Chapter 8 Julian
JULIAN
Savannah doesn’t question my demand and, to my surprise, grasps the urgency and follows me, hot on my heels. I begin pacing in front of my desk once we’re in my office.
“You are unbelievable,” I tell her.
“Me?” She points to herself as she stands still in the middle of my office, completely bewildered. “What have I done now?”
I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose in the process as my headache forms. “Because of you, I lost that deal.”
“W-What?” she stammers. “How? What did I do?”
I stop mid-pace, and I point my index finger at her. “It’s you and your bewitching ways. That’s what happened.”
Her arms fall to her sides, and her jaw slides to the side because this is Savannah, and she is preparing herself for a debate. “Enlighten me,” she volleys back dryly at me.
Taking a few steps her way, I’m well aware that I must look like a man crazed. “It’s you and that dress or some mystical perfume or something.”
Her mouth gapes open. “Really?” She snickers. “I am to blame for this?”
“Yes. It’s because of you I told him to take a hike.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, which only brings my attention to her respectable cleavage; even covered it can still send a man into a meltdown, especially since I’ve seen her down to her bare skin.
I continue, “I ruined the deal all because of you.”
I’m staring at her back as she quickly goes to the open door and shuts it before she faces me again. “I will not accept blame for whatever happened, because I wasn’t in the room.”
“You don’t need to be in the room,” I nearly shout.
Her hand sweeps through her hair, which is down and framing her face, and she lets out a frustrated grumble. “You make zero sense right now.”
“Clark couldn't care less about business, as he was more concerned with you and your lack of a wedding ring.” I puff out my chest, and it only highlights that my heart rate is uneven.
Something about my sentence causes her to change her mood, and I swear that cursed sexy smirk of hers appears because she is the devil in my head. Her slow strides have me very concerned.
“Why would you care what he thinks of me?”
I look to the side and pretend to be unaffected. “I don’t. But it was a waste of my time.”
“Huh, not jealous?”
I scoff at the absurdness. “Of him? Never.”
Our eyes meet and are instantly locked in a standoff. This woman has me thinking illogically, yet I’m very aware of the tether that is about to snap between us.
“He’s a jerk anyway, so I doubt I’m the one to blame,” she reminds me calmly in a rasp.
Now isn’t the moment to highlight to her that she’s right, or that I couldn't care less about a minor account.
We both step closer, closing the distance.
“You’re a problem, Savannah.” She shakes her head gingerly, disagreeing. “Yes, you are. You make people think irrationally.”
“I’m not apologizing for that.”
“I’m not saying you should. I’m merely commenting on how you are a horrible assistant.”
Her hands drop to rest on the hourglass of her hips, and she is pissed. “I’m the best at what I do, so your feedback is not accepted.”
I drag my hand across my face and jut my jaw out because I’m frustrated. “Fine. You’re not a normal assistant.”
“Feedback still not accepted.”
“You take no accountability for your actions.” Now I’m listing ridiculous accusations to buy me time.
She throws her hands in the air and growls. “What horrible boss are you? What action accountability should I take?”
We’re bickering and going in circles, and I’ve got to stop this because maybe I’m redeemable in the next few seconds. I shouldn’t have dragged her in here because of my own self-anger.
“Well, what is it, Mr. Haven? What is it that makes me the worst assistant ever?” she snipes at me.
That’s it.
Time now struck, and I’m not at all a redeemable man.
In a quick movement, I take an easy step forward to close the space between us and tangle my hand in her hair to yank her away slightly, my eyes dropping to her lips before shooting back to her eyes, which show no sign of fear, only excitement.
I bring her mouth closer to me, feeling her warmth.
“You’re a distraction. A complete fucking distraction that makes it impossible to work around you,” I whisper before crashing my mouth onto hers.
The world goes quiet. I’m not used to that.
Our lips meet, and it’s a long, firm kiss. She doesn’t whimper, nor does she seem surprised by my quest to devour her lips. I feel her hands fisting the top of my blazer, and it isn’t to push me away. She holds on tight and even brings me closer.
She’s irritating, but we’re buzzing with electricity.
We’re not starting with a gentle kiss; instead, it’s hungry.
