Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Della
It felt like I’d tossed and turned all night. Exhaustion left my eyelids gritty, and I unwillingly shoved myself out of bed. There was no room for lateness at my job—I had enough trouble there already.
Making my way to the bathroom I remembered the vivid dream that was the cause of my restless sleep. Or was it a nightmare? Who has sexy dreams of their scary boss? Josiah was probably just waiting to pounce and fire my butt, which made the visions I’d had all the more ridiculous.
No one else had trouble not looking at his face, as Christina had so smugly announced to me more than once. I was walking a fine line and teetering on the brink of unemployment.
Christina took every opportunity to put me down in front of our coworkers or make me look like an idiot. It was beyond frustrating. She’d even left jelly on my seat at my desk, and I’d had to parade around work with a purple stain on my ass for half the day.
Well, maybe she hadn’t done that, it was hard to believe someone her age could be that childish. But I didn’t eat grape jelly and I’d seen her slather it on her sourdough toast multiple times. She’d made comments about how I had “a little something” on my rear the whole day and hinted Josiah would fire me for having stained clothes on.
It had to have been her. With the axe swinging over my head, it was just a matter of time.
So, today was a great day for my boss to fire me with my tolerance for the nonsense down, my inexplicable staring uncontrollable, and my impending lateness.
Rushing around my apartment, I tried to get ready for work as fast as I could, plagued by visions of living on the street.
Last night’s dream wasn’t like the other times. This time, I was massaged and caressed and then kissed by a man in a black suit—no cloak. When he moved his hair back, I was greeted by pearlescent black eyes. The likes of which you if you gazed into them long enough, you’d fall inside and be consumed.
If I were honest, after that kiss, I wanted to be consumed by him. The man could’ve done anything to me, and I would’ve asked for more.
Suddenly, I remembered the figure in the shadows at the festival me and Ashley had gone to a few weeks back. When I thought about it, Josiah reminded me of the man near the edge of the parking lot. Both men were dark and commanding, containing a sinister edge.
I’d never seen either man’s eyes, but I’d seen a shiny charcoal gaze in my midnight dream and briefly thought it was my boss.
Shaking my head, I got into the shower. It was foolish to think any of the men were one and the same, nor would my boss risk his career for a broke and burdened assistant such as myself. It was a good thing it wasn’t him. The man in my dream had lit my whole body on fire merely by running his hand down my side and then his kiss had captured my soul.
My soaped-up sponge traced the same outline as the mysterious stranger, bringing every second of the memory back to the present. Remembering other times he’d visited; my finger smoothed along my breasts and traversed my collarbone. My pulse accelerated as warmth and pressure began to build between my thighs. I lowered myself to the tub’s floor, bringing my hand to my core to rub my swollen center. I sat there until the water started to cool, unable to find any relief from the knotted ache in my pelvis.
If I fell asleep in here, would he come?
Crap.
I rushed through the rest of my bathing; I was just asking to be fired. It was ridiculous—if I needed to get off that bad, I could always call Brett rather than entertain fantasies of a shadowy ghost.
Miraculously, I made it to work on time.
A single white flower with red detailing waited for me at my desk. The crimson-colored marks appeared to be artificially stained but it was still pretty. As best as I could tell, the blossom was likely left sometime during the middle of the night, due to the wilting. I tucked it into a side drawer after taking a whiff of its strong, exotic scent. It almost smelled like sweetened blood and somehow that wasn’t as off-putting as it should've been. Clearly, I watched too many horror movies.
The realization that Josiah couldn’t have been my dream home invader should have been more reassuring than it was since I lived in fear of him. Plus, no one had eyes that looked like shiny pieces of charcoal in real life.
Instead, I felt the tiniest twinge of disappointment before I brushed it away. Why was I thinking about him in any way other than as the dickhead he was?
That left the mystery of who was constantly gifting me different items every day. Christina was convinced I was being favorited by both Micha and the boss-man himself.
It was unlikely Brett was paying someone to leave me presents; he hadn’t spoken to me in over a week, now.
