Author: kharrison

Briony

Briony watched her father leave, the sun shining off the window of the limo he drove. Her mother insisted on her maintaining a pleasant face no matter what. Somehow her mother thought it would attract someone with money. So far it had only kept her hidden away in the library.

Briony didn’t think a pleasant smile would make her the perfect match for some rich snob. That wasn’t what she wanted anyways.

The sound of a car coming up the drive stopped her at the front door. Turning, she saw the limo returning. When her father’s head popped out his window she hurried back down the drive to meet him. 

“Briony, I just received a call from my boss. Do you need a temp job for the next day or two?”

Nodding, Briony headed over to her car. “I can follow you over in my car.”

“Don’t you want to know what the job is first?” He called after her.

“Job’s a job. I’ll take it.” She called back. What she didn’t say was that she would take any legitimate excuse not to be stuck with her mother for too long. 

It took a good twenty minutes to get from their small house to the mansion her father drove to.

Stepping out of her car she moved over to where her father stood leaning against his limo.

“So what’s the job?” Briony asked, happy to be out of the house. “Please tell me it’s not cleaning bathrooms.” While she was happy to have a job, any job, she didn’t have to love cleaning.

“There’ll be a little cleaning. Daven just remodeled his library to make room for more books. When he called and said he didn’t have time to straighten, clean, and organize all the books now that the remodel is done I thought of you. Told him I had someone who could help and he said you were hired. He’s inside.” Her father nodded to the huge doors just a few steps away.

“Is he going to have time to tell me what he wants or am I doing educated guesswork?” 

“Oh I’m taking his sister to the airport in about 5 minutes.” Her father chuckled. “And don’t you mind his abruptness, he’s just busy with no time for silliness.” 

With that, the door opened and a beautiful woman strode out. She gave Briony a slight smile before turning to Briony’s father. “I believe I’m ready Mr. Jennings.” Her tone airy as she glided to the back of the car. Remembering that she was just some temp Briony gave a tiny curtsey as she headed in through the door the woman had breezed out of and left open.

Stepping slowly into the large open foyer she shut the door and stood just inside, wondering what to do next. She definitely wasn’t going to start wandering around some rich stranger’s house.

“Hello?” Briony called out. Minutes of silence followed before she called again. “Hello?”

“Jennings send you?” A male voice called from somewhere deeper in the house.

“Yes.” She took a few steps in.

“Up the stairs, straight back.” The deep, strong voice didn’t sound any closer, so she moved up the huge staircase and further back in the house. She was about to push open a set of double doors at the end of the stairway when the same voice came roaring out the door accompanied by a powerful-looking man. Briony stumbled to the side in an attempt to not be trampled. The man hollered down the hall. “Move faster.”

Clearing her throat from behind the door she peeked her head around it, trying to tone down the sarcasm, “How much faster?”

If he was startled he didn’t show it. “In here.” 

Following him into the room Briony had to stop to take in the size of it. His office was as big as their small community library. “This might take more than a day.” She muttered. It must have been loud enough because his attention twisted back on her. Turning dark green eyes her way he glared. She shrugged.  “Not a problem sir, an observation.” 

With a grunt he nodded over to a bucket of water and cleaning cloth. “All the shelves need to be wiped down first.”

And just like that she began her work while he stomped over to his large desk and glared at his computer. The only thing she accomplished that day was wiping down all the shelves. And she was honestly surprised that Daven hadn’t found anything to yell at her about. He seemed to enjoy yelling. She had listened to him yell at his computer, his phone, and to several people over the phone. 

In fact, as she left he paused his work long enough to gruffly ask if she was coming back the next morning. After a quick assurance that she would, he demanded she arrive promptly at six.

The next morning Briony knocked on the door a minute before six. She was surprised when he answered. They didn’t speak as they walked back to his office. Boxes upon boxes were now scattered and sitting open, waiting. He must have found a little time to start looking through the boxes because they had been neatly closed and stacked when she’d left the night before.  She would have to organize them first. 

“Author or genre?” She asked, sitting down in front of the closest box.

She watched him jump a little at the sound of her voice, subsequently glaring over at her. “Both.”

With a nod she set about organizing and stacking books in categories so that she could later sort by author and start getting things up on the shelves.

It was around lunchtime that she found herself slowing. Standing up, she tried to stretch and walk off some of her stiffness without attracting his attention. Apparently she was unsuccessful as he immediately glared over at her.

“Problem?” He growled.

“No. She said. “It’s lunch time.”

To her complete shock he shut his computer and nodded. “Good idea. The kitchen is this way. You deserve something delicious after the quick work you’ve made of my mess.”

“Were you looking for one book in particular?” 

He nodded, his dark brown eyes roving over the books she had unpacked. “Yes.”

“Did you find it?” She smiled. “If not, I can let you know when I do.”

“I did not. It’s called Remaking the World.” 

“By Ken Torrance?” 

He looked at her with surprise. “Yes.”

“I will let you know as soon as I find it.” She followed, happy she wouldn’t have to settle for the apple she had shoved into her purse on her way out that morning.

Maybe he wasn’t as bad as all his yelling and grumpy gruffness made him appear. After all, he knew who Ken Torrance was.

Katya

Too many words tripped around in Katya’s head as she struggled to string them into readable sentences for her history essay. She sighed as she rubbed her heavy eyes at her usual table tucked back in the corner of the Barnes and Noble café. It was the best place to write since her roommate had rescued a very yappy puppy a few weeks ago. Natasha still hadn’t trained it to be quiet for more than five minutes.  Hence the extended homework stays in the cafe.

Katya had promised herself that she wouldn’t leave that table until her essay was written. That was over four hours ago. It was definitely not done…at all. Stupid history class. Why did essays have to be so long and require so many words? She was starting to add extra words just to get that much closer to the required word count without having to research more. Groaning softly and stretching, she glanced around.

