Chapter 16
Whitney
“Sorry, miss, this entrance is closed.” I’m halted in my tracks by a man in a neon-yellow vest and a bright orange hard hat. Frowning, I peek around his shoulder just to make sure. He doesn’t seem to like that. Gruffly, he mutters, “You can take the side entrance.”
I frown but don’t protest any further. Gripping my bag in my hand, I strut down the sidewalk, around the building, and to one of the side entrances.
This is not how I saw this morning going.
After the amazing weekend I had with Theo, I had grand dreams about how we’d greet each other first thing this morning.
As I was lying in bed last night thinking about it, my romantic heart conjured up all types of scenarios.
Maybe Theo would beat me to the office, greeting me at the elevator with a soul-searing kiss.
Or maybe he’d be waiting for me at my desk with a coffee and a muffin he picked up, especially for me.
I’m still holding out hope.
After I finally make it into the building, I go to the elevator and click the button for our floor.
My anticipation rises as the floors tick by.
When the doors finally open, I’m dismayed to see all the lights on our floor still turned off.
With a defeated sigh, I step off the elevator and find the light switch, squinting a bit when light floods the floor.
I make my way to my desk and fall into my chair.
Going about the rest of my early morning routine, I boot up my computer, check my messages, and run over the schedule for the day.
When I hear the elevator again, my ears tune in, but then my shoulders deflate when I realize it’s Charlotte, our secretary, getting settled in.
I watch the time tick by, wondering when Theo will get here. We barely spoke after he dropped me off at my apartment, though I was stalking my phone like a hawk, waiting for a text message or even an email. But nothing happened.
I feel pathetic, waiting for him with bated breath, but I can’t seem to help myself. In between waiting for a message from him and finding ways to distract myself, I’d get lost in the memory of our time together this weekend.
Never before had I been with a man so attentive to my needs or so tuned into how I was feeling.
Theo rocked my world, and the second we were both finished and sated, I wanted to go again.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disheartened by his wishes to keep this quiet for now.
I wanted to stake my claim on him and lock him down so no one would steal him from me.
Yet, at the same time, I understood where he was coming from, so I agreed.
But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
After what feels like an eternity of watching the clock and fiddling with my fingers, the elevator door dings, and this time, I know it’s him.
I sit up straighter in my seat, waiting for Theo to walk off.
I hear his shoes hit the floor with strong, powerful strides.
With each step that brings him closer, my pulse increases with impatience.
Finally, he rounds the corner, and my breath catches in my throat. Though it’s only been a day since I’ve seen him, I feel like I’m setting eyes on him for the very first time.
Theo’s got his usual uniform on—a white collared shirt, black slacks, and a suit jacket.
His jacket is slung over one arm, and his other hand is occupied holding his cell phone to his ear.
He looks like he just stepped out of an Armani ad, the way he’s so perfectly put together.
The buckle of his black belt gleams at me, and my fingers itch to undo it.
His brown eyes find mine as soon as I’m in eyeshot, and, though he’s deep in whatever conversation he’s having, his lips tilt up at the corners, and he shoots me a wink.
I’m scooting my chair back as he gets closer to greet him, but instead of stopping at my desk, he breezes by, into his own office.
I blink a few times before turning my head to look after him.
All of a sudden, I feel foolish for thinking that anything out of the ordinary would happen this morning.
That was his whole point, wasn’t it? We would continue with whatever this was outside of the workplace, but go back to our usual roles as boss and assistant inside these walls.
I had agreed to his proposition, but I suppose I hadn’t realized what he truly meant by that.
With a longing sigh, I go back to my work, choosing to focus on striking things off my to-do list rather than wasting my energy on being disappointed with the predicament I’m in.
The morning goes slowly. When I’ve finally checked off the last thing I need to complete today, I look up to see it’s barely lunchtime yet. I scowl at the clock on my computer, cursing it for moving at such a snail’s pace today.
I lean back in my chair and flip through the schedule for the week, hoping that something will come up to keep me busy and keep my mind off of these traitorous thoughts of my boss.
