Chapter 1 #2
As if forgetting that night ever existed would be that easy when I find myself staring at her, the white top she’s wearing reminiscent of the lace covering those perfect tits I couldn’t wait to unwrap.
Her hair is pulled back into a sleek twist at the base of her head, but I remember how it waterfalled through my fingers.
Her eyes, those hazel eyes that have haunted me for years, widen for a split second before she averts them out the large windows to the passing cloud momentarily darkening the conference room.
Out of all the companies in Manhattan, I’m hired into this one. Olivia Bancroft. What the fuck? How is this even possible?
I anchor my eyes on her father, not daring to give her the pleasure of my attention again, and clap my hands together. “Let’s get started.”
He laughs. “I like the eagerness, but I’m sure HR will have some paperwork for you to sign.” He turns to his daughter. “The sooner we can get you settled in, the sooner we can start this new chapter.”
“New chapter?” I ask, intent on proving my value to the company.
“We’ve restructured. Times are changing, and we need to change with it. Fresh blood means fresh ideas. I look forward to hearing yours.” He walks toward the door. “Olivia will show you to your office.”
“I have a call,” she says so casually that I question if I was imagining her reacting the same as me.
Nothing about her demeanor now holds an ounce of care for my presence.
She’s not tense or rude. She’s calm and collected as she heads for the door like her father.
Just before she rounds the corner, she smirks.
“I’m sure he’ll have no problem finding the door with his name on it. ”
“Jennifer?” He calls into the hall. I make my way toward the exit just as he turns to me to add, “Mr. Lowe is in Chicago. You’ll meet him when he returns in a few days. Jennifer?”
Late thirties, early forties, put together with her hair in a low ponytail at the base of her head, a maroon suit and black shirt with sensible black heels, Jennifer bounces her eyes from me to him upon arrival. “Yes, Mr. Bancroft?”
“Show Mr. Westcott to HR.”
Yes, sir.”
He leaves without another word. Sympathy coats her expression when we’re left alone. “He’s a bit impatient.”
“I gathered.”
She starts to walk. “HR is up here on the left.” I follow her but stop at the corner when the space opens to killer views of the city on one side and a row of desks with a slew of assistants staring at monitors on the other.
I just catch Bancroft entering his office and closing the door down the corridor from where we’re standing.
Jennifer says, “You’ve made quite the impression on him.”
“Have I?”
We cut through the large, sunlit room full of cubicles. “He doesn’t spend time with people he doesn’t see potential in, so take it as a compliment that he remained standing there, especially after the recent turnover.”
“What happened?”
“Spies. Two of our employees were working for the competition. They stole some clients with intel they acquired while here.” She stops and turns on her short heels. “We all have trust issues now.”
“They didn’t have NDAs in place?”
“I assume the money was worth the risk.” She shrugs before opening a door at the far end of the cubicles. “Here we are. Human Resources.”
“Thanks.”
After spending the next hour filling out more paperwork, I’m shown to my office. "Hope this will do,” the HR rep says before rushing back to his office.
“Thank you,” I reply before opening the door. Greeted by a view that definitely doesn’t feel legal to give a kid right out of grad school, I cross my arms and grin. This will most definitely do.
As soon as I walk in, I’m struck with glaring hazel eyes and pursed red lips. She sits forward in my chair, resting her elbows on my desk. “Did you really think you’d waltz into this company like nothing happened between us?”
“I didn’t waltz, sweetheart. I was recruited. Let me break that down for you. That means—”
“I know what it means.” She stands, her fingertips whitening from the pressure against the desktop. “I don’t need you to explain anything to me.” Coming around, she adds, “Here’s what’s going to happen. Tomorrow, you’re going to quit.”
“Quit?” I struggle to keep my eyes from bugging out. She won’t get the best of me . . . like she once did. I approach the desk, and volley right back, “You’ve got a lot of nerve to tell me how this is going to play out.”
“It took more than nerves to make it to where I am in this company.” She comes around and pats me on the chest. “Sweetheart.”
I catch her hand before it slides away. She double steps back, which brings us face-to-face. “I’m not quitting to make you more comfortable. If you remember—”
“Oh, I remember.” She holds my gaze with her glare. “I remember everything despite spending two years trying to forget that night altogether.”
Forget that night? Why the fuck does she even care when she was the one who walked away? “So let me get this straight. You sneak out in the middle of the night, but somehow, I’m the bad guy? That’s rich, Olivia.”
Her eyes dip to the bond between us before she yanks her hand away. She also makes sure to get a last dig in by poking me in the chest. “Say my name while you can, but make sure it’s on the way out the door.” Her fake smile falls as fast as her face did when she saw me in the conference room.
How the fuck did this turn into a war in the office?
No warm welcome, but a chill in the air permeating off her icy exterior. It’s irritating that I’m still stuck on the details of her when she’s well over me.
I shouldn’t be, but there’s no denying how attractive she is with her heart-shaped face and lips that swell from kisses and run the coloring from pink to softer red. Hazel eyes that could set the world on fire with one pointed look at the delicate line of her nose to counteract her fury.
Fucking hell. I’m as drawn to her as I was that night.
Taking my time to enjoy every inch of her again, I lower my gaze to a tailored white shirt squeezing the same tits I once did, a black leather belt wrapping around her waist that I held on to, and not a hair out of place, making me want to see the ends blowing in the wind again.
Besides black lashes, her makeup is subtle against a summer tan, except for the eye-catching apple-red lips.
Fuck me.
I haven’t been able to get her off my mind since we met, so it would be easy to let my imagination run wild through the memories of her naked body, but it seems she’s an enemy in the flesh instead.
“We’ve slept together, so you know as well as I do that this could never work.” She takes the knob in hand, but the door stays closed as she examines my face. “We shouldn’t ruin our professional lives, careers that we’re both still trying to build.”
“How does that night affect our present-day circumstances? It doesn’t.
I’ll happily admit that it was a good night I enjoyed very much.
Judging by how many times you screamed my name, it’s safe to say you did as well.
So why are you so bothered now? You afraid you can’t keep your hands to yourself, Liv? ”
Her confidence has been infuriating, but now she falters under a joke of a question. Her gaze drops to her feet as she tugs her lower lip under her teeth. For a moment, I can still see her leaning against the door to the balcony, moonlight highlighting her beauty for me to study.
“I’m not sure what you think you’re doing here, Noah, but I suggest you do it elsewhere.”
“You act like I’m here to ruin your career. It’s not about you at all.” Whether she’s Liv, a one-night stand, or Olivia, the boss’s daughter, doesn’t affect the course of my life, so I add, “So do whatever helps you get over this because I’m not going anywhere.”
Tugging the door open, she narrows her eyes over pursed lips. Still so fucking beautiful it’s become frustratingly annoying. Her gaze swings away from me, and I catch the minutest of nods before she takes a step forward, pauses, and then leaves.
At least she has the courtesy to shut the door behind her.
Fuck.