She noticed a very well dressed man sitting at the table right next to hers. And he was cute! It wouldn’t have been all that startling if he had merely been sitting at that table but since the rest of the café was empty AND he was sitting at the table right next to hers, she was more than surprised at his proximity. 

Not another customer in the entire cafe and he chose to sit that close?

Her surprise came out, NOT as a gasp, but more like a louder-than-normal-breathing sharp inhale. She did manage to keep in a rather embarrassed groan that threatened to follow her non-gasp when he looked up from his book and smiled.

Fully prepared to dive back behind her computer she stopped as she did a double take at the sight of how vibrant a green his eyes were. Katya gave a tentative smile. Time to retreat!  

Before she could disappear into her essay, Mr. Too-Cute-to-Be-Sitting-Alone-on-a-Friday-Night set down his book. She had to remind herself not to stare like a dunce. Ducking her head she stared down at her keyboard.

Several minutes of concentrated staring at her screen and not typing passed before she glanced up, no further in her essay than before and found him still looking her way. As soon as she made eye contact, he stood and smoothly slipped into the chair across from her.

“Lawrence.” He held out his hand over the table and her laptop.

Nodding, she pulled her computer halfway closed and shook his hand. 

“Sorry to disturb you while you were working but I just had to introduce myself while you were taking a break.” He glanced at her laptop. “Are you taking a break now?”

“Katya. I’m Katya.”

With a chuckle he nodded, “Wonderful to meet you Katya. I am going to assume that hidden in that introduction was affirmation that you are indeed taking a break from your writing? Would you care for a pastry?”

“I…yes, please.” Katya nodded.

Lawrence quickly stood up and weaved through the tables to the counter, purchasing two warm cinnamon rolls and coming back over with a smooth smile only minutes later. There was no time for her to rein in her embarrassment.

“So what brings you here?” Katya questioned with a grin as she bit into the warm gooeyness of the roll he had given her. Yet another reason she came to the café to work on her homework.

“To your table? I’d have to say that the way you were biting your lip while you typed. It drew me right to you.” Lawrence shrugged.

Katya shook her head, laughing, “I meant, what brought you to the café?”

“Oh. Habit really. I stop here most days on my way home from work. Usually I just grab my treat and keep walking, but you caught my eye.”

“Me?”

His attentive gaze warmed as he smiled at her blush. He didn’t say anything more and it had her beyond flustered.

Katya saw the book he had been reading. “And you just happened to have a book to read? How long have you been sitting there?”

“About a half hour. And no, I didn’t have a book to read. I bought one from the first table I came across when I realized how focused you were on whatever you were typing, . I might have taken more time to choose a more appropriate book, however I worried you would leave while I was gone.”

“So you sat down then left to get a book, then came to sit back down and I didn’t notice any of it?”

“You were very focused.” My grin echoed his.

“Well Lawrence, I don’t know whether to be creeped out or flattered.” Leaning back in her chair Katya’s stomach fluttered to the point of mild nausea. She attempted to smile. Hopefully it looked less like a grimace and more flirty.

“Please be flattered. Now that you mention it, it does sound creepy.” Lawrence put his hands up as if begging, then paused and stood up. “I should go. Sorry to be such a creeper.”

With a little laugh Katya once again looked him over, trying to assess if he really was a good guy or a creepy stalker type guy.  He didn’t look crazy or psycho. In fact, he looked very smart and put together. His grey dress pants were crisp and clean, evidence of the crease that must have looked sharp at the beginning of the day. The deep blue button down shirt was doing great things for his green tones in his eyes. His dirty blonde hair was carefully kept in check with only a few hairs out of place.

“What book did you pick?” She finally asked.

Lawrence burst out laughing. “Is that the swing vote? If it’s a good book I’m not some psycho serial killer?”

Katya shrugged, keeping a steady gaze on the intriguing man when he held up a small paperback with a couple kissing in a speedboat. He tentatively sat back down.

She stuck her hand out again, reaching back over her computer. “Nice to meet you Lawrence…?”

“Lawrence Atwater, future architect and apparently secret romance reader. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Victoria

“Victoria Harron, is it?” Mr Andrew Larsen growled irritably from behind his massive executive desk in his equally large corner office. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. HR hired you because of your looks to improve my client’s overall quality of visits. I told them no because I need a competent and qualified assistant but apparently I was not listened to. Which means more work for me. So if you plan on keeping this job I suggest you show me that there is at least a little competency and smarts behind those gorgeous green eyes of yours by doing what I ask. Now get out of my office and get to work. There’s a to do list for you to complete by the end of day out on your desk. It should be simple enough for you to manage.”

Victoria hesitated for a moment. The highly trained recent graduate in her wanted to refute his claims and argue her merits. In that same moment she also knew that arguing would be pointless and he probably wouldn’t listen to her anyways. So she did an abrupt about-face in her killer stilettos and left the room. First day on the job and her new boss had all but thrown a two week’s notice in her face because she was pretty. His words, not hers.

He wanted proof she would be an amazing assistant, she knew she could provide that. Just give her the day.

The paltry to do list she found on the desk just outside his office left her wondering if he had even looked at her resume or if he had simply seen her picture and drawn all his conclusions from there. 

A half hour later, with the sorting and filing he had left on her desk done and the few fluff calls handled and Victoria wondered if she should bother him or wait a bit longer before facing him. She had even reorganized the mess of a calendar she had found on the computer. It wasn’t even connected with Mr Larsen’s. How was she supposed to know when she could schedule meetings and clients? With a shrug she stood. She might as well start off honest with how long it took her to accomplish menial tasks like the ones he had assigned her.

He looked up, irritation covering his handsome features as she stepped inside holding the list, and sighed, “I don’t have time to show you what to do. Take an early lunch and I’ll find someone to teach you.”

Victoria waited until he stopped and actually looked up at her. “Is there anything else you need done?”

Irritated and impatient he snapped, “Just do what’s on the list.”

“I did, Mr Larsen.” She stayed calm.

The surprise on his face was almost comical. After several seconds of somewhat awkward silence she decided to take some pity on him.