The moment that our tongues touch, she becomes more intoxicating.
Her murmur only encourages me not to break our kiss.
That would be the wise choice. But a horrible one because I’m greedy for her.
The brief break we take to catch our breath doesn’t deter us, because she answers me by bringing our contact deep and with intent. My hands cradle her face, and our noses brush before we find a better angle to continue our string of kisses, now hurried but still burning with fuel.
In a natural movement, my feet begin to walk her toward my desk, but my brain catches up, and I’m aware that putting her on my desk isn’t a smart idea. I’ve already complicated our fragile working relationship, and that’s purely with a kiss that is my guilty pleasure of the day.
I frame her face with my hands, and our lips brush slowly and softly because I’m reluctant to pull away. I can drag it out a little longer. When our lips seal together, it’s different—it’s tender, without the chaos. I would say this prolonged kiss is all my fault, except… she isn’t pulling away.
We both want this.
That’s very bad.
I have no idea how we are going to play this because logic hits me far too hard. My own recklessness is what she enjoys.
Which is why I begin to pull away, and my thumb traces her jaw to her swollen lips. Our breaths are ragged, and her eyes arrow straight into my chest, while my own focus is on her mouth.
“I… I’m going to go,” she states calmly.
I step back and swipe my hands through my hair. “Yeah. It’s a busy workday.” My voice is soft, and I’m aware the air has shifted to an unknown.
Savannah steps to the side, and our arms graze as she walks away to the door. “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Wait, what?
Was this such a colossal mistake that she has to run away, and I don’t actually want her to?
I can’t even reply because she’s gone so fast… and the door closes behind her again and again.
My intuition tells me that I shouldn’t chase her.
So I don’t.
Great.
Just great.
I arrived at work this morning, and Savannah was nowhere to be found. Did I lose another assistant all because I had to kiss her to calm myself the fuck down?
It’s 8:15, where is she? This isn’t like her.
Making my own coffee at my machine in my office, I decide to proceed with my day. I’ve done this before, lacking an assistant.
It’s just that I’ve never kissed one.
The knock on my open door causes excitement that she has arrived, but it’s short-lived because Charles enters, smiling.
“Morning. Thought I would stop by for a quick catch-up.”
I check that the level of my coffee in my cup is in ratio. “Sure. Why are you even in the building? You should be having a leisurely breakfast somewhere.”
“We said I would be in two days a week until I’m officially retired.”
“Help yourself to coffee.”
“Nah, I’ll get one when I go downstairs.”
We both walk to my sitting area, and when we sit, he evaluates me.
“Everything okay? I heard the Gabes deal didn’t go through.”
I shrug as I sip on the coffee from the machine that my temptress of an assistant changed one day without my approval. “It’s fine. He wasn’t the right fit for us. Besides, let’s not deal with minor teams.”
“Fair enough. Only thought I would see if I missed anything. But if you say it’s all okay, it is. I also wanted to remind you that in a few weeks, there is that speaking engagement that you agreed to out in Boston.”
“I know. How to grow an empire or something of that sort.” I’m not too excited for it, but if someone needs to hear how to be the best, I’m the guy for that.
He crosses his leg over his knee and spreads his arm along the back of the couch. “How is the assistant situation going?”
My body peaks because I’m wondering if this is the part where he tells me that Savannah resigned all because I was reckless.
“Fine. Why? Have you heard something else?” I cough into my fist before evening my voice.
He shakes his head. “No. I figured there wouldn’t be any issues. She’s great at her role.”
“I don’t remember her being so sassy, but I guess I get that privilege.”
He lets out a hearty chuckle. “You do have the privilege, because we had a great working relationship, and her humor hit the mark, never sassy, though. Maybe it’s the whole respect-your-elders thing.
I guess you only saw her before as my assistant, sitting in on meetings.
It takes a while for the new dynamic to gel together. ”
“Sure. Let’s call it that,” I agree dryly before bringing the cup to my lips.
“A laugh will do you good. You’re lucky to have her. She comes from a family-oriented background and is positive-minded. I’m sure you’re not used to any of that.” We can thank my family for my hardened persona—survival of the fittest.
