Chapter 23
Jacob
“Welcome in!” the perky receptionist greeted me when I stepped off the elevator. It was the same girl that had been here a week ago. “Do you have an appointment?”
She didn’t recognize me. I looked down at the button-up shirt and nice jeans, realizing she would’ve recognized me if I had been in my uniform. “I’m here to see Erin,” I said. I adjusted from one foot to the other when she studied me, judging whether she should trust me. When she shrugged, I assumed she had decided she could trust me fine.
“Does she know you’re coming?” The blond looked at the bouquet of flowers in my hand, putting the pieces together herself. “Maybe it’s a surprise. Right this way.”
Everything about the lobby was the same—the expensive furnishings, the large pieces of artwork on the wall, and the spotless white tile that reflected the fluorescent lighting way too well. Only this time the hallway wasn’t lined with stares coming from inside the offices. Nobody looked my direction when the woman led me towards Erin’s office.
She knocked twice before she turned the handle and opened the door. Erin looked up from her computer, tilting her head to the side. “Someone is here to see you,” the receptionist said, swinging the door open farther.
The annoyed look on Erin’s face from the interruption was quickly replaced with shock when I stepped into the office. Her eyes widened, and a grin pulled at her cheeks. “What are you doing here?” she asked excitedly, rounding her desk and approaching me. “I’ll take it from here, Amy.”
The receptionist stood frozen in place for a moment, staring at us until she registered what Erin had said. Sudden realization crossed her face when she saw the tulips in my hand. “Oh, you’re—” She pointed at me and then looked at Erin. “Sorry. I should go. Let me know if you need anything.”
Erin laughed when the receptionist hurried out. “I’m not sure who’s more surprised,” she said, reaching for the flowers in my hand. She set them on the desk behind her and pulled me closer, wrapping her arms around me.
“Are you surprised?” I asked when her body was flush to mine. I took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. I’d missed the smell since she left my driveway this morning.
She nodded, a dreamy smile stretching across her cheeks. “It’s really good to see you.”
“It’s only been five hours.” I chuckled, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Did you miss me?”
Erin shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.” She looked back at the chairs in front of her desk and then at me. “Do you want to stay for a bit?”
She was moving towards her seat behind the desk before I had agreed, but I wouldn’t have turned down a second of time with her. “I missed you too, red.” I winked before I dropped into the seat across from her desk, kicking my legs up on the edge.
When she sat down, she didn’t take her eyes off me, reaching behind her for the armrests on her chair to make sure she didn’t end up falling to the ground. Until her computer dinged, she stared at me. Then she reluctantly pulled her eyes away, directing them to the screen in front of her and groaning.
“I need to respond to this,” she said, already clicking on her screen and placing her fingers over the keyboard.
Erin typed, and every time she looked at me from the corner of her eye, a small smirk would tug at the side of her mouth. Every time it did, my chest tightened, and it became harder to stay in the seat. My fingers twitched with the need to touch her. I longed to run my fingers through the hair that had fallen back over her chest.
She inhaled sharply when I dropped my feet from the edge of her desk to the floor, and when I stood up, it seemed like she held her breath. Her eyes followed me while I rounded the desk even though she never turned her head, and all the while, her fingers didn’t stop moving. Not until I stepped behind her, gathering her hair in one hand and pulling it back to expose her neck.
“I’m busy.” She tried to sound stern, emphasizing the words, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her.
I leaned forward, running my nose along her neck until my lips hovered over her ear. “Then focus,” I whispered. When I kissed her neck, she moaned, leaning back against the soft leather back of her chair.
“I can’t focus when you’re doing that.” She sighed, tilting her head to give me better access to her neck and closing her eyes. I kissed her neck, drawing my tongue from her shoulder to her ear and biting down on her earlobe.
When the door opened, she jerked upright, and the clicking of the keys filled the room again. “Am I interrupting something?” the man asked, fixing his suit jacket.
“No, not at all,” Erin said, quick to answer him. She gestured to me. “Jacob, this is Demetri Carlisle.” I recognized the last name from the sign above the building and again from the one outside the business suite. I knew the name well enough to know he was powerful.
“The boyfriend, I assume,” Demetri said with a judgmental look. What did he know about me?
I smiled, shrugging with one shoulder and extending my right hand. “You could assume correctly. Jacob Ryan.”
Demetri shook my hand, giving it a squeeze that dared me to make the wrong move. I held his stare, hoping to convey the same message. I didn’t know what he was expecting me to do with Erin, but hurting her was the last thing on my list. I’d have to stop myself from falling for her first, and it was too late for that.
“Did you need something?” Erin asked, standing up and stepping beside us. By the way she looked between us, she could feel the tension that hung there.
“I’ll get with you about it later,” Demetri said, dropping my hand and turning to leave. Before he got to the door, he turned back. “Don’t forget we have the call with the Morettis in twenty. Don’t be late.”
“Have I ever been late?” she asked, resting her hands on her hips and popping one out to the side. He looked at her like he was trying to come up with an example that proved her wrong, but when he couldn’t, he shrugged curtly and left.
“Your boss seems like a real peach,” I said when the door closed behind him.
Erin put her hands up defensively, an expression that looked like panic covering her face. “Demetri is a great guy.” She sounded defensive, looking back towards the door as if to make sure he was out of earshot. “He hired me as a receptionist when I was barely old enough to function in the adult world. I’ve worked for him and his family since. They’ve always been there for me no matter what. They treat me like one of their own.”
Her eyes glistened when she spoke, and my stomach sank. The man was more than just her boss; he was her best friend. I looked out the office window, wondering what they’d been through together in the past. I pulled Erin to me, holding her against my chest and kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry, red. I’m sure he’s a good dude.”
I bit back the feeling of jealousy I felt knowing that until now Demetri Carlisle had been the one to keep an eye on Erin. I didn’t care that he was a great guy. I wanted to be the one that protected Erin. No matter what.