Christina chose that moment to stroll over to my desk. “Are you sad over a flower? Who was it from?”
Leaning back with a sigh, I replied, “I put it away and I don’t know.”
A look of disgust crossed her face. “It should’ve been me.”
“What should’ve been you?” I looked at her in confusion and then quickly popped open my desk drawer. “You can have it. Here.” I waited for her to take the stem from my fingers.
She scowled. “Stupid cunt,” she muttered, before starting to walk away. “I don’t want your garbage.”
I turned on my computer and waited for my applications to load and then checked my email, wishing I’d brought my travel mug. Resting my elbows, I rubbed my forehead with my hands and groaned. Hopefully she’d leave me alone the rest of the day.
A file folder slapped the edge of my desk before being dropped in front of me. I knew better than to look up.
Josiah loomed before me, his smoky, spicy scent surrounding me as he leaned over my desk. “If you intend to sleep on the job perhaps you should seek employment elsewhere. Scan those files and send them to that email address,” he tapped a perfect nail against the sticky note attached to the folder.
My hands shook as I went to grasp the folder and stood up, promptly emptying the contents onto the floor. I heard Christina’s snickering as she glided past us.
“I’m sorry, I got this, just give me a moment,” I murmured and gathered the papers, my eyes watering with frustration. If he didn’t insist on invading my personal space every time he came around, I wouldn’t have this problem.
I didn’t know how much more I could take. I’d never been in this type of work environment and despite having lived in a very rough neighborhood, I navigated the gangsters and hoodlums much better than corporate politics.
“Move,” Josiah hissed at me.
I’d never been clumsy a single day of my life until I’d started working here. Always perfectly in control.
Backing away, I made space, keeping my hands on the desk so I wouldn’t screw anything else up. Josiah neatly gathered up the mess and my gaze snagged on his rings. Some were gold, some were silver, but they were all beautiful.
Carved with gemstones and etched with symbols, they looked like they belonged to a museum. It was on the tip of my tongue to compliment him but wisely, I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I snuck a peek at the back of his head. His dark brown hair was nearly black, and the glistening shine was surprising for a male. Not fair , I thought. Why was my evil boss so alluring?
“Avert your gaze, Miss Dubois,” Josiah ground out. “Stay away from me for the rest of the day if you at all value your job.”
I stopped breathing. As soon as he was gone, I collapsed into my chair and allowed a rush of air to enter my lungs. Once I collected myself, I texted Ashley to meet me in fifteen minutes and I quickly scanned Josiah’s document and sent it off without further difficulty.
“Christina, I’m taking a bathroom break. I’ll be right back.” I waited. “Christina?”
She glanced up, gave me a disgusted look, and peered back down. “What?”
“I’ll be right back.”
She didn’t reply and I walked as quickly as my pencil skirt would allow. I’d almost made it to the elevator when the doors opened, and a familiar boot stepped out. My lips parted, an embarrassing “eek” escaping, and I ducked behind a wall, my heart thudding under my blouse.
This is so stupid, I chided myself.
There was no reason I shouldn’t be able to have peace in my workplace. Thinking back to my on-boarding, I remembered Ipomoea did have a human resources department and I had to wonder how many complaints there’d been about Josiah. Likely, they were few and far between and obviously the problem lay with me, since I had terrible timing and no self-control.
What was I supposed to tell them if I did go and make a complaint? “I’m sorry I can’t follow basic rules”? Or, “I’m constantly freaking out”?
When I was confident the coast was clear, I sauntered toward the lift and met my best friend inside the spacious bathroom. It was more of a suite—with couches, a mini refrigerator, and even shower stalls.
“Hey!” Ashley exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug.
“Hi.” I smiled at her. We’d both been so busy we hadn’t been able to talk much lately.
I got her caught her up on my dad, telling her about the books I’d been reading to him, and then updated her on my moving and packing process. She let me know her and Andy were starting the process of looking for a place for the two of them to move in together. Much to her dismay, her mom was going to stay in the old apartment since her dad was employed as maintenance there.
