28
Brent
It’s difficult to throw yourself into your work when the woman you’re trying to forget works ten floors below you. The idea of having her beneath me, even structurally, was uncomfortable. And I remembered how she felt underneath me in bed, every curve and hollow of her body, every scrape of her nails and every moan I swallowed from her perfect mouth. It was hell. It seemed very much like I had set my GPS for hell and ended up there. Surrounded by oblivious, productive, happy people who didn’t sit in their offices trying to concentrate on work but thinking instead about the clever, feisty woman who worked ten floors down, who was laughing her laugh for some other man now.
Weeks had gone by, and somehow I managed to get by without seeing her. A month had passed since we were last in the same room together. Still, every elevator, every crowd in the lobby, got a close scan from my eyes in search of her beautiful face. The face I needed to stop thinking about. The eyes and smart mouth and throaty laugh and strong thighs I had to stop masturbating about because even if I had successfully banished her from my thoughts, my cock, my entire body cried out for her. I went to Club Nine Three and had a steak with Malcolm. His wife wanted another baby, and so did he. He told me that he felt almost ashamed of being so happy, of building this family in his fifties. It was a luxury, he told me, to grow old, and a greater one to be able to afford to do so in comfort.
“I’ve got things I never knew I wanted,” he told me, “I already had everything I’d worked for—the boats, the planes, the homes. My only regret was letting you outbid me on that island off Belize. Then I got married again, and I didn’t give a damn about Belize or anything else. Because I had it all. Then we had River. It keeps expanding. It’s better than I deserve, better than any man deserves, Brent,” he said, gnawing his cigar thoughtfully.
I sipped my bourbon and didn’t respond. He was content. I was happy for him, but much like the zip file Tom sent me of his honeymoon photos, it was something I didn’t care to explore. I turned the conversation to a startup I wanted to acquire, an adventure tourism company out of Idaho that sounded promising.
“Don’t forget the one I bought up in Uruguay that time. The couple was using the zip line funding to buy drugs,” he warned.
“Really? That was one mistake. You can’t let one bad experience knock you out of the game because you don’t trust anyone,” I said.
He chuckled. Damn him.
“So, you and the intern at the Christmas party…” he said.
“She’s not an intern,” I said hastily.
“Mmm-hmm. That’s relevant,” he said, “Did you have a good evening? Was it just a one-time thing or is there more?”
“Go home and give your wife a hormone shot,” I said sourly.
“Go home and grow a set. You always had brass balls when it came to business, but you’re moping around over some girl because you don’t want to commit?”
“That isn’t an issue.”
“Really? Then what is? Was something wrong with her?”
“No. Nothing. She was perfect. Funny as hell, gorgeous, smart, a total disaster,” I said miserably, draining my drink.
“This perfect girl, did she only want what she could get—a payoff or a promotion?”
“No. She said—she loves me,” I groaned.
“Congratulations. You’re the luckiest bastard since me. A woman you don’t deserve has made the massive error of falling for you. Now it’s your job to make sure she doesn’t regret it,” he grinned.
“I broke it off. It was the worst mistake of my life getting involved with her. I’ve never, not even in my younger days, slept with an employee.”
“Well, are you waiting for a gold star for that? Because you don’t get one. The way I see it is, you can apologize to her and be happy, or you can keep it up with the sackcloth and ashes until she moves on and you have to send a gift to her wedding,” Malcolm said.
“Are you trying to make me feel worse?”
“If that’s what works, then, yes, I am.”
“I don’t need this,” I said, getting up.
“This is exactly what you need. You wouldn’t be acting like such an asshole if you didn’t have a thorn in your paw. Tell her you want her back,” Malcolm said.
“I’m leaving,” I said, and left.
The next morning, she was in the elevator. The goddamn elevator of all places. I stepped in. We were not alone. There were three other people there. I glanced at her. My body reacted to the sizzle still there between us. Her eyes met mine, big eyes above her pale and hollow cheeks. She looked thinner, tired. It wrenched me to think I’d done that to her by breaking her heart, but it also decided on something I’d been avoiding.
29
Cat
I followed him out of the elevator. I touched his sleeve, the fine wool slipping out of my fingertips even as I tugged it. He turned around, as handsome as ever, and the bottom dropped out of my stomach.
“How have you been?” I asked coolly. I would not whine or plead.
“Busy, and yourself?” he said, his tone clipped, his manner hurried.
I nodded and turned to press the elevator button. I tucked my hair behind my ear and waited.
“Caitlin,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’ve been thinking about you. If you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you.”
My heart leapt. He had reconsidered, had realized how perfect we were together. Not just the phenomenal sex, but the energy between us, the zing of our banter and the shared sense of humor and the playful, loving way we had. Please ask me over to do my laundry, I thought, as a smile went ahead and bloomed on my face. I felt better than I had in weeks.
He indicated a pair of chairs flanking a floor lamp across from the elevators. He wasn’t even wasting time taking me to his office. We wouldn’t have privacy, which annoyed me, but his excitement and eagerness made me happy at the same time. I waited for him to reach for my hand. His hand on mine had been so much what I desired the last few weeks. The jolt of awareness, the sensual rush of his touch and the flawless way our hands fit together like puzzle pieces. That had been missing from my life in recent times.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said again.
“Yes?” I prompted encouragingly.
“A fresh start would be best for both of us. This situation, the way it has been is full of tension. When you were in the elevator, I nearly took the stairs instead. And that is a great many stairs. You see how it is, working in the same building and living in the same city is problematic. I have commended Kim on the job your team did with the handbook. I’ll be forwarding that commendation along with your credentials to the head of HR in our London office. I think it would be best if you relocated. You won’t suffer any loss of pay or status, and you’ll be given a stipend for relocation to help you with a deposit on an apartment and shipping your belongings. Everything will be in order for your arrival. If you’re willing to go. I won’t transfer you without your consent.”
He said consent, reminding me of our long lunch, our innuendos and the excitement of that early attraction. I shook my head a little sadly.