“Mr Larsen I’d be happy to do more if you have something else you think I could handle.”  Her slightly teasing reproach shook a smile loose from his stunned look.

In an instant his disarming smile morphed into a look of challenge. “Alright. Let’s see how much you can handle.” Victoria paid careful attention as he quickly rattled off a long list of things to do. “Update me on your progress before you head to lunch.” With an abrupt nod he summarily dismissed her.

Victoria reigned in her triumph to a small acceptable smirk. As she closed the door she popped her head back in, “And in terms of looks sir, you might want to wonder if that’s why they hired you.”

An odd happy tingle sparked through her when he laughed. “Thank you Miss Harron. I’ll be looking into that promptly and seek to prove otherwise to you.”

“A very sound idea Mr Larsen.” She agreed as solemnly as she could, even though a smile did crack through.

“Please, call me Andrew. I have a feeling I am not going to have to fire you.”

With a laugh of her own Victoria closed the office door and sat down to make the phone calls he’d mentioned first.

Focused on efficiency she barely noticed the time until she looked up from a spreadsheet she was proofing to find the clock on the wall showing it well past one. Hurriedly she placed all her papers inside the top drawer of her desk and approached the office door. Once again she hesitated before going in. And yet when she did, she opened the door with exaggerated flair.

“Mr. Larsen!” She proclaimed. “I have come to make my pre-lunch progress report.” After a slight pause she amended, “Sorry I meant to say Andrew.”

“And have you finished your new list?” His expectant look caught her off guard.

“I…no, not yet.” She admitted, a little anxious.

He relaxed back in his chair and shot her an endearing crooked grin and her heart fluttered. “Oh good. I was worried I’d have to give you a raise.”

“Well if you want to give me a raise I won’t stop you. I just noticed it was after one so I figured I should fill you in before I headed out for lunch.”.

Andrew’s gaze shot quickly over to the clock on his wall. “When did it get to be so late?” He lasered his focus back in on Victoria. “What if I ordered us both some lunch and you can go over what you’ve managed to get through and ask any questions you have for the rest of your list.”

Taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk Victoria sat back and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea. I would suggest sharing your calendar with me so you are aware of any new meetings and I don’t double book any.”

He nodded as he turned to his computer screen. She quickly hid a thrilling shiver that shot down her spine. With that smile on that face of his, she was going to have to be careful and stay professional.

Emma

“You’re engaged?” The familiar tenor that still haunted her daydreams broke through the quiet of the bookstore, startling Emma as she had been pulling out a book. Hand over her heart she fought to slow her pounding heart. She turned to face the man who had been hers once. 

“Kyle.” It came out in a whisper. She backed into the bookcase to steady herself. There he stood, only a few feet away. He was near enough to touch. She’d heard he’d come back to town but didn’t think he would come looking for her. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re really engaged? Did your father never tell you what he did?” Kyle took a slow step back, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

“Told me what?” Emma fingered the fake engagement ring she had slipped on as she’d driven into town earlier that morning after visiting her parents. She knew it wouldn’t be long before she ran into Kyle and she needed some sort of physical protection for her still-battered heart. She watched, confused as he shook his head. After three years she still it hadn’t stopped thinking about him. Just the sight of him now made her want to pull off the ring and admit the truth. Instead she blatantly stared up into his kind eyes, longing to erase the pain she could see lurking there.

He took one step forward and stopped, an unspoken question written across his face that she couldn’t decipher. After a moment’s hesitation of her own she took a step toward him. She had missed him. A part of her was screaming at her not to open herself up to more rejection from this man whom she once thought was her whole world.

In one earth shattering heartbeat Kyle gathered her up close in his arms. Her body melted into the pulsing powerful calm emanating from his muscular frame, his lips barely an inch from taking hers. He whispered, “You know I’m not one to prevail on someone who is taken. You should know how much I want to kiss you right now.” His breath tickled every nerve ending it brushed; her lips, her cheek, her neck. She flushed and he continued, gazing straight into her eyes. “But I won’t. I respect you too much to kiss you when you’re engaged to someone else.”

Abruptly Emma stepped back into the wall of books behind her. She shook her head fiercely. “You’re the one who left me Kyle.”

Agony wracked his face as he shook his head slowly, sadly. “I didn’t choose to leave you, Emma. I wasn’t given a choice.”

“Kyle, I called you so many times that first year I left for college. I thought we were going to wait for each other. That you would wait for me.” His pained grimace gave her pause; a long enough pause for her to divulge her secret. “I came to see you once, when I couldn’t stand not hearing from you.”

Startled, his piercing gaze snapped up to hers. “When?” He asked desperately.

“I walked in on you kissing Marci. Obviously you were too distracted to even notice my interruption. You looked very occupied.”

“Marci?” He thought for a second. “You were there? How long?”

“Long enough.” She shouted in a furious whisper. “How long should I have watched my supposed boyfriend kiss someone else?”

“You saw the cops come and everything?” He asked slowly, not understanding why she was bringing Marci up. That made her stop.

“Cops? No.” Emma admitted.

He sighed. “Apparently Marci had it in her head that once you left that I would notice her and fall in love with her. When I didn’t, she cornered me and zip tied me to a post at gunpoint before she started kissing me. Luckily someone had seen her with a gun earlier and had reported it. But that’s not the point.”

Emma chuckled, half in shock. “That’s not the point? I went straight back to school and almost failed out of college because of that and I still never heard from you.”

“I’m so sorry Emma.” Kyle held out his arms. “I didn’t cheat on you.”

She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all. “So if you didn’t cheat on me why didn’t you call?”

“Your dad really never told you?”

“What does he have to do with this?” She stomped her foot, hands fisted at her side.

Tyler looked suddenly anxious and pulled her further down the row of books. “I went to see your dad about a week after you left.”

“What?”

“I asked for his permission to date you with marriage in mind once you finished college.” His blush made her blush.

“You did?” Surprise flashed through her and quickly made her freeze up.

