Chapter Nine
ZOEY
The second I sat down on Monday and opened my computer, I went into Colton's schedule and frowned.
It was much fuller than I remembered from last week.
Actually, last week he'd had multiple meetings every day.
Now he just seemed to be in one meeting from morning until late in the evening each day.
I was supposed to go in his office at nine, but I didn't see an opening now.
I grabbed my phone to text him and found I already had one from him.
Colton: Change of plans. The production company is here to finalize some details, so I'll be meeting with them the whole week. Dinners too. Sorry. I was looking forward to our nine o'clock meeting.
Zoey: My tactics are growing on you, hmm?
Colton: YOU are growing on me. I wanted us to pick up where we left off on the phone.
Zoey: Not where we left off in your lab?
Colton: That comes later. I was looking forward to spending time with you.
What was that feeling in my chest? Oh yeah, my heart was sighing.
The rest of the day was extremely busy, and I didn’t get to see Colton at all. But our collaboration was coming along. I was diligently reading through his inbox every day. Most of the email senders were the same people, which made it easy.
The other part of my job was to implement communication and organizational best practices that would help the company as a whole long term.
I got an idea of who the key players were and who needed more instructions than others, but I was taking everything one step at a time.
I identified that one of the easiest ways to process paperwork was to install digital signature software.
I went straight to HR with that idea.
"Oh, we have one company-wide," Sandra said. "Except for Colton."
"How come?"
"I pitched it to him once, and he seemed completely disinterested."
The corners of my mouth twitched. "All right, I'll work with him on it."
She smiled. "I love having you here. You can be the bad guy."
I laughed. "Yeah, that's usually when most people like consultants. They can blame everything on us. I don’t mind taking that role.”
I heard his voice for the first time that week on Tuesday afternoon, but he was flanked by a group of people, so there wasn't much I could do. But on Wednesday I saw my chance when I heard him go to his office. I popped in right away.
"Colton," I said in the most professional voice I could muster.
He hadn't even sat down yet and was in the process of rolling up one of his sleeves. He looked tired. But somehow, exhausted Colton was sexy as hell to me. He looked up at me, and his mouth curled into a smile. I felt victorious.
"Zoey!”
“I won't take too much of your time."
He tilted his head. "Pity."
I felt my cheeks heat up. "Listen, the whole company's got digital signature. Yours is the only one that's missing."
"I think Sandra might have brought it up at some point."
"Yes. There isn’t much for you to do. I’ll set everything up, and then I'll just need your actual signature."
"Just my signature?"
“Yes.” I was sure I was winning him over.
This was one of my strong suits. Before I pitched an idea, I thought about what the other person could possibly have against it, and then I tackled those points first. I knew that for Colton, it was important not to waste any time filling out forms or whatever.
I was sure that Sandra would have done the same thing I was about to do, but it was all about presenting it to him the right way.
He nodded. "Fine."
"Colton," a man's voice called from the corridor.
I blinked, shocked. "Wow, you already need to go back in the meeting room?"
"Yes." He frowned, coming closer to me. "How is everything around here? How are people treating you?" he asked as he closed the door to the office.
I sucked in a breath. It felt like we were miles away from everything going on outside his office.
"Good. Everyone's cooperative." I smiled, deciding to lighten the situation. "Even the CEO everyone warned me about."
"Hmm," he replied. "Are you warming up to the CEO?"
I grinned. "More than that. Let's see… Well, he kissed the panties off me."
He growled, "Zoey."
I pressed my lips together. "Oops, I slipped up."
He looked at my lips intently. "What are you doing tonight?"
I bit the inside of my cheek. "I have a long-distance call with my parents. I haven't talked to them in a while, but I can postpone it."
"No, take the call. The group will probably want to go out for drinks anyway. Who knows how long that's going to take."
We were both silent for a bit.
"You smell delicious," Colton said.
I bit my lip again.
