Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
ADRIANNA
With everything off my desk, with the exception of my computer, I wipe it down.
Then I do it again. I spray so much disinfectant I think I’ve ingested enough to become part disinfectant myself.
I don’t stop, though. Moving from the main area, I focus on the stain that’s been on my desk since before I started.
You’re going down today, sucker.
I scrub and scrub without it changing at all. It’s not willing to budge, but I have nothing but time.
Maybe today is the day it disappears for good.
I’m in a mood, and everyone knows it.
The people who have come into work so far are giving me a wide berth.
They’ve worked with me long enough to know that if I’m cleaning my desk, then I’m working through something.
A whole lot of embarrassment and a little bit of self-loathing run through my veins, and it feels like it’s eating me alive.
I’ve had my fair share of one-night stands, but never have I slept with a man who I hate or who hates me in return.
Did I love the way Elijah fucked me in the moment?
Hell yes, but when he watched me drive away with that look of loathing on his face, I couldn’t help but feel dirty and used.
To make matters worse, I don’t know what will happen today when he shows up.
Will he treat me differently, or will he still be an asshole?
Will I be fired, or will he reassign me?
Will he pull me into his office to tell me it can never happen again, or will he try and convince me that we should do it one more time to get it well and truly out of our systems?
The idea of sleeping with him again makes my stomach roll and my pussy clench.
Jesus, maybe I should look for a therapist. Clearly there is something wrong with me, right?
I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t hear her approach.
“Are you okay, Adrianna?” Francine asks softly.
“Huh?” I ask, blinking up at her.
“Are you okay?” she asks slowly as if I’m one of her children and about to bolt since I was caught doing something naughty.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? It’s been a while since you’ve done this,” she says, waving toward my desk.
I can’t help but cringe. “I’m fine. Promise.”
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks.”
When she turns to walk away, my smile drops.
She’s right. I haven’t been in this headspace in a long time, and it’s because of Elijah.
Throwing my wipe away, I get to work putting my desk back together.
While I work, I try to remind myself that he’s just a man and that what he thinks about me doesn’t matter.
His reactions do not determine my worth.
The elevator dings right as I place the last thing back on my desk. I don’t know how, but I just know without looking up that it’s him.
Don’t show him anything. Play it cool.
Taking a deep breath, I look up and smile.
“Good morning, Mr. Samson. Your coffee is on your desk, and you have a meeting in an hour over the phone with Max Williamson.”
“Make me a new coffee,” he demands, breezing past me and into his office.
My hands clench under my desk.
Still the same asshole. Cool.
Anger courses through my blood as flashes of the night before filter into my brain. The things we did in the back seat of my car were amazing, and yet today he acts as if it never happened.
Somewhere deep down, I hoped that he would be kind this morning.
Maybe say good morning. Instead, he walked in and pulled his usual shit.
Fuck him. I’m not making him a fresh cup of coffee when the one I made was placed on a desk warmer that I found in the bottom of my desk on the off chance that he decided today was the day he wanted to drink it.
“What is this?” he demands.
I look over at him and see that he’s holding the warmer as if it offends him.
“It’s a drink warmer.”
His eyes narrow. “Why was it on my desk?”
“To keep your coffee warm, sir,” I deadpan.
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, but stay the hell out of my office when I’m not around.”
“Forgive me, Mr. Samson, but you are sending me mixed signals.”
“Excuse me?” he asks slowly.
My legs are shaking, but I stand up straight and take a step toward him. He sways away from me for a split second before he catches himself, making me smile.
That’s right, asshole, I have your number.
“You want hot coffee on your desk every morning when you arrive, despite the fact that you don’t drink it, yet at the same time you don’t want me to enter your office before you arrive. As far as I can see, you’ve set me up for failure. I can’t do both things at the same time.”
“I’m sure you could figure it out,” he snaps.
I toss my hands up, completely over this back and forth. “Would you like me to send someone else in with your coffee?”
“No one goes into my office without me present.”
“Get the fuck over yourself. You aren’t that important. All I’m trying to do is my job, and you aren’t letting me.”
Elijah takes a step forward and into my space. I find myself breathing hard when he looks down at me, his nose almost touching mine.