Tyler continued, his head tilted towards the floor. “Your father broke my phone, changed your number, and threatened to have me arrested for harassment. He told me that he would never allow me to date you again. That you were going places and I was a money grubber.”

“My dad…” She trailed off, lost in the thoughts of what her father had done to her and her relationship with the love of her life.

Standing there silently, watching her process it all, Tyler waited for her to look at him.

“I remember getting my new number. You were the first person I called.” She mumbled more to herself than to him. “Of course if your phone was broken you wouldn’t have known and never would have gotten my new number. And I never came home after I saw you with Marci and made my parents come see me. My dad…my dad.” Her anger rose. Her eyes flicked up to Kyle’s. Practically throwing herself at him she kissed him, giving in to the temptation to wrap her arms around him. Seconds later she was striding out the bookstore’s door and calling back to a very stunned Kyle. “I’ll be right back. I have a father to kill.”

The front store clerk gave a chuckle as Kyle raced out after her. 

Tori

For the third time that week students had to scatter out of the way as the black-haired, wiry Mr. Athletic raced through the crowd chased by a furious petite blonde missing one of her strappy little sandals.

“Josh, I’m gonna kill you!” She screamed after him to no effect. “Stop.” Her face was red from running.

He laughed as he slowed slightly to glance back at her. “Now that threat doesn’t really reward me for stopping, Tori. Maybe a sweeter promise would have better results. You could threaten to kiss me or something and I might stop. Try again.”

And just like that, he put on a burst of speed and was halfway across the quad. She slowed to a frustrated jog. After another minute of him darting this way and that around the benches and trees she slowed even further.

With a huff Tori stopped completely and struggled to catch her breath, hobbling her way to the nearby grass. As tempting as flopping to the ground was, she knew that if she did she would not get back up. And she needed to get that shoe. She looked around for Josh and yelled, “Danika is going to kill you when she finds out you stole my shoe again.”

Instantly he stopped, squinting back at her. Maybe he was trying to see if she was seriously going to tell on him to his sister. “Good point.” He shrugged and lobbed her shoe back over to her. Finally noticing the attention they’d gathered, Josh tossed his boyish smile their way. “Show’s over my friends. See ya in class.”

Easy as that, everyone cleared out. As relieved as Tori was to not have everyone staring at her, she was now left alone with Josh while she struggled to get her shoe on while also hopping around on one foot. Just as she was losing her balance for the fourth time Josh’s arm wrapped around her waist, holding her steady with ease.

“Need some help?” He smirked. 

“Ugh!” She screeched. “You are infuriating! I wouldn’t need the help at all if you hadn’t snagged my sandal earlier.” She hurried to put her sandal back on. How he managed to steal it so often was not something she had puzzled out yet.

Giving her a not-so-gentle squeeze, he laughed. “When are you going to admit you love me?”

Tori wanted to stomp on his foot or elbow him hard. Unfortunately he was currently the only thing keeping her from falling on her face. Stupid sandal straps.

“Josh, what are you doing to Tori?” Both Josh and Tori looked up at the pixie of a girl barreling toward them with a concerned glare on her face. Josh dropped Tori and put his arms up, all charm.

Tori barely had enough time to put her foot down before she lost her balance completely.

Josh stepped in front of her, as if he could hide the fact that Tori was even there. “Hey sis. What’s got you all riled?” 

“Are you harassing Tori again?” Danika demanded, not distracted in the slightest.

“No. I was helping.” He smiled. Turning to Tori he nodded. “Right? I was helping.”

Tori glared at him. “I have class.” As she strode off she smiled to herself. “Too pretty for his own good.” She muttered under her breath. She didn’t get far before Josh caught up with her, sweeping her up into his arms. 

“Allow me to be of further assistance milady.” Josh kept on walking, not even fazed by the fact that he was carrying her. Or that he was taking her in the opposite direction of her class. Why did her best friend have to have such a good looking and irksome twin brother. 

“Put me down!” Tori wriggled, trying to free herself.

Danika was immediately next to them, pulling on his arm, making Tori’s current position more precarious.

“Put her down Josh. She isn’t a toy.” Danika growled.

In seconds Tori was back on the ground and Danika and Josh were pushing at each other. Tori ignored them both as they squabbled and once again began walking towards her class.

Eventually they gave up pestering each other and Josh tried to put his arm on Tori’s shoulder but Danika pulled him away. Forever caught between the two, Tori had long since buried any crush-like feelings she may have had for Josh long ago. Problem was, more and more lately, Josh was catching her alone and his teasing was beginning to feel more like flirting. He was slowly succeeding in unearthing those feelings she thought she had successfully squelched. Yet Tori also knew that Danika would kill her if she admitted to any feelings for Josh beyond irritation and annoyance.

“Go find someone else to bother, Josh.” Danika insisted.

Without another word he moved off but Tori couldn’t resist looking back over her shoulder at him. Her gaze connected with his and she blinked, startled, before she hurriedly faced forward.

Danika nudged her, oblivious to the silent interaction that had just happened. “We need to move it. We’re going to be late.”

Tori followed along, lost in thought.

“Tori? You haven’t heard a thing I said, have you?” Danika stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Nothing.” Tori stammered.

When Danika stepped in front of her, hands on her hips, Tori had to stop fast. “Danika! What was that for?” Tori glared.

Danika smiled. “What are you waiting for?”

“Hmm?”

“My dear, wonderful, favoritest of best friend I am not blind. And Josh is going to hurt himself if he tries any harder to get your attention. It’s not like you don’t like him since you’ve been in love with him for years.” Danika’s smile was huge.

Tori’s heart jolted. “What?!”

“Don’t deny it. I can so see it. So I’ll ask again. What are you waiting for?”

“Waiting for?” Tori stuttered, her mind whirling. There had been no waiting in her head, only complete denial. And she thought it had been working. 

Apparently she was wrong…about several things.