"It's my favorite perfume," I said. "Honey by Marc Jacobs. Although it's running out. I've been thinking about trying something else, though." Realizing I was rambling, I took a breath to get myself together. "Anyway, I won’t keep you."
"Colton." The voice calling from the corridor was stronger.
"I'll see you around, Zoey," he said right before opening his door, then slipping out.
I was used to teasing and rattling others, but I wasn't used to the reverse.
On Thursday, I found a package on my desk. I carefully took off the wrapping paper.
It was a perfume. Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent.
I sprayed it on my wrists, inhaling it. Wow, the scent was strong. It smelled floral but also had strong hints of vanilla. I loved it, and I knew who'd sent it even though there was no note. My heart rate picked up as I texted Colton, sending him a picture of the perfume.
Zoey: Thank you. When did you have time to get it?
He answered right away.
Colton: Last night, after drinks, I went to a department store, and this scent reminded me of you.
Heat pooled between my thighs. I got up from my chair, pacing up and down my office.
Colton: How was catching up with your parents?
I grinned. He was asking me about that? Aww, I didn't see that coming.
Zoey: It was good. They're both so happy. They said they're probably going to extend their gallery tour. I'm happy for them, of course, but I miss them a lot.
Colton: You're damn cute. About that perfume… I want you to wear it.
I wanted to tease him that I didn't like to do as I was told, usually just the opposite, but I did want to wear it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Colton that day at all to prove I had it on.
The next morning, I sprayed it on my wrist and neck. I was getting addicted to the seductive smell.
As I was sifting through Colton’s emails, I found one that was from a sender I'd never seen before: Maddox Whitley.
I frowned. Whitley? That meant he was related to Colton. It wasn’t one of his brothers, though. Then I remembered it was one of his half brothers' names. That meant it could be something personal, not related to Whitley Biotech, so I didn't open it.
I clicked on it with the intention of flagging it as personal but ended up opening it accidentally and saw the first line.
Hey, guys, I'm forwarding this email I got from Dad.
He’d sent it to a number of recipients. Crap! I really hadn’t wanted to snoop.
I put Colton’s email aside, focusing on completing the plans for the digital signature.
At nine o'clock, I heard his voice in the hallway. For once, he seemed to be alone. He had a meeting in five minutes, but what I needed from him would only take three, so I darted out of my office, careful not to make my steps too large because I was wearing a snug dress and didn’t need this one ripping too.
I knocked as I opened the door, and he quickly looked up.
"Zoey," he said. "Come on in. Close the door."
"Um, you only have a few minutes until the meeting starts."
"You're right."
I looked at him and said, "Listen. Two things. One, I'll finalize everything for that digital signature today. I'll need your actual signature later on."
"I can sign now."
"No, it's better if we do it during the last step."
He nodded. "Okay. And the second thing is?"
"Did you check your email this morning?"
"Not yet."
"There's one from Maddox Whitley, and I was wondering if I should make a folder for personal emails. I’d recommend automatically forwarding personal emails to another email address. I can set it up if you give me a list of personal contacts.”
His expression changed instantly, the corners of his mouth turning downward. He took out his phone, staring at the screen. His nostrils flared, and then he looked up at me.
"Yes, that's a private email. No need to label it. Maddox doesn't have my actual private email address, which is why he sent it to the office, but I'll sort it out."
How could his mood have changed so fast? I could practically feel him turning into a grump. An alarm clock sounded, and I startled.
"Sorry, that's my phone. A reminder that I need to go to the meeting room. I'll catch up with you later."
As he made his way past me, he stopped in his tracks. "You're wearing the perfume I gave you."
I swallowed hard. "Yes, I am."
"You've been wearing it all week?"
"Yes."
He drew in a deep breath. “You smell delicious.”
"You should go." I murmured.
"Yes, I fucking should. Before I close this door and kiss you against it."
I stood rooted in my spot, blushing even after he left.