As if the universe is paying attention right at this moment, the building’s alarm system goes off, and the emergency lights flash on. The alarm blares loudly across the floor, the sound so sharp that I have to cover my ears.
Theo’s door flies open before I have a chance to figure out what’s happening. His eyes find mine, and he reaches for me, his hand wrapping around my bicep and pulling me up.
“Come on, Whitney.”
“What’s happening?” I ask though I know it’s a stupid question.
Theo takes a second to respond as he leads me over to the stairwell. He pushes the door open, and we start our descent. “I have no idea. But I’m going to find out.”
We’re on the eleventh floor, so normally, the stairs would be out of the question, but in this case, it’s all we have. Same with the rest of the building. Nexus Group still owns the entire building, though our employees only inhabit the top three floors. Theo clearly takes that very seriously.
With each level we get to, more and more of our coworkers and members of some of the other companies within the building crowd the stairwell.
Though it’s loud, Theo’s got his phone plastered to his ear, making call after call to figure out what’s happened.
He gains a few questioning glances as though our coworkers are amazed to see him slumming it in the stairwell with the rest of them.
If it were any other situation, I’d find it amusing.
I suppose to most of the lower floor workers, Theo is still a bit of an enigma. He hasn’t been with the company for very long yet, so many of them haven’t gotten a chance to meet him, much less get familiar with him.
When we get to the third floor, he finally slides his phone back into his pocket. I give him a questioning glance, never faltering my stride. “So?”
His face is stuck in a frown as he watches where he’s stepping. “Someone was heating up their lunch on the sixth floor and didn’t realize the takeout box was made of aluminum. Lit the whole kitchenette on fire.”
“Oh my gosh,” I gasp, as well as a few of our other coworkers who are close enough to hear.
“The sixth floor has been evacuated; so far, no known injuries and the fire department is on its way. We’ll have to figure out what to do with that workspace if it’s unsafe for them to return,” Theo says, and I wonder if he’s still talking to me or thinking out loud.
The sixth floor is not a part of Nexus, but it’s still our responsibility as the owners of the building.
“I’ll have to call whoever is in charge of their lease. ”
His eyes are downcast still, and I can’t see his expression well enough to determine what he’s thinking.
Theo doesn’t say another word, though, until we make it down to the ground level.
There’s already a large mass of people waiting in the lobby as if they’re unsure where to go.
A few groups of people leave the lobby to go wait outside.
Theo pauses one second, taking everyone in, and then he steps into the crowd, cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting to get everyone’s attention. Slowly, the room quiets, and Theo can speak to everyone.
In a loud, booming voice—which I have never heard from him before—he instructs everyone to slowly exit the lobby and go to the parking garage to wait for further instructions.
A few people from our company have questions about how long it’s going to take, or if we’ll take a half-day.
He answers as best as he can in this moment and helps filter everyone through the doors.
I stand by his side, trying and failing not to be impressed with the way he’s handling the situation. I’d never had to go through a potential emergency with Mr. Peterson, yet somehow, I imagine even if I had, he wouldn’t have handled it as smoothly as Theo is right now.
Number 7: Good Leader
Theo approaches me after talking with the fire chief, looking exhausted. Though it’s a breezy autumn day, Theo has sweat beading on his forehead from running around and taking care of everything.
“I think I’m going to send everyone home,” he says to me. “They cleared the other floors so everyone can go get their personal items, but it’s been a shit show. Might as well start fresh tomorrow.”
I nod my head. It’s barely noon, but we’ve been out here for nearly an hour. “Okay. How’s the sixth floor?”
Theo looks dismayed as he says, “Well, the microwave didn’t make it. But I think once we get the kitchenette remodeled, we can find a good replacement.”
I stare at him, trying to decide if he’s being serious, and then I laugh. His eyes glint, and finally, I see the Theo I’ve known all along—my Theo.
“They’re running through the floor again right now, double-checking everything in the kitchen and break room. It should still be fine to work in, though.”
“Thank goodness,” I say.
“Indeed,” Theo agrees. “That would’ve been a nightmare.”