Erika

Erika looked up at the darkening sky and picked up her pace. What a morning for her car not to start. She had hoped the rain would not come until after she’d made the six minute walk to the office but that was looking less and less likely. Was it too much to ask that it wait to rain for a measly two minutes? It wasn’t to be. Her luck had completely vanished for the day as big fat droplets dotted the sidewalk. she was almost resigned to show up at work utterly bedraggled With no umbrella and wearing high heels. Almost. 

she pushed through the glass doors of her office building with her drenched head held high. The air conditioned lobby blasted her with far too cold a breeze for such a wet day. Shivers tore up and down her soaked self. With a glance down she took in her once pressed and now wrinkled clothes and hoped that she wasn’t too unsightly. More importantly, she only had two hours till her meeting with the first client she was handling on her own and it wasn’t going to be messed up because of the rain rendering her and her presentation unpresentable.

“Miss Ryan?” One of the security officers called, waving her over to his desk. He looked harried, desperate, and utterly relieved to see her there. “There is a client here for the boss but her secretary isn’t picking up. Can you take him up?”

Feeling like she was still dripping, she put on her best smile, “Of course, Jim. Where is he?”

Jim pointed over to one of the plush chairs by the window. A very well dressed and obviously dry man sat in the one farthest from the security desk. The suit and the man wearing it both looked like they had just come from a fashion photo shoot. It made sense, Ms Mullen was in charge of marketing. It was no surprise that she would have gorgeous clients. Jim moved to greet another client approaching the desk but called back to her,  “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Erika nodded as she once again looked over to where Jim had pointed. She eyed the dark haired client facing away from her. Briskly she crossed the tiled lobby floor, trying to not click her shoes too loud and fighting back shivers whenever she crossed under an air vent.

Once she reached the man she moved to stand where she was sure he could see her and cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir. Are you here to see Ms Mullen?”

“Yes.” He answered, turning to face her, his eyes crinkled in a hidden sparkling smile. “Nice morning for a walk.”

Stunned, Erika blushed; he must have seen her running pell-mell through the rain to get inside.

He stood, still smirking, and motioned for her to lead the way. Silently they walked side by side to the elevator. Erika’s mind raced, looking for something to break the silence without having to explain why a so-called professional was running around in the rain.

Thankfully for her, he broke the silence first. “Your boss alright with you being late?”

“I’m normally early. Car troubles.” Even though it sounded like a wad of excuses, she also knew it was true. However, there was no chance she was going to explain any more than that to a stranger, and a client at that.

The elevator dinged and Erika sighed in relief as he stepped off the elevator. The tiny voice in the back of her head urged her to be the proper escort and walk him down to the correct office but she found herself pointing instead. “Ms Mullen’s office is straight down the hall and to the left.”

He turned around in surprise. “You don’t work on the same floor as Ms Mullen? What if I need to make a follow-up appointment?”

Erika rolled her eyes, even though it was an understandable mistake. “That is what her secretary is for. Forgive me for not introducing myself properly, however I guess I should point out that I am not Ms Mullen’s secretary. I am one of the landscape planners on a different floor. Jim asked me to bring you up since I was there. However, as you so kindly pointed out I am late and I have to get to my desk.” He stuck out his hand and stopped the doors from closing.

His smile was back and in full charming force. “And what might your name be then?”

Shaking her head she shot back a smile of her own, the one she reserved for sweet-talking difficult clients. “And risk having you tell my boss about my unprofessional appearance? No.”

“I insist.” He moved back into the elevator, letting the doors close behind him.

“Insist away Mr….?” Erika goaded.

“Shane Walford. Now will you tell me yours?” He kept backing her up until she was cornered. Surprisingly she didn’t feel too overly concerned.

“Ms Mullen is going to be wondering where you are.” She nodded toward the doors.

His answering nod did nothing for her fluttery nerves. Desperately struggling to keep her breathing even, Erika looked him in the eye without flinching. She thought she was doing well at maintaining a cool façade but when his smirk melted into a full megawatt smile she faltered. He pulled back and leaned over to hit the open door button. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure your name out. One way or another.”

The doors reopened and he strode out and straight over to Ms Mullen’s office. Erika gulped in a huge breath once the doors closed again. It took a second for her to remember to press the button to get to her floor. It was only after stepping off the elevator that she realized that if he was watching, she had just told him what floor she worked on.

Maybe being found would be fun.

Cerise

Cerise hitched her dance bag further onto her shoulder. She’d been told the guy was rich but based on the mansion she was heading towards, he was more than rich. She had been assured that she was hired to do a tasteful contemporary piece, that there would be no propositioning or inappropriateness. Yet now that she was here she wasn’t as confident in those glib assurances.

For a brief second she was even tempted to back out.

However, rent was looming and she couldn’t turn this job down when it was a contracted contemporary dance. Respectable.

“Your performance is scheduled for 8 pm. Please plan accordingly. Until then, feel free to enjoy the party.” The big burly guard stopped in front of a large open door. Inside, well-dressed people milled about talking and laughing. She paused. Glancing down at what she was wearing, her nice jeans and fluttery grey blouse were less than party appropriate. These people were in designer clothes that cost more than her month’s rent.

“Maybe I’ll just hang out here with you for a bit.” She laughed, smoothing her blonde wavy curls while stepping back into the shadows cast by the open door.

He gently ushered her in and whispered, “Have fun. Your host is a good honest man throwing a party for his friend.”

Cerise nodded and stepped inside. Looking down again, she didn’t see an outfit that would help her blend in. In fact, she was sure to stand out. She wished she would have worn the dress she had thrown back into the closet at the last minute. It wasn’t designer or glamorous, but at least it was a dress. She had a priority list that had long since shuffled ‘pretty dress’ down to the bottom. Expensive dresses were even lower on that list.

Head held high, Cerise walked straight through the middle of the crowded room without making eye contact with any of the guests to a table filled with tiny desserts.

“Quite the party eh?” A cheerful partygoer nudged her. About to subtly shift away, Cerise glanced over to find herself needing to look up.

