12. Luther #2
I know Dot, and she isn’t one to just say things for the sake of it. I will need to pay closer attention to Erin as a leader to assess her abilities.
“I will.”
Dot rises, takes her phone, and slides it into her pants pocket. “A good leader builds a team that amplifies the company values, not undermines.”
I can’t shake off what Dot said about Erin—it plagues me all day. But so does the woman who I see walking up to the elevator bay, where I’m already waiting for the car.
The truth is that my head is full of her.
The way she tucks loose strands of hair behind her ear.
The way she smiles quietly when she’s pleased with her work.
The way she looks at spreadsheets is like they’re poetry.
And the way the world feels…better around her.
I’ve been hoping to bump into her exactly like this again—the last two people in the office, as we did the last time.
But for some reason or another, I‘ve been leaving work early. Meetings at the other end of town, conference call with China, which I take from home, and dinner with Ria (finally, so she’ll stop nagging my parents).
Even today, I’m leaving earlier than usual to catch drinks with Theo, so I’m super lucky to catch Anouk alone outside a conference room or my office.
“Hey.”
Her hair is in a loose braid today, falling over one shoulder. She’s in a dress that dips right below her knee. It’s coral red, it brings out her eyes and cups her body in the right places—small, pert breasts, a delicious ass.
She has a red-and-blue scarf that is styled to hide her cleavage. I want to push it away, lick at her skin right….
“Luther,” she says, eyes bright.
Is she pleased to see me, too?
The elevator car stops. I let her step in first and then follow her.
“Do you have plans this weekend?” I ask, aiming for elevator-small-talk neutrality and missing it by a mile.
Smooth, Luther. Real smooth. You absolute idiot.
Her brows lift. “Um…yes.”
“Oh.” My stomach sinks. “With your…brother?”
I make sure I emphasize it.
I’m not subtle.
I’m a moron.
Her lips twitch. “No. Finn has a shift. I’m going to the Morrison Planetarium.” She says it like she expects me to look confused.
I don’t disappoint her. “Do you go there often?”
“They’re doing a special event.” She pauses, searching for the words. “It’s a limited-run immersion show—uh—looking at exoplanet atmospheric signatures using spectroscopic mapping.”
I stare. She didn’t stutter once through all those damn big words.
She blushes. “I know…it sounds bo-boring.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I say immediately. “I’m fascinated.”
Her eyes widen. “You are?”
Yes, I am. Because she is fascinated, and I want to understand everything that lights her up.
The elevator stops, and we step out.
“Anouk, may I…ah…join you?” I ask before cowardice stops me.
She looks at me like I sprouted a second head.
Great going, Luther. She’s gonna kneecap you now when she sweetly says, ”Fuck no, why would I want to go out with a guy who makes me feel like shit during meetings?”
“Y-yes. If you want.”
“I want,” I say, far too quickly.
She smiles—small, hesitant…devastatingly beautiful.
“Okay then,” she murmurs.
“Can I pick you up?”
“I’m going to bike. It’s just a mile and a half away.”
I want to press her on this, but I also don’t want to spook her. It’s a date non-date since I didn’t ask her out, just sort of asked to tag along with her.
Ria’s right. I’ve got absolutely no game.
“You sure?”
She nods.
“What time should I be there?”
“Ten-thirty? The…p-presentation s-starts at eleven.”
“I’ll meet you at the entrance at ten thirty then.” I’ll probably be there early just in case I miss her, but she doesn’t need to know that.
I walk her to the parking garage and watch as she unlocks her bike, mounts it, and pedals into the evening fog.
I grin like an idiot all the way to The Golden Eye Social, where I’m meeting Theo for a drink.
He takes one look at me as I slide onto the barstool beside him. “What’s gotten you into such a good mood? Did you fire someone?”
“I’m going to the planetarium tomorrow,” I tell him, still smiling like a fool.
Theo’s eyes flicker. “Huh?”
“Yeah. Some…exoplanet thing.”
“Huh?” he repeats.
I wave down the bartender. “Doesn’t matter.”
Theo gives me a measured look. “What’s going on?”
I grin. “What do you mean? I’m just living my best life.”
He gives me a long, investigative-journalist stare—the one that sees through bullshit for a living. “I said nonsense like that when I met Ria.”
I snort. “Just because you’re a sap who fell in love doesn’t mean we all will.”
But the truth hits me like a punch to the ribs.
I’ve fallen for Anouk Starling.
Hard.
I haven’t even kissed her yet, and I’m sunk.
I have, however, fantasized a whole lot about touching my mouth to her soft, impossibly pillowy lips.
Theo leans in, suddenly worried. “Please tell me it isn’t Erin.”
“God, no.” I rub my forehead. “Absolutely not. In fact…it’s…ah…no one.”
If my family gets even a hint that I’m interested in a woman, they’ll descend on me like joyful, well-meaning vultures, and I am not ready for that circus.
Theo lifts his beer. “That’s exactly what I said when I met Ria.”
I roll my eyes.
He clinks his bottle against mine. “Cheers, man. And welcome to the ‘fucked-up man in love and trouble’ club.”
I take a swallow of my beer, unable to stop smiling.
Yeah, Luther, man, you’re in trouble.