I flipped him my middle finger before stepping out of the car. Like I gave a f**k what he thought.
I made my way to the double doors and stepped through, taking the elevator up to my floor, and walked back to my office. Well, it had been my office alone for the past few months, now it was going to be “our” office in the next hour or so. I groaned at the stack of papers that awaited me. The stack had doubled in size over the weekend.
Didn’t anyone take a day off? It was clear they had no idea how long it took to go over and prepare all of their documents.
The bright yellow Post-it-note greeted me as I tried to sit down. It was attached to a file: Vivian’s file. Great.
My former partner and office mate was suing my employer, Holloway and Holloway Law. “Termination without notification or provocation” being her case. It was a turn of events we all found quite ironic, seeing as she was the one who left for lunch one day and never returned. Job abandonment was what it constituted. I took it as her final “Screw you, Palmer.” She knew I’d be the one having to go through it all.
I groaned. As much as I hated how overworked I was of late, I hated working with her even more in our shared office. It felt cramped when she was around. I could never get away from her annoying behavior or loud voice even if I’d wanted to; thanks to the sheer volume of work we received every day.
I was antsy already as I looked at the piles, still surprised the desks didn’t buckle under the strain of all the files. So, I wound my way to the break room and got myself a cup of coffee.
After getting a cup of fresh brewed coffee from the break room, I finished up some paperwork left from Friday. Once completed, I began sorting through the new piles, finding the items that were urgent.
I loved coming to the office early in the morning, before the rush of people. It was quiet, and I could concentrate on my work without disruption.
I was halfway through the stack of files when a knock on the door drew my attention away.
“Delilah, do you have a moment?” Jack Holloway’s familiar voice called from the doorway.
“For you, sir? Always,” I replied with a genuine smile. My boss, Mr. Holloway, or Jack, depending on the occasion – was always kind and easy to talk to, making it a pleasure to give him whatever he wanted. I knew it was because I craved his kind, gentle words; ones that were rarely offered to me by anyone else.
“I wanted to introduce you to your new roommate before the announcement was made.” He stepped aside and let a man pass him.
My mouth dropped open at the tall god-like man with light brown hair and seductive blue eyes that stood before me. I sat in stunned silence, eyes wide. Was Jack serious or had my brain shut down?
“This is Nathan Thorne; he’ll need your guidance until he’s acclimated to how we operate. Please take good care of him.”
“Delilah, was it?” the God asked with a smirk. A smirk!
He held out his hand, and with reluctance, I slipped mine into it. We shook for a brief moment before Mr. Holloway toted him away for a chat before the big office reveal.
I remained in silence while my still coffee-addled brain processed the newcomer.
Then it hit me.
Shit!
It was the guy from the parking lot. The sunglasses-wearing moron.
I could already tell he was going to be trouble; he was way too good looking, and all the women would be falling over themselves to get to him…in our office.
Perhaps Vivian wasn’t that bad after all.
My attention returned to the endless piles in front of me, and I resumed working. It wasn’t until after lunch that Nathan came back. I spent the next hour helping him get set up; time I didn’t have to give. It was a bad idea, the monumental kind, to be that close to him.
We weren’t very far in, when the innuendos began and my patience started to wear thin.
I leaned over him to guide the mouse where I needed it. “Okay, so here’s the path to the shared drive. All documents have to be saved out on this drive for backup purposes.”
“You know, you don’t have to climb all over me to get my attention. Lifting your skirt works very well,” he said.
My blood was on fire, even more so than it had already been due to annoyance. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there were any voyeurs around. Next time, I’ll lock myself up in an empty room to spare you.” I rolled my eyes before getting back to the task at hand; ready to show him the next step.
“Spare me?” His eyebrow was cocked, a curious look on his face as he took me in.
“Yes, temptation is the road to Hell, or at least that’s what I hear.” I once again tried to draw his attention back to the computer screen.
He smirked, something I was already beginning to loathe. “You think I’m tempted by you?”
I thought about the answer, though I knew it already, but decided to string him along. “No, but I don’t want to give you the opportunity to be tempted by me.”
“Why so hostile?”
“Look, Nathan,” I huffed. “I’m here to do a job, not to flaunt my br**sts around to catch your eye. I like my job, I like doing my job, and I want to keep it. Plus, I know you do not, and will not, be interested in a woman like me, so why even try? Now, can we get back to your tutorial?”
“How do you know?”
My jaw locked, eyes closed before I turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he replied. His voice had dropped, now hard and cold, no hint of flirtation. “How. Do. You. Know?”
He was demanding, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My façade was slipping, so much that the words came out as nothing more than a whisper. “Just drop it.”
“How?”
“Why would anyone?” I sneered at him before taking off to the restroom.
Shit, shit, shit!
I paced the length of the bathroom, taking deep breaths to relax and regain my composure. He’d made me slip, probing me with questions that were best left alone. The answers to those questions brought up emotions best left buried in the past.
After about ten minutes, it seemed safe to exit. When I entered our office, he was staring at me with a perplexed look on his face. He didn’t speak, for which I was thankful. I walked back to my desk, bringing my chair around to his, resuming our tutorial.
“Email and contact lists. Then we can see if you have access to the programs IT was supposed to set up over the weekend.”
