Chapter Twenty-One
Penelope
Sneaking out of my bedroom early was a feat that I wasn’t sure I could accomplish until I was standing in the kitchen and glancing warily around. When I didn’t see him, I huffed out a relieved breath.
I dug out ingredients for omelets and started cooking, keeping an ear trained toward the bedrooms. The omelets were plated and I was in the middle of slicing up another fruit salad when Dristan made his way to the island.
I kept my eyes on my task, ready to ignore anything that he was going to say. Instead, he gave a small grunt and pulled his plate toward him. By the time I’d finished making the salad, he was already holding his hand out for a bowl.
I rolled my eyes but doled out some into a bowl anyway. He went out of his way to touch me—I was sure of it—but other than that, he was a perfect gentlemale throughout the meal.
As always, he didn’t have much to say, but the way that he looked at me had changed. There was a possessive gleam in his gaze that I’d never seen.
“Let’s go,” he barked once I was finished with my own breakfast. He held my coat out for me. I swallowed hard, tucking myself into it while trying not to melt under his touch. He ran his huge, warm palms down my arms and I shuddered before ducking away from him and scurrying to the elevator.
He followed at a leisurely pace, ignoring the rising tension between us. That stupid smirk was on his face again and I wanted to throw my shoe at him.
Damn it, I can act unaffected too! I can pretend nothing happened!
Tipping my chin up in defiance, I watched a spark of amusement cross his expression. Annoyed with him and myself, I looked away, a small huff of indignation leaving me.
Stomping toward the SUV, I tried to open the door, but my hand collided with Dristan’s. He was right behind me, his big body radiating heat against my back. I swallowed hard, side-stepping and allowing him to open the door for me without an argument.
I was pretty sure that if I opened my mouth while he was so close, I’d release a whimper and where would be the dignity in that? Settling into my seat, I glanced toward the open door where Dristan was lounging—just watching me. I refused to acknowledge him, grabbing my phone and pretending to fiddle with it instead. A little amused grunt sounded from next to me before Dristan shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side.
The trip to the office was as sweltering and nerve wracking as I assumed it would be. His scent bombarded me the entire time and took me right back to the night before when his head was between my legs. I bit my lip to stop myself from moaning as I squirmed in my seat.
Dristan didn’t seem to have that problem as his huge hand skimmed along his thigh. My jaw dropped as I realized he’d just given his cock a tiny massage, the huge shaft pressed along the seam of his pants.
“Oh my Gods,” I murmured, awe lacing my words.
“Hmm?” His questioning sound was so relaxed and sensual that it was everything I could do to stop myself from leaning over and kissing him.
Instead, I fanned myself, staring out of the window, but my mind was squarely on the straining cock next to me.
Was it really so wrong to take a little taste?
I mentally bitchslapped myself—for what felt like the millionth time when it came to this orc.
Focus, hussy. You need this job. And you can’t keep it if you’re fucking the boss.
I ignored the part of my brain that was fighting to inch closer to Dristan. The male was like a walking sun. I kept being dragged into his orbit.
When he parked, I stayed seated since I wasn’t willing to start an argument with him. I had no intention of finding out what kind of fire would burn between us now that we’d been… intimate.
He opened the door for me, smugness etched across his ridiculously handsome face when I was forced to rub against him as I passed, sparks of electricity shooting down the arm that brushed his. Damn him and his sexual intensity. It just wasn’t fair.
By the time we were settled in at his desk, I was almost certain that I needed to have a talk with Dristan. Something that would reset our boundaries and ensure that nothing would go wrong ever again.
Communication was key in a good relationship— working relationship—I quickly corrected myself. And there was no way around it. I spun my chair— his chair—to face him and found him lounging back in his tiny seat, eyes glued to me.
“I think you need a new chair,” I squeaked at him, trying to mentally strangle myself for starting the conversation that way.
He didn’t even blink, nodding at me. “I agree. Order me another one just like yours.”
My brows furrowed at that. “Or you could use this one again. It doesn’t make sense for me to sit here when it’s your chair—”
“You don’t like it?” he cut me off, a domineering eyebrow lifted.
That made me pause. “Oh, I do. It’s really great, but I meant that since this is yours, you should sit here.”
I stood, hovering next to him for an awkward moment when he refused to budge. He folded his massive arms across his equally impressive chest.
“No,” he told me in a succinct tone. “Buy another.”
I bit the insides of my cheeks to keep from snapping back at him. His bossy tone was bothering me today. If he wanted to spend his vast amounts of money on unnecessary purchases, that was his problem. I walked outside to Fionel’s desk, giving him a bright smile.
“Don’t talk to him,” Dristan snapped from inside the office.
Both Fionel and I stared at him in shock. “How would I know what kind of chair to buy?” I asked, incredulity lacing my words.
“The internet,” he insisted and I blinked at Fionel who shrugged at me.
“Okay,” I scoffed, going back to sitting next to Dristan. “But it’ll take me forever.”
“I didn’t give you a time limit, did I?” he growled, glaring out of the open door at the handsome elf. Fionel was grinning back at him.
I didn’t know why he was so angry with the male, but whatever it was, I wasn’t about to get between them. I had enough of my own problems to deal with.
“If you need anything, you ask me. No one else,” Dristan huffed, going back to his overflowing inbox.
