26

Sean Peterson
I parked the car in the parking lot of my edifice and stepped out of the car. I shut the door and hastily made my way towards the elevator for one I was excited to see my troublesome P. A and two, I saw Xavier and Daniel’s cars just behind me. So, before they could catch me give me a torturing elevator ride to my office, I wanted to slip off.
I almost ran towards the elevator when I saw them parking their cars and was about to press the button to my floor when Daniel stepped on the threshold of the elevator so that the doors couldn’t close.
“What’s with the hurry, Sean babe?”
I glared at him and he stood there, smirking until Xavier stepped in. The door closed and they both stood either side of me.
“Were you trying to avoid us?” Xavier asked out of nowhere.
“No, why would I?”
“Because though you saw our cars, you were running from us,” Daniel commented. “Afraid that we’ll ask questions you have no answers to?” He had a tone full of playfulness.
“What questions and what answers? I have nothing to run from. Okay?” I dismissed his question and took out my phone to distract myself, but it was snatched from my hands by Xavier.
“What the-”
“What the what? Huh? You are gracing the office with your presence after a week and you don’t have a minute to talk to your friends?” Xavier snapped.
I groaned and narrowed my eyes at him. “I have all the time for sensible talks, not for your nonsense.”
Daniel scowled. “So, now we talk nonsense. You hurt me, Sean.” He then grinned. “Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s nonsense or not. We will never stop eating your head.”
I rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately, I know this very well.”
“So cooperate.” Xavier butted in.
“What exactly you two want to talk about?” I huffed thinking they won’t give up unless they hear they wanted to hear.
“Ah, now we are talking.” Daniel got excited as he rubbed his palms against each other. “So, you are here which means Lauren is here as well.”
I knew it!
I gave him a deathly glare. “Dan-”
“You were rushing to see her, weren’t you?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Aw, can’t wait to see your lovely P. A?” Xavier nudged me.
Glaring, I snatched my phone back from his hands. “Of course, I have to see her… for work purpose, because she’s my P. A. as you said.”
They shouldn’t know about my attraction to Lauren.
“Work, yeah.” Daniel rubbed his jaw with his palm. “She works for you. Umm, care to share what work she did for you at your home…in private. Any funny business-”
I grabbed his neck and pushed him against the wall. “Stop with your nonsense.” He started to laugh. Xavier grabbed me from behind, laughing.
“Hey, hey, no violence Sean.” He pulled me back. “By the way, he asked nothing wrong.” He laughed harder and I groaned. “Tell us did you two-ow,” He groaned when I nudged his side, hard.
“No talking about her.” I snapped at both of them who were still laughing, clutching their stomach.
“Aw, possessive. How cute, Sean.” I almost lunged again on Daniel but the elevator dinged and I marched out before I could murder him. He was tempting me to do so.
“Make sure to hug her from our side too.”
I showed them the middle finger without turning to them and walked away.
Annoying Bastards!
Before heading to my office I knocked on the door of Lauren’s office. A smile formed on my lips as I pushed the door open, but my lips curled down, and a frown dressed my eyebrows when I didn’t see her at the desk. I scanned the room but couldn’t find her.
“Has she not arrived yet?” I wondered. But all of a sudden something struck my mind. She had never been late. Did she decide to quit the job?
I had no idea why that question hit me but it did and turned me into a panicking mess. I took out my phone from my pocket as I rushed to my office while dialing Lauren’s number. She wasn’t picking the call. I slammed my bag on the desk and paced back and forth, dialing her number again.
“Ugh, what’s with the call flooding? Can’t you wait for a while?”
There, she entered my office with a scowl on her face. I sighed in relief when I saw her in her work outfit-knee-length pencil skirt and blouse, holding some files in her hands.
She didn’t quit.
“Where have you been? Why weren’t you answering my calls?” I asked as I placed the phone on the desk. “You weren’t in your office when I came looking for you.”
I saw her rolling her eyes before she looked up and huffed. Then she marched towards the desk.
“Firstly, I was heading to your office when you decided to call me non stop. And secondly, It takes time to reach the 58th floor from the ground floor.” She slammed the files on the desk and faced me. “I had been on leave for a week and now I have a lot to do. My whole desk was disorganized. Had to clean it. Had to pass some files to their respective departments. I have been doing up and down since I arrived. Thanks to you, Mr. Peterson.” She finally took the time to breathe.
