Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Dimos
I went the rest of the weekend without seeing or talking to Carley.
After I made my promise to her—and I meant every word—she told me she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about the situation at work and would think more about it over the weekend.
I have a good feeling she’s going to show up today, but if not, it won’t be the first time she’s shocked me.
I don’t know if the suggestion to work together while we get to know one another was stupid or genius. But I do know we’re walking on shaky ground. I can see the desire in Carley’s eyes every time she looks at me, even though she’s hell-bent on fighting it.
I hear the ding of the elevator as it arrives on my floor.
I want to know if it’s Carley, but I don’t want to appear too needy, so I keep my seat.
The echoing click of high heels hitting the marble floors is a good sign.
The sound brings me back to Greece again, and suddenly, she’s there, walking toward me in that little black dress.
I hear the clicking get closer to my office door, but it stops before I can see who it is.
When I hear a desk drawer open and close, I know it’s her.
Thank God.
Once she’s through putting her things away, I see her angelic face appear in the doorway to my office.
“You’re here early.”
“Yeah, I wanted to get in and take care of a few things before the day started.”
“I’m going to have to get used to having another person up here all the time. It was nice being alone all day. But I think I’ll be able to deal with having you around,” she admits with a coy smile.
I can’t stop my smile as I take in her meaning.
I meant what I said to her on Friday, I don’t want to fuck my assistant ever again.
However, being near her as often as I will with her working for me is much better than finding time to see her in the middle of my jam-packed work week.
And definitely better than only seeing her on weekends.
I may need to make an exception to my own rule.
“I brought you coffee.”
She walks the full distance to my desk and places the cup on its surface.
“Oh. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” she smiles. “I wanted to. I was getting some for myself anyway.”
I smile at her.
“I’m going to go start up my computer. Let me know if you need anything.”
I nod as she turns and walks out of my office, and I’m both pained and enraptured with each step she takes. Turning my attention back to my email, I try to keep myself distracted by going through my ever-growing inbox and separating the junk emails from the important ones.
A little while later, my phone begins buzzing on my desk. Picking it up, my stomach churns when I see Unknown scroll across the screen.
Fuck.
Every time this happens or I get a call from a number I’m not familiar with, my stomach gets twisted up in knots. I’m waiting for the day when Kati calls me to let me know she’s not happy with the five million she’s already received from me.
“Is everything okay?” Carley breaks my concentration.
“Huh? Oh, yes, it’s fine,” I answer, declining the call.
“I went ahead and printed the discrepancy report from last week for you rather than emailing it. I figured you’d print it out anyway. But let me know if you’d rather I do it differently from now on.”
“This is perfect, thank you,” I confirm.
She smiles awkwardly before leaving once again. The last thing I thought we would deal with in the office together is awkwardness, but I guess I was naive to believe there wouldn’t be any. I need to think of something to get us past this part of our boss-employee-lover relationship.
I need to get her underneath me again. Soon.
After completing a few more hours of work, my body is stiff and in dire need of a walk. I make a few laps around the perimeter of my office before my stomach rumbles. I look down at my watch. 11:00 A.M. My feet point their way toward the lobby, and I walk to Carley’s desk.
“Are you hungry? Do you have any lunch plans today?” I inquire.
“No, no plans. But yes, I could eat.”
“Okay, I’ll order something in for us.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
“This is one of the best Greek salads I think I’ve ever had,” Carley insists. “Although, to you I suppose it’s just called salad.” Her laugh is infectious.
She’s sitting on the sofa in my office, next to me. Close enough for me to smell her intoxicating perfume but still just out of reach.
“You haven’t had my mom’s salad. I don’t even have to taste yours to know hers is better.”
Our food got here a little while ago, and we’ve been enjoying one another’s company in my office while eating.
“Well, next time I’m in Miami, I’ll have to look them up.”
“Or I can just take you there,” I suggest.
She doesn’t answer but offers me a smile between two flushed cheeks.
“So tell me more about your brother,” she requests.
“Well, Rikos is five years younger than me. He owns a successful real-estate company in Miami.”
“You said you were close growing up, right?” she asks.
