I get off the bus and enter the building. I stop by at Sofia’s desk and hand her a cookie.
“Thank you so much, sweetheart, I needed some sugar.” She takes a small bite. “Oh my… Did you make these by yourself?” Her eyes widen.
“It was my grandma this time. We both love baking cookies on sunny days like today.”
“They are delicious, you tell your grandma thank you for me.”
I make sure I drop by at a few other desks before I get to mine. I open my computer and check my emails when I see a shadow standing by the doorway out of the corner of my eye. I swirl in my chair and get up briskly.
“Good morning, Mr. Adams.”
His eyes move up and down my body, his expression is blank. Only his eyes study me while he stands at the door with a cup of coffee in each hand.
“Morning,” he says pleasantly as he walks toward me. He places one of the coffee cups on my desk.
“For me?” I say, my voice cracking as nervous energy cuts through me like a bolt of electricity.
“Yes.” He eyes me. “For you.”
My knees turn to water as I lift the coffee cup off my desk. “I am pretty sure I am the one who’s supposed to get you this,” I giggle.
“Yes, you are right, but I figured you’d forget since it is your second day and you are still learning how things work around here.” He takes a sip off his cup.
“Thank you.” I nod. His eyes are still completely expressionless and cold as they travel once again up and down my body. He takes a step forward. We are now standing inches away from each other. Heat curls down my spine as desire radiates between us.
“Nice dress.” He smiles, pulls away, and starts walking toward his office. He stops in the middle and turns around to face me. “Do you have the schedule ready?”
“Yes, Mr. Adams.” I nod my approval while grabbing the notebook from my desk.
“Sweet, follow me and close the door behind you,” he orders, and I do exactly as he instructs.
My heart pounding as I follow him and close the door behind us, he reaches for a small electric remote control that makes the room lighter as the motorized curtains slowly pull up.
I make a slight turn to the left and watch the curtains reveal my desk. Now he can watch me while I worked if that’s what he desired. I had no idea that those curtains could even lift. I clear my throat as I turn slowly to his direction. He eyes me with a smug face, he knows exactly what I am thinking. He knows that I am strung and reticent at the thought of him staring at me through the glass wall.
“Do you mind?” His forehead furrows.
“No, not at all.” I shake my head.
“Good, now moving on.” He sits on top of his desk, facing me, his neutral expression unnerves me. I bite my lower lip, and his eyes gaze at my lips. He swallows hard. “What do we have today?” His voice is firm.
I read the schedule off to him while trying to avoid eye contact. I can feel his eyes glued to my lips as I speak. Too much tension between us and I can’t wait to get out of his office.
“I have cookies,” I say as I am heading out the door. “Do you want one?”
“Did you make them?”
“My grandma made them.”
“Maybe later.” He gives half a smile.
I nod, close the door, and take a huge breath as I sit at my desk. We can see each other, my desk is across from his, the only border between us is a huge glass wall. I feel naked at his sight. My body aches to be crushed underneath him, to be touched by his arms. There is a strong electricity between us, an undefinable one that no matter how hard I try to explain, there are not enough words in the dictionary to describe exactly how I feel about him.
I sigh one more time and focus on my tasks for the day. Too much about this huge event that’s coming up in two days, apparently, me and Sofia are supposed to work on it together and split the tasks so it is easier for both of us to get the job done. I send a quick email to Sofia asking her when we should have a meeting to go through everything. As I await her response, I start reading about the different projects that D.E. Adams Inc. is currently working on. Sofia ends up replying to my email not long after I had sent mine and says that we can go for a quick bite together and discuss work in about fifteen minutes since she is starving, I smile at my computer screen and right before I reply back to her
I notice Liam talking on the phone and eyeing me up from afar. My skin flushed, this man is doing wonders to my body. I almost cannot deal with his looks anymore, although my body keeps wanting more, my mind and my body haven’t been getting along ever since I met Liam.
He hangs up the phone and motions me to come over to his office.
“Yes, Mr. Adams,” I say as soon as I walk in.
“That’s for you.” He points at a brand new blackberry sitting at his desk. “You should have it on you all the time, that’s to communicate with me, of course.” He leans forward and clenches his hands while resting them on the desk.