“Mr. Peterson? Didn’t we agree to be on a first-name basis?” I asked in annoyance.
“This isn’t you home, Mr. Peterson. And you said to address you formally when at work.” She pointed out.
“I said ‘in the presence of other employees’. We are alone now.” I scowled.
She passed me her signature tight-lipped smile. “Don’t wanna take the risk.”
I huffed thinking I’d tackle the issue later but first I wanted her to come closer.
“My tie, Miss Hart.”
“Oh, I forgot about that.”
I smirked as she made her way to the drawer at the aide of my desk and took out one of the ties. Finally!
I stood straight and pulled my collars but my smirk died down when instead of coming to me she placed the tie on the desk and took out her phone and placed it on the desk against the support of some files and played a video on it.
“Here.” She stood aside and gestured towards the phone.
“What’s all this?” I frowned.
“Oh, it’s high time you learn to do your tie.” She replied casually.
“Trust me there was the time when I wanted to…but not anymore. And don’t play games with me. It’s your job so do it yourself.” I reminded her.
Why was she being so tough? I had no idea as to what had happened to her. But one thing was for sure, she was at her normal self; her crazy self.
When I saw her not making any effort to pick up the tie, I did it myself and put it before her. “Do it. What are you waiting for?”
She muttered something under her breath and then angrily snatched the tie from my hand. “Fine. Just stay still and do not try to make a move.” She glared at me.
“When do I not stand still when you do my tie?” I raised my eyebrows in question.
“Well, you and I both know that this time it’s different.” I heard dullness in her voice and it bothered me.
And before I could question her she snaked the tie around my neck but remained at a notable distance from me. She wasn’t even that close that she used to be regularly before all of this happened. Her hands slowly and cautiously worked on the tie without touching me as if my touch would burn her.
But I wanted her closer to me. That’s it. I had had enough of her attitude. I took a step towards her but she became frantic and stepped back.
“Mr. Peterson, if you want me to do work then behave.” Her eyes held fire which confused me. Still, I had a smile on my face. The more she tried to push me away the more I was getting attracted to her.
I held my hands in the air in surrender. “Fine. I won’t do anything. Now, the tie.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, studying me skeptically. “You are not playing tricks, are you?”
“You want me to? If yes, then I’m more than interested to play-”
“I want nothing from you.” She exclaimed loudly and again grabbed my tie and began to knot it.
“Here, it’s done.” She stepped back as soon as she finished doing my tie. “I must leave now as I have a lot of work to do. And of course, your schedule; I have to manage that as well.”
She walked past me but before she could leave I grasped her wrist and twirled her to face me. “Don’t you think you are forgetting something?”
“What? And leave me, will you?” She tried to wiggle out of my hold by twisting her wrist but I didn’t lose the grip.
“Greetings. You are forgetting the greetings, Lauren.”
“What greetings?” She frowned deeply.
I chuckled before pulling her to me and before she could protest I pecked her cheek. “Good morning, Lauren.” Then I released her from my hold.
She gasped. “How…how could you? This is not your home Mr. Peterson. Behave! And you can’t just kiss me whenever you please!”
“FYI, I didn’t kiss you-like kiss you. What I did is a normal greeting. You know what kiss means and how I kiss; you have experienced it.” I smirked.
“You…you are… Ugh!” She stomped her feet and marched out of the office.
I couldn’t help but laugh. She brings out the new in me. She was making me do things I hadn’t done before which was quite strange and enjoyable at the same time.
She was bringing me out of my gloomy self.
However, one thing was still bugging me…her trying to make a distance from me. If she thought she could get away from me easily then she was wrong because I wouldn’t have decided to go after her if she hadn’t felt the same as I did. She was attracted to me as well; I was aware of that.
Lauren Hart
Jerk!
How could he kiss me in broad daylight in his office! Damn, it’s a workplace, not his home to begin with.
I slumped on my chair and huffed angrily.
First, my mom soured my mood in the morning by giving me an earful again for not informing her about me being back at home. Like what the hell? What’s my fault if she has spies to give her information? Better ask them, not me.
And secondly…mighty Sean Peterson. Before heading to work I had decided to keep my distance from him-for my own sanity. I was determined to keep up with my words.
But damn him!
Because of him, I felt giddy now. My body kept shooting delightful tingles I couldn’t ignore. I cursed myself for it. If I had decided to avoid him them why couldn’t I do it? Why my traitor body was demanding his touch?