“You are a goddamn pain in my fucking ass,” he hisses.
“Right back at you,” I mutter.
Someone clears their throat, making us both look over.
“Everything okay over here?” Frank from marketing asks, looking highly uncomfortable.
Shame washes over me when I realize that my coworkers heard us going at each other. I’ve worked so hard to make them respect me, and here I went and probably flushed that down the drain all because I let this dickhead get under my skin.
“Everything is fine, Frank. We’re just having a little…disagreement,” I tell him with a brittle smile.
His eyebrows furrow. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“In my office. Now,” Elijah hisses, bringing my attention back to him.
“No.”
His eyebrows wing up. “No?”
“If you are going to say those two words, you can say them here.”
I don’t have to tell him what two words I’m talking about. You’re fired.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? That way you could run to the press and tell them how I fucked you over,” he sneers.
I shake my head slowly as my heart races. “I’ve never heard someone be so confidently wrong in my life. It’s impressive, really.”
“In. My. Office. Now,” he says through clenched teeth.
Fuck it. He wants to hash this out in private, then let’s do this. I can’t help but shoulder-check him as I brush by him.
I just hope he knows I’m not going down without a fight.
ELIJAH
My jaw clenches when her shoulder knocks into mine. She’s spitting mad, and I fucking love it. I hated seeing the embarrassment and uncertainty on her face when I walked in.
Last night was indescribable. I’ve had more one-night stands than I would like to admit, but never has a woman rocked me the way Adrianna did. If it wasn’t for the little tidbit of the condom breaking, I would have followed her home and fucked her all night.
Instead, I let her go. After a call with Mason, I realized I fucked up. I need to let her know what happened. It wasn’t right for me to keep it to myself.
“What are you looking at? Get back to work,” I snap when I see people are still staring at me.
I turn on my heel and head into my office, slamming the door behind me.
“Took you long enough,” she hisses.
She’s leaning against my desk with her legs kicked out in front of her. The way she’s reclined back has her skirt inching up just a little, teasing me. I want more.
“That sassy mouth of yours is bound to get you into trouble,” I tell her, moving to stand in front of her.
“Too bad. Can we get this over with?”
I fight the urge to flip her over and spank her ass. I need to put our banter aside and tell her the truth.
“Listen, about last night…” I start, but she interrupts me, the shame on her face once again.
“We don’t have to talk about it.”
I cup her cheek. “Oh, but we do. When I was cleaning up, I realized the condom broke. Now I know that it’s scary, but…”
She starts laughing. Like she bends over, still sitting on the edge of my desk, and laughs.
“What the fuck are you laughing for? This is serious,” I growl.
She looks up at me, wiping at a tear in the corner of her eye.
“That’s what all of this is for? You’re worried you implanted a child in me?
Yeah, I noticed the trace amounts of your cum inside of me when I cleaned up.
I realized what happened but figured maybe you didn’t.
Good to know you did and you kept it to yourself. ”
“I didn’t keep it to myself. I processed the information and informed you now. Were you going to keep it to yourself? Were you waiting for a positive pregnancy test to bring to me?”
Humor falls from her face as she folds her arms over her chest. “It’s not a concern because there’s this little thing called birth control. I’m on it. Don’t worry. I already made an appointment at the clinic to get tested for whatever diseases you may have given me.”
The relief hits me first, but then there’s a tiny bit of disappointment. Did I want her to be pregnant?
No. That can’t be it. She’s got me messed up in the head.
Stepping closer to her, I cage her in, resting my hands on the desk next to her hips.
Desire flashes through her eyes, but she quickly smothers it. “What are you doing?”
Don’t worry, sweetheart, I saw it. I know you want me as much as I want you, and you hate it just like I do.
“You drive me fucking mad.”
Her hands come up to my chest, clenching my shirt. She halfheartedly tries to push me away. “Back off.”
“There she is.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You had me thinking for a second that I fucked the fight out of you.”
“Yeah, we had sex, but that’s all it was. It wasn’t even that good. Now back off.”
For a second I consider doing what she asks. If it were any other woman, I would have been gone by now. I don’t pursue women who don’t want me just as much.