“Do you have a car?” he asks.
“No, I don’t.”
“Do you drive at least?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good, in case I need you to run errands, you could take one of my cars.” He glance at his phone.
I nod my approval, and he glances up at me, his big, brown eyes gleaming.
God, he is handsome.
While his eyes don’t leave me, his expression is straight. Behind his stunning, gray eyes there were secrets, darker and deeper than his silence could ever cover. I love how alive and full of language they are, but it tears me apart not knowing whatever it is that he keeps buried inside of him. I wish I could take all the pain and sorrow away from him. A moment of silence fills the room as our eyes are glued to each other and heat pools inside of me.
“Who do you live with?” he breaks the awkward silence.
“I live with my grandmother.”
“No siblings?” he asks curiously.
“No, just me and my grandma, she raised me.”
He nods. “Interesting.” He pauses, almost asks another question, but instead goes, “Now, don’t forget your phone.” He points at what’s supposed to be my new phone.
“I have a meeting with Mrs. Alvarez in the next hour about the event that’s happening in two days, so if you don’t see me at my desk or if it’s urgent, just call me.” I grab the phone and curl my lips into a smile, hoping it would hide the nervousness that swims through my body.
“Thank you, Ms. Thomson.” He gives a half-smile.
“Alyssa… Just Alyssa.” I hate formalities. I shake my head and head toward the door, my body sizzling and my heart nearly stopping. Without looking back at him, I put on my coat, and take a quick glance at my phone as it buzzes in my hand.
Meeting has been cancelled! Sorry won’t be able to see u today!
Flushed with disappointed that I won’t be seeing Jason today, I head toward Sofia’s desk. We go to a restaurant right beside the building where we share thoughts about the event that we are working on. She talks to me a bit about the company and some gossip at work while we ordered alcoholic drinks.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” she asks
“No, I don’t.”
“How come?” Her eyes widen in surprise.
“I don’t know, haven’t found the right one,” I say while taking a sip of my mimosa.
“You are beautiful, men must throw themselves at you!” she adds. “But good for you, men are annoying, and my husband is number one.” We laugh, and by the end of our lunch, I take a look at the time on my phone, and my mouth drops open. We have been here for almost two hours and a half, and I was on my fourth drink. Crap! We get up and head back to work.
As soon as I get to my desk, I notice the curtains are down which means I won’t be able to tell if Liam is in there or not. I sit at my desk and have a sip of my water bottle, hoping to get rid of the tipsiness. My phone rings, and I pick up instantly, I take a quick look at the phone screen and I see Liam’s name. I clear my throat. “Yes, Mr. Adams.”
“Come in,” he instructs and hangs up the phone, instantly making my chest stutter.
I think I might be in shit!
I take one more sip of water and head slowly to the door. I take a deep breath as I place my palm on the doorknob right before opening it. The view in the afternoon is even more stunning in his office. He is facing the window, clasping his hands behind his back, probably admiring the afternoon sun and the busy downtown streets of New York.
“How was your meeting?” he asks
“Not bad, I think we got it all figured out.”
“Good.” He turns around and faces me. Passion ignites me. This man is stunning, even with messy hair he looks amazing. He loosens his tie and takes a couple steps toward me. He narrows his eyes.
“Did you drink with Sofia?” His expression is firm and it is kind of intimidating. I barely know anything about Liam yet I feels like he knows everything about me. I nod a yes, and he smirks.
“Aren’t you gonna ask how I figured that you have been drinking?” He folds his arms over his chest.
“You just know things, Mr. Adams.” I smile.
“Your cheeks turn pink when you drink, that’s how I know, Alyssa.” He takes two steps forward. Standing inches away from me, I can feel his body heat. I take one step backward, clear my throat, and decide to let it all out, whatever happens, happens.