Being tall and willowy were great benefits to being a dancer but not so when looking for a guy taller than you so that you can wear your stilettos and not feel like a towering giant. And yet here she was, looking up.

“Quite.” She acknowledged.

Her tall man took a step closer. “Of all the people here, I don’t recognize you.” He tossed out a charmingly devilish smirk that seemed to match his all black, very expensive attire.

Her heart staggered a second. Why was he singling her out? It was easy to see she wasn’t the best-dressed woman at the party but she also didn’t think she stood out in the crowd that much.

“You know everyone here?” she asked incredulously.

His slow assured nod gave her a body-wide tingle. He angled in to talk in her ear over the music. “Are you here with someone?”

Cocking her head slowly, Cerise tried to decide if she should fake a date for her own sanity or brave a night of possible flirtation with this very sexy man. Just as she was about to claim a date she realized her folly. He’d said he knew everyone here and she only knew the name of her host. Certainly he would easily be called out on her lie.

“No.” She stared him down with a small smile, daring him to continue.

“So you know Clay?” The man looked thrilled.

She shot back hurriedly, “Not necessarily.”

Instantly his open, easygoing face vanished under ice, his cold eyes hardening into condemning slits. Her mind went blank as she struggled to not visibly cringe away. 

Another handsome man joined their little conversation.

“Cerise?” The conversation crasher came up right beside her with a grin before extending his hand. She nodded. “Clay Andrews. I see you’ve already met the birthday boy? I trust you’ve been nice, Trent.”

The suspicion hardening all his distracting facial features relaxed slightly but he still eyed her warily. “She said she didn’t know you so I’m just surprised you seem to know her. I hadn’t made it as far as her name though. Or who she’s here with?” Trent added slyly.

Clay laughed. “I invited her here, so I guess you could say she’s here with me.” Hooking her arm in his, Clay pulled her away from the birthday boy who was looking her over with obvious renewed interest. As soon as they were far enough away from Trent to not be overheard he said. “Welcome to the party. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you and fill you in on any details when you got here. I wanted to keep you a surprise for Trent.”

Cerise crossed her arms. This was sounding less and less like a legit contemporary performance and more like a ‘paid escort’ type deal. “My contract says I’m just here for the one dance. I am a dancer, not a party girl for hire.”

Clay looked mortified. “Sorry! Yes. I know. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. Let me explain, I just didn’t tell Trent that there would be any performances tonight and didn’t want to give it away. Anyways, you have about 15 minutes till you’re on. Is that enough time?”

“Yes.” She focused on her upcoming routine instead of the insinuation. “Is there somewhere that I can change?”

In seconds Clay shuffled her out of the main party area and to a large bathroom. With a soft thanks she disappeared into the room and changed. The dress was a dark flowy gray that reached down to her knees but did not restrict her movement in the slightest. Watching the time, she waited until she only had a minute before she was due to perform before heading back into the party.

Her reappearance wouldn’t have been noticeable except that the lights and music cut out as she did and a solo spotlight was trained directly on her.

Gliding out to the middle of the floor Cerise stopped and struck her starting pose, pausing long enough for the music to start. People had moved to the sides of the large room to watch.

Front and center was Trent, looking at her as if she were a delightful puzzle for his birthday.

Eleanor ~Part 2~

Read Part 1 here

Mr Lanford’s eyes bore into her as he flashed a half smile her way. “And how did you come to be mine…err here Miss…?”

“Luchia. My name is Eleanor Luchia, sir.” Eleanor quickly filled in. “Ms Penn hired me to organize your paperwork. I’m sorry, I thought you were aware.”

“And how long have you been employed here Ms Luchia?” He glanced over at Eddie as he asked the question. Eddie’s only response was to chuckle quietly next to her.

She hesitated, not wanting to get in trouble if she had overstepped her bounds, but since he was still smiling congenially enough at her she confessed. “A little over two months.” 

“And where have you been hiding for those two months?” He quickly covered his shock with interested curiosity.

Eleanor pointed to the room she had left to open the door. “Right there.”

Both Eddie and Liam followed her pointed finger with amused gazes. She looked up at Mr Liam Lanford. “I apologize if you were unaware. I’ve been doing my best to make good progress. But when Diane didn’t answer the door I figured I would. Upon hearing it was Mr Dubois I became distracted and failed to inform you that he was here.”

“Distracted?” Liam crossed his arms.

“Discussing your plans for my expansion.” Mr Dubois interjected. 

At Liam’s slow appraising nod, Eleanor blushed. “I’ll get back to my work sir. Sorry for the interruption.”

As she scurried back to her room she heard Eddie remark, “Quite the intelligent and engaging woman you have hiding in there, surrounded by your mountains of paper.”

Not trying to eavesdrop but curious as to what he would say in response Eleanor turned slightly toward them in her retreat. She couldn’t understand what he said but he didn’t sound angry so she hoped it was positive .

An hour later Eddie popped his head in where she was working. “I am on my way out Miss Luchia and I wanted to tell you how delighted I am to have met you. Being able to spend a little time discussing those plans with a fresh set of eyes is just what I needed.”

Eleanor blushed in surprise but nodded. “It was wonderful to meet you Mr Dubois.” She watched him disappear out of sight and once again focused on the papers in front of her.

A few minutes later she looked up to find Mr Lanford standing once again in the doorway. Immediately she rose. “Sorry I didn’t hear you come in.” The apology tumbled out as she straightened the papers in front of her.

“No need to apologize Miss Luchia. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. Ms Penn failed to inform me that had filled the position already or I would have come to introduce myself earlier. I don’t believe in being a faceless boss. Don’t be concerned if I come to check on you every once in a while. I do so with the employees I can in order to stay connected.”

She nodded, only slightly frenetic beneath her calm appearance. Maybe it was his piercing green eyes. Or the fact that he was drop dead handsome. Or maybe it was because she had made a complete dolt of herself in front of him when she’d ‘forgotten’ to bring his client in to him.

