Chapter 5
Chapter Five
By Friday, Davide and I had hammered out the details, and I was officially his new assistant manager at the gallery. I’d turned in my two weeks’ notice at work and scheduled myself to be off the second week by using what remained of my PTO for the year.
Needless to say, my boss wasn’t happy. And he was panicking because the only other employee in HR was the CEO’s daughter-in-law, which meant he couldn’t make her do his work and then take the credit for it because the CEO adored her and would absolutely fire his ass if her daughter-in-law approached her about the situation.
She had no idea what was going on in the department because I didn’t want to be the center of work drama, so I hadn’t said anything.
I probably shouldn’t have gotten quite so much enjoyment out of seeing the sheer terror on his face as the week ended, but I really, truly did. The following week would be my last, and I couldn’t wait to leave him in the mess of his own making.
I was so excited about my new job that I’d even given up a Friday night out on the town to fill out paperwork for Davide.
Okay, so that was bullshit.
I was single, and all my friends were in relationships, my new boss being the exclusion. I had no plans for the night, and this was better than going home and crashing on the couch with a bottle of wine and a large supreme pizza. Alone.
The gallery stayed open until eight on Fridays and was open from one to nine p.m. on Saturdays because it was in the Highland Village area with a lot of shopping and foot traffic in the evening during the weekend.
Davide and I had finished my paperwork, and he was trying to convince me to go to a club with him that night.
“You know I don’t like clubbing,” I argued.
“C’mon. It’ll be fun. No weird dudes will hit on you or anything. I swear.”
“I don’t even care about that. I just want to eat a nice dinner, drink some delicious wine, and go home to soak in a hot bath until I look like I’m turning into a raisin.”
The bell over the gallery door rang, the high chime echoing throughout the space. I loved that Davide used an actual bell rather than an electronic one. It gave the gallery a whimsical, old-fashioned atmosphere.
I turned my head to see who’d entered and froze completely when I saw the tall, broad figure of Elijah Lawson striding through the gallery.
It had been two weeks since I’d seen him. And, holy shit, how had he gotten even hotter?
He wore a navy t-shirt that clung to his chest and biceps. Wait, were they even bigger than the night we spent together?
Before I could decide for sure, Davide spoke, breaking the trance I’d fallen into. “Well, hello there, handsome. I wasn’t sure if you were going to come in tonight or not.”
Elijah came to a halt next to us. The navy color of his shirt made his blue eyes pop and there was stubble on his face which brought my attention to his sharp jawline. I swallowed hard when his gaze met mine.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes flicking from mine to Davide. “You said any time before closing would work.”
“I know, but the place closes in half an hour.”
Elijah shrugged, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans, drawing my gaze downward. The denim was loose around his hips but tight on his thighs. And I could see the bulge behind his zipper. A montage of images from our night together flashed through my mind in a moment.
“Hey, Grier,” he said.
I blinked and lifted my gaze to his to find him smirking at me as though he knew exactly what I’d been thinking about.
“Hi, Eli.”
Damn. I hadn’t meant to call him that. Just like that Sunday morning in the hotel room, it had slipped out without any premeditation on my part.
His irritating smirk grew. “Still calling me that, huh?”
Davide cleared his throat, preventing me from saying something I might regret.
And keeping Elijah from revealing more about what happened between us the night of Lucy’s wedding.
Well, I assumed that might happen. We hadn’t discussed if our night together was going to be a secret, but I really didn’t want to end up explaining this to Davide.
Especially tonight when we’d be going out to dinner so I couldn’t escape.
“Come on back to my office, and we’ll get the paperwork signed.” Davide glanced at me. “Grier, you should come, too. We’re going to be selling some of Lawson’s pieces in the gallery, and since you’re going to be working with me now, you need to know how to do all of this.”
Pieces? He was an artist? How did I not know this?
Oh, yeah, we’d both used our mouths for everything but conversation the night of Chris and Lucy’s wedding.
We’d had a few conversations before that night, but I didn’t remember him ever mentioning what he did for a living which was strange.
Jobs were usually the first thing people discussed in casual conversation because it was considered a relatively safe topic.
Elijah turned to look at me. “You’re working here now?”