“Mr. Adams, I have something to say.” I swallow. “About that night, I apologize, I had no clue you were going to be my future boss, I was out of line, my friends dared me to come and speak to you. I really hope you can forgive me and we can move on, it has been a little awkward for me, I don’t know why…”
“You are off for the rest of the day, Sofia will take you shopping. You need a dress for the event and you can buy other clothes if you’d like, I already informed Sofia.” He goes back to his chair, sits down and crosses one leg over the other. Of course, I am being ignored, once again, his arrogance is starting to feel irritating. Now I am convinced he just doesn’t wanna talk about that night. I will respect his wishes and never bring it up again.
“I will buy a dress by myself, thank you for the offer, Mr. Adams, but…”
“You talk too much!” he cuts me off. “You’re supposed to listen to me and do as I say.” He fixes his eyes on his computer screen.
Lucky for him, there’s a little too much alcohol in my system for me to even argue with him.
“Now, why don’t you head to Sofia’s desk. She’s waiting for you,” he adds.
Without a word, I nod and start walking toward the door. As soon as my hand reaches for the door knob, he calls for my name.
“Alyssa,”
I look back at him.
“About that night, don’t ever apologize for what you did, for that was one hell of a night, Ms. Thomson.” He stops for a second, and a genuine smile dances on his lip. “And if I could relive it again, I would.”
Without saying a word, I head out the door and as soon as I shut it behind me, I lean back on it while blood rushed through my veins.
What the hell just happened?
I gather my belongings as quickly as possible and make my way out to Sofia’s desk. Whatever happened in his office is something that will definitely make me have long sleepless nights, and hell was I not ready for it.
CHAPTER 5
Liam
I get to the venue where the majority of people have already been seated, and the urge to leave this place already starts filling me. I always hated being around too many people, especially the rich bastards of New York, to whom I am supposed to fake a smile and carry on a pitiful conversation, saying hello to this one and goodbye to the other one. It is such a waste of energy that I never look forward to events like today. However, there is something thrilling about tonight that’s making my heart gallop; I get to see her.
My eyes search for her everywhere, but she is nowhere to be found. I hate myself for needing to see her like an addict who would do anything for their dose of pleasure. She must be very busy today with winding up the preparations for the event but she should be here by now, her and Sofia definitely did a great job, everything looks fantastic, even better than the years before.
“Adams, there you are!” a voice comes from behind me. I turn around to see Gary wearing a gray suit with a
grin on his face. His hair? Elvis Presley style. As much as I appreciate his friendship, I hate how bothersome he can be sometimes.
I mean, all the time.
“Ainsworth, what’s up?” I say while patting his shoulder.
“Everything looks amazing, mi amigo, our assistants definitely did a great job.”
I nod without saying anything, my eyes still searching for her.
“I haven’t met your assistant yet, I heard she is very hot.”
An unknowable rage starts bottling up inside of me, a short blonde waitress walks by us holding a tray full of champagne so I snatch a glass off her tray and gulp it all in one sip. “Who did you hear that from?” I ask coolly.
“Our IT manager, he said she’s one hell of a gorgeous girl,” he adds. “Where is she?” His eyes start looking everywhere, and I give him a firm stare.
“Not here yet, Gary.” I grind my teeth. This is not a good sign. I decide to change the subject, hoping it will calm the fury that’s pouring inside of me.
“Are you ready for our next week’s meeting with the Harringtons? We have to make this deal happen. Ever since we landed it, my main focus has been on it,” I lie. Yes, it is a very important deal and it will require my full attention in the next upcoming weeks, but my main focus has been on Alyssa and the shit that me and Will have been working on for years now involving my dad. I hate how stupid I sound, how my thoughts are overly obsessed with her. I have been trying to figure out what the hell has been happening to me ever since I met her but all my attempts have been unsuccessful thus far.
Usually when I like a girl, I just end up fucking her, and then I am over it, and even with that, I never ever overthink it. But this time it is absolutely different, there is something more to her and she is definitely not a girl for a one night stand, and I hate it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is a virgin but again, for sure she is not, any man would love to share his bed with her anytime she wished for. All she needs to say is yes and men would drop to their knees for her. There is nothing about her that’s not to admire. Physically and mentally, I mean have you seen the way she smiles while talking about her grandmother? Have you seen the way her cheeks turn pink out of shyness when you give her a compliment? Well, I get to see that smile daily and for that, I am hella grateful.
Devoted To You Page 4