She only remembered to breathe after he nodded and strode smoothly out of the room.

The next morning, as she was sitting there, trying to focus on the sorting and not looking for interesting papers to glance over, Eleanor didn’t hear the soft footsteps of someone approaching and stopping just inside her doorway.

With a softly cleared throat he gained her attention. “Good morning, Miss Luchia. I figured I needed to make up for lost time and check in today, find out what progress you’ve made.”

In her best competent voice she began to explain her sorting and organizing tactics. Mid-sentence she recalled her manners and motioned to her chair. “Oh please sit. I didn’t mean to leave you standing.”

His low chuckle shook her professional veneer. “I am fine standing for the moment.” He moved in closer. “However, the progress you have made in two short months is impressive. I know that I’ve completely given up trying to keep order in here and would throw papers into a box and shove the box in here.”

“Does that mean you have another box in your office accumulating, unsorted, right now?” 

He shrugged. “Guilty.”

Eleanor shook her head. “Don’t worry. By the time you have filled up that box and throw it into me I will have everything organized so well that it wouldn’t take me long to sort it out. Of course I hear I have several other rooms that require my attention as well.”

With a slow deep nod he laughed. “I have let it overcome me I fear. I do have one question, now that I think of it. How do you know Eddie?”

“Mr Dubois?” Eleanor blinked in surprise. “I don’t. I met him yesterday.”

“Yet you know of our expansion plans for him through our design and construction company.” He stated levelly.

Flustered, she wrung her hands. “Oh… I… just from sorting sir. I have to know what each paper is in order to sort it.” 

“Furthermore, You know enough to have an in-depth conversation with him based on glances while sorting?” He surveyed her with renewed interest.

“Well. I do have an MBA sir, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Construction.”

Surprise lit his eyes.

“You never saw my resume did you? Ms Penn really did hire me because she figured I could sort papers.” Eleanor’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I apologize if I overstepped my bounds. It won’t happen again.”

“Overstepped?” He roared as he laughed. “And here I find myself questioning why you are not working for me as a team lead or manager or architect. Why are you here in a dusty room filled with paperwork?”

“To become a part of the company and work my way up. I applied for your other positions first but they always filled without a word my direction. So I saw this as my only option left.”

Liam glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting in 5 minutes so I have to leave. But do not doubt that we will be talking later.” He paused at the door and looked back. He almost took a step back toward her.

“I’m tempted to fire you.”

Shock laced through her. “What?”

He shook his head and shot her a wry grin. “But I won’t.” 

Eleanor let out the breath she had been holding.

“Eleanor, I think it is only fair to let you know, I really want to kiss you right now. And as your boss, I can’t. And as a gentleman, I won’t. Just tempted.”

Without another word he left the room, leaving her mind swirling with temptations of her own.

Shannon

I roll my shoulders back and double check my hair as I make my way through the other partiers. I know where I am going. Now is the perfect opportunity and I am not going to waste it. 

Scott is in the hot tub and none of his stupid friends or giggly groupies are with him. If I play it just right I’ll get him to actually notice me and be impressed by how I look in my brand new baby blue sundress. Sitting on a dry spot at the hot tub’s edge I smile over at my high school crush.

“Hey Scott.” I say as I slip my feet into the warm water.

Although it is slightly disappointing when he doesn’t open his eyes to see who I am, he also doesn’t exactly ignore me. I am thrilled to hear his deep ‘hey’ rumble across the water. My love-struck heart grasps hold and holds tight to that treasure of a greeting.

As I am about to launch my full scale charm in drawing him into seeing me as the potential love of his life there is a commotion over in the side yard where the side gate bursts open, letting in a huge horde of guys. Great.

I’ll have to work fast if I am going to have any chance of keeping his attention once all the guys start some sort of game or another that Scott is sure to join in. 

And that’s when I spot him. Dean is in the front of all those guys, already being swarmed by most of the girls at the part which is something I thoroughly do not understand. The guy is a jerk and yet far too popular for his ego. And somehow he has figured out my little crush. If he saw me making my move he would most likely go out of his way just to ruin it.

“How’s the water?” I say to Scott with my best come-hither purr. “I was thinking about getting in but I don’t want to get too hot.”

At that, his eyes slowly blink open and settle on me. Heated chills race down and then back up my spine. His attention is all mine! I revel in my glorified power, watching his eyes skirt along my sundress, taking it all in. Preparing for this party had been an ordeal and now it is suddenly all worth it.

“Come on in.” He holds out his hand to help me in and I blink. I’m not going to get in with my dress on but I certainly can’t stand there and take it off in front of him, nor can I leave and lose my chance. Torn and frozen, my panicked mind frantically searches for a solution. All options are taken from me as I feel two large hands on my shoulders right before I am shoved into the hot tub.

Coming up sputtering for air after my unplanned plunge, I do my best to not look like a drowned rat in front of Scott. Luckily my long hair stays in the bun I had put it in before coming to the party so I wasn’t struggling to get that out of my face. Turning to see who had pushed me in I’m not too surprised to see Dean smiling down at me. Then he turns to Scott and quips, “The girls just can’t help but fall for you Scott.”

Both guys laugh and I hope that my blush is hidden behind the flush from the hot water. And that’s when it hits me; my moment has passed. Scott’s attention is on Dean and the multiple girls that had followed him over.

When Dean pulls off his shirt, I hurriedly look down. I am most definitely not going to be caught staring at the abs of that jerk, even if they are a fantastic view. I don’t look up until the water surges and I have to step back to keep my balance. And I come face to face with Dean and his stupid smile.

“Hey Shan. You need help with that dress or were you going to keep it on in the hot tub?” His slow lazy drawl has a nearby girl twittering.

As quick as I can I peel the wet fabric off and throw it to the side, plopping down as near as I dare to Scott but not close enough for Dean to make some snarky comment that would embarrass me further. I can feel both guys glance down to check out my suit and find my attention snap to Dean’s dropped jaw rather than Scott’s quick almost dismissive glance. Though Dean’s expression is gone a second later, I am glad I chose to wear my cutest suit.