I made my way to the double doors and stepped through, taking the elevator up to my floor, and walked back to my office. Well, it had been my office alone for the past few months, now it was going to be “our” office in the next hour or so. I groaned at the stack of papers that awaited me. The stack had doubled in size over the weekend.
Didn’t anyone take a day off? It was clear they had no idea how long it took to go over and prepare all of their documents.
The bright yellow Post-it-note greeted me as I tried to sit down. It was attached to a file: Vivian’s file. Great.
My former partner and office mate was suing my employer, Holloway and Holloway Law. “Termination without notification or provocation” being her case. It was a turn of events we all found quite ironic, seeing as she was the one who left for lunch one day and never returned. Job abandonment was what it constituted. I took it as her final “Screw you, Palmer.” She knew I’d be the one having to go through it all.
I groaned. As much as I hated how overworked I was of late, I hated working with her even more in our shared office. It felt cramped when she was around. I could never get away from her annoying behavior or loud voice even if I’d wanted to; thanks to the sheer volume of work we received every day.
I was antsy already as I looked at the piles, still surprised the desks didn’t buckle under the strain of all the files. So, I wound my way to the break room and got myself a cup of coffee.
After getting a cup of fresh brewed coffee from the break room, I finished up some paperwork left from Friday. Once completed, I began sorting through the new piles, finding the items that were urgent.
I loved coming to the office early in the morning, before the rush of people. It was quiet, and I could concentrate on my work without disruption.
I was halfway through the stack of files when a knock on the door drew my attention away.
“Delilah, do you have a moment?” Jack Holloway’s familiar voice called from the doorway.
“For you, sir? Always,” I replied with a genuine smile. My boss, Mr. Holloway, or Jack, depending on the occasion – was always kind and easy to talk to, making it a pleasure to give him whatever he wanted. I knew it was because I craved his kind, gentle words; ones that were rarely offered to me by anyone else.
“I wanted to introduce you to your new roommate before the announcement was made.” He stepped aside and let a man pass him.
My mouth dropped open at the tall god-like man with light brown hair and seductive blue eyes that stood before me. I sat in stunned silence, eyes wide. Was Jack serious or had my brain shut down?
“This is Nathan Thorne; he’ll need your guidance until he’s acclimated to how we operate. Please take good care of him.”
“Delilah, was it?” the God asked with a smirk. A smirk!
He held out his hand, and with reluctance, I slipped mine into it. We shook for a brief moment before Mr. Holloway toted him away for a chat before the big office reveal.
I remained in silence while my still coffee-addled brain processed the newcomer.
Then it hit me.
Shit!
It was the guy from the parking lot. The sunglasses-wearing moron.
I could already tell he was going to be trouble; he was way too good looking, and all the women would be falling over themselves to get to him…in our office.
Perhaps Vivian wasn’t that bad after all.
My attention returned to the endless piles in front of me, and I resumed working. It wasn’t until after lunch that Nathan came back. I spent the next hour helping him get set up; time I didn’t have to give. It was a bad idea, the monumental kind, to be that close to him.
We weren’t very far in, when the innuendos began and my patience started to wear thin.
I leaned over him to guide the mouse where I needed it. “Okay, so here’s the path to the shared drive. All documents have to be saved out on this drive for backup purposes.”
“You know, you don’t have to climb all over me to get my attention. Lifting your skirt works very well,” he said.
My blood was on fire, even more so than it had already been due to annoyance. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there were any voyeurs around. Next time, I’ll lock myself up in an empty room to spare you.” I rolled my eyes before getting back to the task at hand; ready to show him the next step.
“Spare me?” His eyebrow was cocked, a curious look on his face as he took me in.
“Yes, temptation is the road to Hell, or at least that’s what I hear.” I once again tried to draw his attention back to the computer screen.
He smirked, something I was already beginning to loathe. “You think I’m tempted by you?”
I thought about the answer, though I knew it already, but decided to string him along. “No, but I don’t want to give you the opportunity to be tempted by me.”
“Why so hostile?”
“Look, Nathan,” I huffed. “I’m here to do a job, not to flaunt my br**sts around to catch your eye. I like my job, I like doing my job, and I want to keep it. Plus, I know you do not, and will not, be interested in a woman like me, so why even try? Now, can we get back to your tutorial?”
“How do you know?”
My jaw locked, eyes closed before I turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he replied. His voice had dropped, now hard and cold, no hint of flirtation. “How. Do. You. Know?”
He was demanding, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My façade was slipping, so much that the words came out as nothing more than a whisper. “Just drop it.”
“How?”
“Why would anyone?” I sneered at him before taking off to the restroom.
Shit, shit, shit!
I paced the length of the bathroom, taking deep breaths to relax and regain my composure. He’d made me slip, probing me with questions that were best left alone. The answers to those questions brought up emotions best left buried in the past.
After about ten minutes, it seemed safe to exit. When I entered our office, he was staring at me with a perplexed look on his face. He didn’t speak, for which I was thankful. I walked back to my desk, bringing my chair around to his, resuming our tutorial.
“Email and contact lists. Then we can see if you have access to the programs IT was supposed to set up over the weekend.”