“That’s great, I’m happy for you guys. How is everything going here?”
“It’s good,” she said. “My manager is super understanding and lets us be creative. I think I told you before? I can pretty much do what I want. Can’t complain about that.” Ashley lifted her hands for emphasis.
Taking a seat on one of the sofas, I asked, “Do you ever see Mister Ipomoea or Calthia down there?”
She frowned and shook her head. “No. Well, very rarely. Sometimes Mister Calthia. Why?”
“Brett said people are talking shit about me, about them.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, I guess they’re saying ‘favoritism’ but let me tell you, I’m about two seconds from getting fired.”
“No. No, you can’t let that happen. How’d he hear that to begin with?” Ashley sat down, angled toward me.
I arched an eyebrow. “You’re the only one I told about the strange gifts, coffee, being left on my desk and somehow, he knew. Unless it was that bitch, Christina. I don’t know.”
Her shoulders slumped forward. “I did tell Andy about your mysterious coffee, but I didn’t say anything else. He must have told Brett. I’m sorry.”
“Remember that day Mister Ipomoea escorted me out of the lounge while we were having coffee?” She nodded. “He threatened to fire me and then today, he handed me a file which I immediately dropped like an asshole... and then he told me to stay away from him the rest of the day or I’m outta here.”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Holy shit. I’m sorry. I don’t even know what to say to that. I guess, just keep your head down and keep trying?”
Keeping my whole issue with not looking at Josiah’s face out of the conversation, I continued, “And there’s Christina—she stuck grape jelly on my seat, which I sat in. She’s got it in for me. I wonder if she complains about me to him? I wouldn’t put it past her.”
It felt like I was just biding my time until the inevitable. I’d set up my dad in a good rehabilitation center and put the down payment on a new apartment. I could, in no way, afford to lose this job. My shoulders slumped forward. Maybe I was expecting too much and had my hopes up too high—not everyone makes it, no matter how hard they try.
“From what you’ve told me before, she’s a real piece of shit.” Ashley stood up. “We gotta go, we’ve been in here for a little while.”
I glanced at my phone. “Yikes. Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.”
We hugged and went our separate ways.
Christina was standing in front of my desk, arms crossed, tapping her fingers against her upper arm. “Took you long enough,” she snapped.
I ignored her.
“Micha needs you in the office.” She smirked at me.
“Fine,” I replied, circling the edge of my desk to check my email before leaving. Christina still stood there. “I’m going, you don’t have to wait for me, you can go back to whatever you were doing.”
Giving me side-eye, she stalked away, and my shoulders relaxed. There was nothing pressing in my inbox and after double-checking my screen lock was working, I headed down the hallway.
After double-knocking—it seemed to be the thing to do, here, I grabbed the door handle and walked in. Josiah was nowhere to be seen, and Micha stood leaning against the desk, dressed impeccably, his hands in his pockets.
“You wanted to see me, Sir?” I waited, my hands clasped in front of me and gaze focused on his chest. My thoughts kept straying, wondering where the other man was.
“I did, thank you.”
Waiting, I shifted my feet a few times, nearly rolling my ankle in my heels on my final fidget. Micha remained quiet, although I felt his perusal.
“Sir?”
Watching his chest rise and fall, I tried again. “Sir? Did you need something?”
“That will be all Miss Dubois, thank you.”
Wait, what? “Okay...” Unsure what to do with myself I turned to leave, swiveled my head to glance back, and then started across the carpet. I kept expecting him to say something else, so I tried not to run away, even though that was precisely what I wanted to do.
What the fuck...
I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry. Once outside the door, I shoved my back to the wall and stared at the ceiling, pausing while my heart decelerated. I shook my hands and took what I hoped was a stabilizing breath before making my way back to my desk.
Christina didn’t bother me for the rest of the day, and the universe must’ve known I needed that short break because Brett and his swarmy smile were waiting for me when I got home.