“Yeah. I think the age difference helped. But we’ve always been best friends.”
“That’s awesome. I always thought it would be fun to have a sister, but that never happened. I love my brother, though.”
“Family is really important. I don’t know what I would do without mine. Actually, Rikos almost died when he was ten.”
If I want to get to know Carley better, I need to offer up some of my own history.
“Oh my god, that’s terrible. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Of course not,” I offer her a smile. I place my to-go box on the table in front of us before turning to face her.
“He collapsed playing basketball one day. He was rushed to the hospital, and the doctor found a heart murmur. The surgery for that, way back then, was very invasive and really expensive. Rikos needed it desperately, but my family didn’t have the money. ”
“How awful.” She looks genuinely upset about my past situation, and I can feel empathy rolling off her. “So what happened?”
“My mom and dad told the doctor to go ahead with it, and we would deal with the bills somehow. My parents got our family through it, but not without a lot of sacrifice. That’s actually what made me go into business for myself.
I knew I wanted to make a lot of money so I, and my family, never had to go without or worry about finances ever again. ”
“That’s incredible. I’m so glad it all worked out for Enrikos. And for you. I went to Wharton because I want to start my own business one day.”
“What do you want to do?” I prompt.
“You’re going to think I’m stupid,” she responds, putting her own food down now.
“I would never think that about you.”
“Honestly? I don’t know what I want to do. It’s a weird feeling. I want to be someone, I want to make a difference, but I don’t know how or what.”
“That’s not stupid. You just haven’t found your niche yet.
I lucked out and found mine at a young age, but that’s not usual.
Don’t let not knowing stand in your way of pursuing your dream.
I mean, Henry Ford was forty-five when he created the Model T.
Julia Child was fifty when she published her first cookbook. ”
The smile that spreads across her face is the one I’ve pictured in my mind over and over again for the past month.
“There it is,” I tell her.
“What?”
“That smile I’ve been missing.”
I love watching her cheeks flush when she gets bashful.
“Anytime I had a bad day, and believe me there were a lot, I would picture that smile, and it would ease my stress in an instant.”
I’ll leave out the fact that I would picture her staring up at me through her thick lashes while she sucked my cock when I needed to rub one off.
She swallows nervously then.
“Your eyes are very telling, D.”
“What are they telling you?” I solicit.
She takes a sip of her water, as though her mouth is too dry to speak.
“They’re telling me I should finish my lunch back at my desk.”
As she reaches for her food, I place my hand on hers.
“Wait, please don’t go. I’m sorry. I can’t help the thoughts that pop into my head when I’m around you.”
She looks down and takes a moment before she responds.
“I—I know what you mean.”
When she looks up at me again, I can see the lust swirling around in her gaze. My cock hardens, and I have to fight every instinct in my body not to shut and lock my office door. Clearing my throat, I check my watch. We still have a little more time to talk before the staff meeting at one.
“So how did the rest of your weekend go?” I seek.
She laughs slightly before responding.
“Well, when I finally made it home on Saturday, Saylor was awake and waiting for details of our sleepover.”
“I can imagine how happy she was. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting her to try to keep you from leaving with me. In Greece she seemed gung-ho about you having a good time.”
“She’s just protective of me. She has been ever since we met in middle school.
She was one of the most popular girls in our class.
When a few other girls started picking on me, she stood up for me.
She ended up getting suspended for cutting one of the girl’s braids off.
It was then I realized it would be safer to stay on her good side,” she giggles.
“No, I’m joking. She just … as ditsy as she seems, she really is a smart, compassionate person. ”
“Wait, you’re joking about the braid?” I inquire.
“Oh, no. That actually happened. I meant me being friends with her to stay on her good side.”
“Got it,” I laugh. “Hopefully, I can find my way back into her good graces.”
“Well, once I got home, I told her what happened in the bathroom and that you were the one to put a stop to it. I also told her an abbreviated account of what we talked about Saturday morning. I don’t think you have too much to worry about anymore.”
“Does that mean another sleepover is in order soon?”
Her face drops slightly at my question.
“You don’t have to answer that. I was half joking anyway.”