“I can sort those first,” I told him, leaning over him to click on the tab with his schedule. I held my breath, struggling not to inhale his woodsy scent. Every time I got near him, something primal and visceral in me wanted to throw myself into his arms so he could take me back to his cave.
Reining those urges in, I took my seat again, using the laptop Dristan had assigned to me to open his emails instead.
“This schedule’s full,” Dristan growled. “I specifically booked this morning off. I canceled the meeting here.”
“I know,” I told him, pointing at the small fifteen-minute slot he’d deleted without a second thought. “I put this one back.”
He narrowed those piercing yellow eyes at me. “Why?”
“I think you should hear the pitch again and actually listen this time,” I said, biting my lip. “I think it was unfair the way you kicked him out the last time after he worked so hard with his team to put everything together.”
I saw the storm brewing in his eyes and prepared myself for his ire.
“It’s the minotaur, isn’t it?” he growled, his fist clenched in front of him. But I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him.
“Yes, it’s the minotaur,” I shot back, glaring at him with as much ferocity as I could muster. “His name is Garrett, and this time, you’re going to listen and not kick him out before he even gets two words out.”
His nostrils were flared and he was seething, but the knock on the door distracted us before he could go off on a tirade. Garrett stood there in a suit this time, his forced smile telling me more than anything else how nervous he was.
“Hi, Garrett,” I called, giving him an encouraging smile. “Please come in. We were just talking about how much Mr. Everlock is looking forward to hearing your presentation.”
Dristan’s scowl couldn’t possibly get any fiercer, but I gestured Garrett forward anyway. The male’s gaze swung between us for a few moments before he cleared his throat.
“Good morning Mr. Everlock. Miss…” he trailed off, horror in his eyes as he realized that I’d never given him my name.
“You can call me Penelope,” I said with a welcoming grin and Dristan’s scowl somehow grew darker. “You can start whenever you’re ready.” I knew I was pushing it—pushing Dristan .
I was crossing boundaries that I wouldn’t usually, but I’d seen the work Garrett’s team had put in. All the nights they’d burned the midnight oil, and I wanted to give them their chance to shine. My palms were sweating, but I tried to be inconspicuous as I wiped them on my skirt.
“I distinctly remember requesting an e-mail,” Dristan gritted and I turned my winning smile his way.
“He sent an e-mail. And after looking it over, I just knew that he needed to explain everything to you so you can ask him any questions you had in person,” I explained with more pep than I needed to. The toe of my shoe somehow found its way onto his foot and the small grunt that left him told me that he received my message loud and clear—aware that I was still pushing my limits, but praying he would go along for my sake.
Play. Nice.
“Go on then,” Dristan sighed, leaning back in his chair while it made a loud, protesting squeak.
Garrett’s smile was much less forced now. “Thank you for giving me another chance, sir,” he gushed and I watched Dristan’s lip start to curl before grunting again as I dug my shoe in.
“You’re welcome,” he sounded out, the words dangerous on his tongue.
I hid my grin, turning back to nod at Garrett. He started his pitch with much more enthusiasm than he had the last time. He handed us little packets to reference and I was impressed. He’d done so much research, and it showed.
“We believe that with very little capital on our end, we can get in early and break into this sector. It’s open for the taking.” He ended his presentation with a little nod, his eyes not leaving Dristan.
I had to give him credit for not losing his cool, since Dristan’s scowl hadn’t changed at all. He sighed, leaning back in his chair again and I knew that I only had maybe a day or two to get his new chair before this one died under him.
“Okay,” Dristan said, after a long moment. “Even though this could have been distilled into an e-mail.” The side-eye he sent my way burned a hole in my cheek, but I was too busy smiling at Garrett, “I’ll give it a chance. Give the numbers to Fionel.”
Garrett’s eyes lit up and I knew that as soon as he stepped into the elevator, he would be dancing with glee. “Thank you so much, Mr. Everlock,” he enthused. “My team and I can’t wait to get started with this.”
Dristan’s scowl was back and he waved the male off, dismissing him. Garrett didn’t seem offended, but I still dug my shoe in again for being so rude. Dristan’s pained expression made me grin.
“Thank you too, Penelope,” Garrett called, waving at me. I beamed at him, waving back and Dristan turned annoyed eyes my way.
“What?” I asked, pulling my foot off of his.
“You were flirting with him,” he accused and my eyebrows shot up even as a shocked laugh escaped me.
“No, I was not ,” I gasped.
“Yes, you were,” he growled, pointing an accusing finger in the direction that Garrett had left. “And you invited him here without my permission.”
“I saw his e-mail,” I sniffed, turning back to the laptop and ignoring him, “And I know how much work he and his team put in. It wasn’t fair how you treated him.”
“You could have just shown me the damn e-mail,” he growled, reaching down to rub his abused foot. “You didn’t have to trample me to get your way.”
“I didn’t trample you,” I scoffed, eyeing the chair I was sitting on and comparing it to the one I was looking at on the screen. I double checked the weight limits, eyeing Dristan’s huge form before nodding decisively and hitting purchase. Dristan had given me a company card for expenses like these, but I sweated as I used it, eyeing the astronomical price.
“You won’t be e-mailing any more males,” he told me, going back to his own computer. “And if you do, I need to approve it first.”
“That’s not happening,” I told him, sending him a sickly sweet smile. “You gave me the job. Let me do it.”
Dristan’s frown was probably meant to intimidate, but I’d come to realize that his bark was way worse than his bite… at least so far.