Inwardly, I cursed, but I managed to force myself to smile. “Yes, I’m starting next week.”
He nodded, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Are y’all coming or what?” Davide asked.
I jumped at his question and tore my eyes away from Elijah. He was much slower to turn, but he followed Davide into his office.
What I should have done was made my excuses and left the gallery because the next half hour was akin to torture.
Davide had me stand next to Elijah as they went over the paperwork, commission, and number of pieces the gallery would display.
There was no way I would remember any of it.
My thoughts kept drifting back to the night of Lucy’s wedding.
With every brush of his arm against mine, the scent of his cologne, and the heat of his body, I would flash back to that night.
The way his hands would grip me, the thrust of his hips, and how I’d felt surrounded and commanded.
“Well, I think that’s it,” Davide said, gathering up the papers. “When will you have the pieces delivered?” he asked Elijah.
“I’ll bring them by next week.”
“You?” Davide asked.
“Yes, me.” Elijah chuckled at the surprised expression on my friend’s face. “Who did you think would do it?”
“Your assistant? A service?”
“I don’t have an assistant, and I don’t trust any service to take care of my work. I’ll have the pieces here by Thursday. I’ll call you when I know which day.”
“Sounds good,” Davide said, grinning at him. “Hey, if you’re not busy, Grier and I are going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate her new position here. You should come with us.”
My heart stopped in my chest. I fully expected him to say no, but, once again, Elijah surprised me.
His eyes flicking between my friend-slash-new boss and me, he answered, “I’d love to.”
Oh, shit.
Dinner and drinks went exactly as I expected when I heard Elijah’s answer—awkwardly.
At least for me.
I didn’t think that Davide or Elijah noticed my discomfort, but I discovered I was wrong after we ordered appetizers.
Davide and I ordered mojitos as we usually did, but Elijah ordered a beer.
Once the drinks arrived, Davide saw a new acquaintance, one he was attracted to, and winked at me before he scooped up his mojito and sauntered over to the man at the bar, leaving me alone with Elijah.
I desperately wanted to get up and go hide in the ladies’ room while Davide flirted with his latest crush, but I was a grown woman, dammit.
I could sit here and talk to a man who’d given me mind-melting orgasms during a one-night stand.
Before Chris and Lucy’s wedding, I’d enjoyed talking to Elijah the times we had a chance for casual conversation.
There was no reason I couldn’t do it again.
I sipped the mojito in my hand before I turned to Elijah, jumping a little when I realized how close he’d gotten.
Davide insisted on sitting in a circular booth in the corner, saying that we would be able to hear each other better if we were all sitting close together.
Which didn’t matter at all considering my new boss was off trying to hook up.
Now, Elijah was in my space, his face only a few inches away.
And he was watching me closely with those piercing blue eyes.
“How have you been, Brown Eyes?” he asked, his shoulder brushing mine.
Holy shit, why was it so hot in here?
I knew my cheeks were pink as I swallowed more of my cocktail. “I’ve been good. Excited to change jobs. How about you?”
“I’m good. Better tonight than this morning.” He smirked as he lifted the beer bottle to his mouth.
I shot him a skeptical side eye, the awkwardness slowly draining from me. He was so cocky. “Maybe I should go. I’m not sure there’s enough room for me and your ego in this booth.”
He chuckled, setting the beer bottle on the table with a quiet thunk without looking away from my face. “You won’t leave, Brown Eyes. You’re too nice to stomp off in a huff.”
I cocked my head to the side at the skepticism in his tone. “You don’t think I would?”
“You’re as sweet as cotton candy, Grier.” His eyes wandered over my lips and down my body before he lifted his gaze back to mine. “Everywhere.”
Okay, it wasn’t just hot in here. It was a damn sauna. The hot flush returned to my face and worked its way down my neck and chest. I had to diffuse this situation, and I had to do it now, before I did something stupid—like stick my tongue in his mouth.
“Listen, Eli. You don’t know me all that well. When we see each other, I’m with my friends, people I like and trust. The part of me that would bitch out annoying men is dormant then.”
His smirk erupted into a full-fledged laugh, making his eyes twinkle. “I see. Consider me put in my place.”
My blush was just beginning to fade when he asked, “Have you thought about me when you touched yourself after that night?”