And damn! I had to face him again and will face him always as I bloody worked for him.
Waving away my insecurities I decided to concentrate on my work. So, I mustered the confidence and went to his office to dictate his schedule. I didn’t give him a chance to say any further and ran out of his office. I knew he was annoyed by my attitude but I didn’t care.
I was doing it for myself.
For half an hour, I felt relieved as I didn’t have to see him but my satisfaction was short-lived when I received a call from one of our clients who wanted to have an urgent meeting with Sean. I again had to enter his personal territory.
I entered his office and standing at a decent distance from his desk I began to speak. “Mr. Peterson, I received a call from one of our clients and he wants to have a meeting with you regarding-”
He angrily stood up from his chair and marched towards me. “Fuck with this client. Right now I want answers as to why you are being distant to me.”
I fumed in anger. “You don’t want to work? Very well then. I must inform the co-owners of the company that you are refusing to attend to an important client.”
I turned and was about to leave when I was being pulled back by my wrist-again.
“What’s wrong with you?” He asked. Exasperation was clearly visible on his face.
“Nothing is wrong with me! It’s you who is being not you. You are the person who loves to work and now you are avoiding it. This is not you. Moreover, I don’t want to change things between us, Sean” I yanked my wrist out of his hold.
“Nothing has changed and nothing will. I still love to work. And I will but first, you have to answer me. What are you afraid of, Lauren. Tell me.” There was desperation in his voice.
“I…I…”I rubbed my face with my palm, I couldn’t form words, but I had to. I faced him squarely and blurted out what was going inside my head.
“Your reputation isn’t really good when it comes to women. I don’t want to be played.”
His eyes widened then he narrowed them at him. “But you knew all of it from the start still you responded to me equally. And I do not play with women. I didn’t know that you think such low of me.”
“It’s not that, Sean.” I ran my hands through my short locks.
“No, no, no, you answer me first.” He came closer to me and somehow I couldn’t step back. I got lost in his eyes when he held my shoulders.
“Have I ever disrespected you, insulted you, or ever made you feel inferior?”
He looked extremely dejected. And to be honest, he’s a great man who respects women. I knew him that much.
“No.” This came out in a whisper as my head lowered on his own.
He softly clasped my chin and made me look at him. “Then what is the problem? What are you afraid of?”
I am afraid that you’ll leave me as everyone did.
He cupped my face. “Why are you trying to avoid me? Is it because I am showing you my real self that no woman has seen?”
I swear my heart skipped a beat. He was giving me the importance and I liked it. But…
I swatted his hands away. “There are many other reasons. The first being you are my boss. Mine and your relationship should have been strictly professional. You shouldn’t have involved me in your personal affairs. This was not supposed to happen. Everything is going to change now and most importantly, I feel like you want to change me. You are making me feel things which I don’t want to and you can’t kiss me-mmm”
My rambling stopped by his kiss. And I lost myself. I forgot everything-again. He erased the gap between us by pulling me closer and deepened the kiss. I responded with equal passion and need. I circled my arms around his neck and tilted my head for better access to his kiss.
This is what he does to me. He takes me to another world.
“I told you that you speak too much.” He chuckled and pecked my lips again.
I blinked, suddenly coming back to my senses. My nostrils flared. I pushed him away with all the strength I could muster. “See, you are trying to change me. You don’t like me being a talkative person. You shut me with the kiss.”
“What? I don’t like you being talkative?” He again grabbed my wrist. “Well, reality check…yes, you ramble too much, and yes you are annoying sometimes-most of the time, but it doesn’t mean I am trying to change you. I kiss you when you ramble nonsense. And if I hadn’t liked your nature I wouldn’t have initiated things in the first place. And don’t forget you always respond to my kisses.”
“It’s like an instant reaction, Sean. What am I supposed to do if you grab me all of a sudden? I get lost when you kiss me.”
He smirked. He bloody smirked! And I knew why he did that…as usual…I blurted out the crazy truth. Ugh! He’s right, I speak way too much!
Shit! Shit! Shit!
I gave him something to tease me for. Well, done Lauren.
He didn’t leave my wrist. “Well, for starters…if you don’t like me kissing you…you should push me away. But unsurprisingly…you don’t.”
I blushed…hard. But I always have come back for almost everything and that’s what I was going to do, but I couldn’t since someone entered the office who startled us.
“Hey, Sean-oops! Did I interrupt something?”