My jaw ticks, and I struggle to smile wryly. “Maybe.”
Silence falls upon us, and it becomes disconcerting, and that’s when I notice that Charles is holding his stare toward me.
“Yes?” I lift my shoulders.
He pretends to fix the band of his watch. “It’s nothing.”
“Obviously, it’s something.” And I’m curious.
“Julian, well, how do I say this?”
“Spit it out.” I’m growing impatient.
He notices. “It isn’t crazy if you might… it’s Savannah, she’s… All I’m saying is you two can work really well together… there are policies to ensure that.”
I begin to laugh because he just advised that Savannah and I could be sleeping together, for all we want…
but do it discreetly because of company policies.
The guy may have hit retirement, but he is still bold.
“Right,” I play along. “Not an issue, but duly noted,” I lie because I absolutely did everything I shouldn’t have yesterday.
“Okay.” His smile returns.
It’s a very long beat, and something else crosses my mind. “The clause about her student debt. It only happens if she works for us for a set amount of time, right?”
“Yes. Two more years.”
My lips quirk out, and I shake my head once. “You can get rid of the time limit. It will be paid either way.”
Charles's eyes bug out. “Oh?”
“Yes. She can quit, and it won’t matter.”
He stands, unsure of what to say. “Has something happened?” he pries.
“No. Just get rid of the clause.” My face must appear as stone, unreadable.
“I guess I could talk to HR. There are policies—”
I cut him right off. “And I own this company. Just get rid of the clause, and there is one more thing.” He appears to be all ears. “Don’t tell Savannah.”
He appears completely gobsmacked. “What? Why?”
A sly smirk creeps up on the corner of my mouth. “Leverage,” I simply explain.
He rolls his eyes, not impressed with my antics, but he obliges anyway.
“Christ, I can’t even begin to break this one down.
Fine.” He gives up, and when I don’t respond, he decides it's his time to leave. “Well, that’s me. The temp, my assistant, promised to have anything I needed to sign off on all ready for one go.”
“Makes sense.”
He walks to the open door and peeks out. “I thought Savannah would be back by now. I wanted to say hi.”
“Back from where?”
His brows furrow. “She had to finish a paper last night and submit it first thing this morning. Remember? It’s her big final paper deadline. She’s finishing her master’s.”
Ah, shit. I need to remember these details. She’s been working on this for a long time. It isn’t a small feat. We even talked about it.
“Right. It slipped my mind.” Or I should read my damn calendar, where she probably made a note that she would be in late.
He gives me a little salute goodbye.
I’m relieved that she is actually coming to work today. It’s a mystery how we will face one another. Deciding to busy myself, I go back to my desk and make a few calls, and around 10 AM, I hear movement which captures my attention. Through the open door, I see that Savannah has arrived at her desk.
My pulse begins to quicken, and I push myself away from my desk and rise. I’ll make the first move. I’m the older one, in a position of authority, and the man who decided her mouth was worth my lips.
I slowly saunter to the entrance of my office, and she doesn’t even glance up as she tucks her purse into her drawer.
“Morning,” I greet her while I lean against the doorframe.
“Oh, hi, thought you would be on a call. You have one now.” She still doesn’t make eye contact and continues setting up her desk for the day.
“They phoned earlier to reschedule. I guess you’ll get an email about that.”
She looks up real quick with a bright smile. “Okay. Anyhow, I need to catch up on your inbox. Let me know if you need anything.” She plops herself onto her chair.
“Savannah…” I begin.
She looks at me as if all is normal. “Yeah? I think your four o’clock will most likely drag on. A heads up on that.”
Brushing everything under the rug is how she wants to play this. Fine. I’ll let her take the lead.
I turn, only to pause. “Savannah.” But I’ll try this again. “About—”
“Yes?”
Her beauty today hits differently when I see that her doe eyes search mine. “I wanted to say…” I don’t have the words for it, which means I don’t even want to approach the subject and will follow her policy. “I just wanted to say hope the paper went well.”
“Thanks.”
I leave her and close the door behind me.
It was a passionate angry kiss.
That’s all.
Let it be in the past.