In seconds Dean and Scott are deep in conversation, no room from noticing girls. I deflate just a little. Minutes pass and more girls join the guys, slowly edging me out. I stay in, hoping that maybe Scott will come over and talk to me but the longer I sit there the more I figure it is unlikely he would. As I am trying to pluck up the courage to retreat, my gaze drops to my toes. No one else has said hi to me and I am feeling more and more out of place the longer I sit there.

“Shan.” The low whisper in my ear gives me more chills than it should. I turn to face Dean, discovering that he made his way to sit right next to me and is getting closer. “You weren’t really flirting with Scott again were you?”

“None of your business Dean. Why are you here?” 

“It’s a party! Where else would I be?!” With that he throws his arm around me and pulls me into a fierce hug.

“Somewhere that didn’t involve tormenting me!” I can’t help but huff.

No one else seems to notice or care that Mr Popularity-and-Life-of-the-Party isn’t basking in their attention any longer. Instead he is sucking me into his bright blue eyes, resting his forehead on mine so I can’t see anyone but him.

His voice is so quiet I was sure that no one else could have overheard him even if they tried. “Shannon Caswall. When are you going to open your eyes and see past what you think of as tormenting to see that I’m protecting you from a real jerk?”

I blink rapidly, trying to process what he said. With another blink he is back in the thick of his entourage. He sees me staring and winks.

I flee.

Ellie

Multicolored lights flashed and reflected around the club as the partygoers on the packed dance floor bounced along to the beat. Ellie stood high above it all on the balcony, watching the frenzied mass of flaunting and flirting, bored.

She should have stayed home. Joe demanding that she come listen to his new stuff shouldn’t have been a good enough reason. They weren’t even dating anymore. 

Arms folded, she glared at where Joe was standing at the DJ booth. This was the last night she was dragging herself out to be supportive of her tyrant ex. There was a reason they had broken up, that she had ended things with him.

No more being a walked on pushover. She recited it over and over in her head. During the past year the high balcony had become a refuge of sorts whenever Joe had insisted on her coming to watch him DJ. The club scene wasn’t really one she was all that comfortable with and never had been. For Ellie, that balcony was a gift. She was there without being down in the trenches. Instead she had a bird’s eye view of the whole club where no one would notice her watching. After an hour of sitting on the sidelines, alone and tired, she didn’t see the point of staying any longer. Usually Marci would come up to keep her company when she would get tired of dancing but she’d had to stay home tonight.

Enough was enough. She turned to head down the stairs when a ripple in the crowd caught her eye. Looking closer, she saw it again. People were moving out of the way for someone. A celebrity?

As she leaned on the rail to get a better look the crowd parted once again and she glimpsed a man with a natural bronzed tan striding confidently through the dancers to one of the small standing tables on the edge of the floor. If he knew people were parting to move out of his way, he didn’t show it. Maybe he was famous, but she didn’t recognize him.

The man had changed the entire atmosphere of the club simply by walking in. He didn’t look dangerous, but he definitely had a ‘back off’ kind of vibe. Why go to a club if you weren’t in the mood to be around people? Oh wait, she was there and definitely was not interested in descending into that mass of people except to leave. 

Glancing over to where Joe still stood in front of the crowd on his self-proclaimed throne, she could see him sending glares over at the mystery guest. With him there, Joe couldn’t pretend to be the coolest in the room. 

As Ellie blatantly stared at the new arrival, safe in her assumption of being invisible in the high balcony, she noticed him looking about intently, as if he were looking for someone. It wasn’t a frantic sort of looking around, more like he was searching for someone he knew. She too started to look around to see if she could spot who he could be looking for. She laughed. How could she find someone if she didn’t even know who he was looking for?

His sharp gaze pierced through the crowd as he continued his intense search. Who was he looking for? Ellie continued to survey the crowd too, glancing back at him every few seconds to see if he was still looking about. No longer interested in the other club-goers or in leaving, her full attention was on him. 

Her mystery man gave off this aura of strength that was almost comforting. Or it would be if they were friends. It wasn’t in his build but more in the way he held himself. The more she took in his appearance the more Ellie found herself wanting to be down there, introducing herself.  

Very unlike her. 

Again she slowly took in his overall look, from his patent leather shoes to the intensity of his dreamy face. He had money but was not flaunting it. If she had to hazard a guess she would say that he was comfortable in his life and wasn’t looking to prove to others how much he made in order to make fake money-worshipping friends.

In the midst of her almost lazy perusal, shock zapped through her as she discovered those eyes looking straight up at her. He wasn’t glaring per se but he was definitely looking right at her. It was more like he was trying to ask her a question she didn’t know the answer to. As he smiled up at her she stepped back and out of sight. She struggled to keep her panic tamped down. He had caught her openly staring at him for who knows how long. It took several minutes to talk herself into moving back to the railing.

When she finally did she discovered that he was gone. A completely different sort of panic flooded through her. Searching the crowd, there was no ripple. Nothing to give her any hint of where he could have gone. She quickly gathered her things. 

Jacket and purse in hand, she moved to the stairs. Before she could make her way down she had to pull back to stop from slamming into the guy leaning in the doorway, his coal black hair swept casually across his forehead. He was blocking her exit and, by the gleam in his eye, he knew it.

“Nice hideout.” He chuckled, uncrossing his arms and stepping toward her. He neatly backed her up to the rail overlooking the dance floor. A few good feet remained between them. After a few moments of silent, surprisingly non-awkward staring he chuckled again and moved to lean on the rail next to her. He glanced down at the dance floor below before he turned his full attention back on her. She felt transparent.

All those gorgeously sculpted muscles in easy touching distance caused Ellie to struggle to smother her gasp. Standing perfectly still, she waited. All her brain could process was how close he was.

He stepped back enough that she felt she could breathe. He flashed her a megawatt smile. “Come here much?”