Chapter Sixteen
ADRIAN
Boston
As I settled into my cramped spot in the corner of the elevator, I scanned the faces entering the car, the corner of my lips rising when I saw a familiar pair of legs just outside the door. The hem of an ivory-colored skirt hugged every alluring curve of the woman I’d been eager to see since I left her apartment on Friday night.
Isobel pushed through the people surrounding the doors, squeezing inside the crowded car, and glancing over her shoulder, eyes widening when she saw me watching her. I couldn’t see from where I was trapped in the corner if she’d listened and left her panties at home, but I didn’t care. I was just excited to see her, especially knowing we had to sit through a staff meeting for the next hour, where she wouldn’t be able to escape me.
The crowd dissipated as the elevator stopped at each floor on its way to the eleventh until it was just the two of us remaining with three floors left to ascend, Isobel standing entirely too far away.
Deciding to tease her a bit, I stepped forward and placed my hand at her waist, enjoying the way her body shuddered at the small contact. “You listened.”
She nodded, surprising me by taking a step backward, her ass barely grazing the front of my pants. “I’d almost forgotten I had it. ”
“I hadn’t,” I whispered, grazing my lips along the shell of her ear. I was barely touching her, but the contact was enough to awaken the erection I’d been literally trying to beat down for the last two days. “Did you do the other thing you promised?”
“You’ll just have to find out later,” she whispered, the tips of her fingers slowly grazing the material of my pants. It was truly astounding to me that such a subtle touch had me hard as stone and wanting to make poor decisions in an elevator car.
“Maybe I will.” My voice was hushed while I trailed my fingertips up the soft material covering her thigh.
“I hope so,” she breathed, laying her head back against my shoulder, and glancing up at me sideways. Fuck . Her attitude toward me seemed to have changed dramatically after my string of text messages this weekend. Part of me was scared it’d make her retreat into hiding again, but I was shooting my shot and if that meant letting my desperation for her show, I’d do it.
We parted ways in the lobby of the eleventh floor, my eyes lingering on her hips as she walked away, knowing I’d be worthless until lunchtime.
“The topic of this meeting is going to be a little different from what is listed on your agenda.” Sloane’s voice carried through the conference room in the same authoritative tone she typically had, but I was only partially listening as I gazed across the table, studying Isobel’s profile. I’d forgotten what our staff meeting was about, but was enjoying the view. “As some of you know. There will be some restructuring coming in the next few months within Vivid. You should have gotten the links from HR for the internal positions that will be opening late summer.”
The room filled with quiet murmurs, but my attention was focused squarely on Isobel and the way she kept doodling in the margin of her notebook. For some reason, I found it endearing that the romance department seemed to have a fixation on putting pen to paper. The advent of digital publishing had erased so many things that our predecessors treated as commonplace. I often wondered if sometimes the message got lost without that extra thought on whether to type or write the word.
Now we could produce finished books in a matter of months. It was astounding how prolific some authors of the past were, given that it took them years to get through the same process. Interns like Sam and Kristine didn’t know what it was like to wait a year or more for an author to finish a manuscript. The consumer demand for quick releases had changed the game immensely.
“I’ll need a few of you to stay back after we finish up. Isobel, Kate, and Adrian, we need to talk about the next steps with the lower-level positions opening. I believe you have some potential candidates within your groups.”
Nodding, I risked a glance at Isobel, who was slyly trying to watch me, briefly glancing up and then returning her gaze to the table in front of her, an impassive expression on her face.
Don’t worry, babe. I see you.
My phone buzzed in my lap, a fission of worry going through me before I looked at the notification screen.
Isobel: Quit staring at me.
The grin that stretched across my lips was surely obnoxious, but I didn’t care. She was initiating contact, and I was going to take it.
Adrian: You’d have to be looking to notice.
Isobel: I think everyone has noticed.
Adrian: It’s nothing new then. I usually spend these meetings watching you.
Isobel: Creepy much?
Adrian: I like to call it observant. I only wish I could observe the way your legs look in that skirt underneath this table.
Her eyes widened as she looked down at her lap to read my message, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue that indicated she liked what I was telling her. Or she was about to haul my ass into the hallway to give me a verbal lashing. Either one was hot.
Adrian: If only people wouldn’t notice me climbing underneath the table to take a closer look…
Adrian: Your legs parting slightly as my fingers encircle your delicate ankle. My palm slowly traveling up your calf until it reached the slit in the hem of your skirt.
Adrian: Your soft skin shaking as I slide my hand inward…
Isobel: STOP IT!
Adrian: The lace at the edge of your panties… Oh wait, we have yet to verify what’s under your skirt.
Isobel: ADRIAN!
Adrian: I love it when you scream my name.
A small piece of paper hit the leather cover of my notebook, bouncing into my lap. I glanced around the table, but the rest of our colleagues were still engrossed in the meeting, listening to Sloane detail some new procedures that were being put into place with the marketing department .
Isobel was facing forward, her phone now lying face down on the table, her attention focused elsewhere, but I could tell she was keeping an eye on me as well.
The laugh that wanted to escape my mouth when I pulled open the crinkled corner of a piece of paper turned into a loud cough, but I reached for my cup on the table in front of me, swallowing down a mouthful of water.
You stop it right now. We are in a meeting. Stop sending me suggestive text messages or our date is canceled.
Picking up my phone, I sent her one last text. Her phone vibrated against the table, causing her jaw to clench while she tried to avoid eye contact with me.
Adrian: I’ll stop. For now. But you can rest assured that I will be verifying if you listened to what I requested of you on Saturday. Because fantasy conference room Isobel might be wearing lace panties, but you better not be.
Deciding I should probably listen to the information my supervisor was bestowing upon us, I locked my phone screen and tossed it into the bag at my side, only stealing brief glances at Isobel for the rest of the time we were forced to be here.
Isobel escaped back to her office after the meeting with a slow glance in my direction. Her eyes lingered on mine for a moment, the corner of her lip twitching as she fought to keep her expression neutral. I knew I was pushing boundaries by outright flirting with her at work, even if it was by text to our private cell phones.
After years of watching her, in an observant manner, not a creepy one despite her accusations, I was finally seeing the vulnerable woman beneath the badass professional shell. She was still pretty badass, but like I hid beneath a veneer of ass inine comments, she hid behind her professional strengths. She’d made her work her personality around her co-workers, and she was finally letting me see the real her.
The conference hadn’t just changed our physical relationship. We now saw parts of each other we’d never revealed before. And while I was enjoying letting her see my true personality, I wanted to see hers even more.