AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A sound in the outer office reaches me before I can formulate a response. I whip my head in that direction and then freeze. Half a second later, I see Josh appear through the glass windows.
“Crap,” I hiss, scurrying away from his desk. “I have to go. I’ll call you later!” I quickly hang up on my sisters before they can say anything and shove my phone into my pocket.
I barely make it to my cleaning cart before the door bursts open, and he storms into his office. His piercing emerald eyes meet mine, a look of shock on his handsome face as he glances at me, then the cleaning cart, and then back to me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he growls.
Well, crap. Now he knows my secret. And he doesn’t look happy about it.
CHAPTER 2
JOSH
The day has been a relentless carousel of pointless meetings that barely let me catch my breath. I swear, it's like the universe conspired against me and created an entire day's agenda to purposefully keep me out of my office. Instead, I’ve been down on the third floor of the building listening to idiots justify their fuck-ups.
All I wanted was a quiet day back upstairs in my office where I could spend some time with Lyric. Since the moment I met my new assistant, she’s been this gravitational force I can't seem to escape.
Her captivating blend of beauty and charm is a magnet, drawing me in. Her gorgeous heart-shaped face and bountiful curves wake up my inner caveman and my fucking cock.
Within seconds of her walking into my office, I was ready to drag her off to my cave and breed her before another man could attempt to steal her away.
Anytime she’s near, there's a light, refreshing fragrance that lingers in the air. The delicious scent of spring flowers mixed with a subtle tangy note turns my cock to stone, causing me to walk around sporting a constant erection.
I’m doing a shitty job of handling these new, terrifying feelings. It seems that every time I open my mouth, I end up sticking my size thirteen foot right in it.
A little voice in the back of my mind shouts warnings continuously, but my addled brain refuses to listen. All I want to do is pull her luscious, curvy body into my arms, but somehow, I end up barking orders at her instead.
It’s dark outside when I finally break free of the endless meetings from hell. I storm out of the last meeting, planning to head straight to the parking garage. I’ve fucked around long enough that my assistant probably left hours ago, so there’s no reason to go back to my empty office.
As my mind buzzes with memories of her, I reach into my pocket and find my keys aren't there. Fucking hell, just my luck. Thinking back, I realize I left them sitting on my desk. It’s just one more frustration to add to my infuriating day. The elevator ride back up feels like it takes forever, made worse by the cheery British female announcing each floor that goes by.
When the elevator doors finally slide open, I storm down the hallway to my office, intent on grabbing my keys and getting out of here as fast as possible. I push open the door, fully expecting to be greeted by darkness and an annoyingly silent room. Instead, I’m surprised to see a soft, muted glow coming from inside, and it hits me this is the night the cleaning crew comes through the office.
I rush into my office and come to a dead stop when I find the object of my obsession standing next to a cleaning cart. My mind stumbles for a second, caught off guard by her unexpected presence among the shadows and dim lighting. Her pouty ruby-red lips open and close silently for a few seconds while her stunned hazel eyes widen.
"What the fuck are you doing?" The words come out sharper than intended, a blur of surprise mixed with something else, something more primal tied up with how much her presence disarms me and turns me into a dipshit.
"I’m doing my job.” She lifts up a duster and shakes it in the air. “What are you doing here this late?" Her tone is all snark with an undercurrent of hostility that’s not quite as easily brushed aside. She's standing there with a raised eyebrow, and I realize I’ve been such an asshole to her, it’s no wonder she didn’t tell me about her second job. Alarm bells go off in the back of my mind as a terrifying thought hits me—if I don’t handle this situation the right way, I could lose Lyric.
"I forgot my keys.” I point at the keys laying in the bowl on the corner of my desk before asking the question running through my mind on a constant loop. “Why do you work two jobs?" I stumble over my words, still trying to wrap my head around this new layer of Lyric that just unfolded in front of me.
Her hazel eyes narrow as she slaps her hands down on her curvy hips. "Why are you spying on me?" she counters, nodding toward the computer monitor on my desk while completely ignoring my question. My stomach drops as I realize I left the camera feed open, and it’s showing a perfect view right at her chair. Crap.
We lock eyes in silence, each second stretching to eternity while I scramble inside my head for something plausible. Then I cross my fingers behind my back as a fib formulates in my mind. Let’s be real, the truth seems suddenly insufficient and way too complicated. "I was checking the feeds to see where you were. I needed to let you know I had to head down to accounting for meetings." Lame. She can absolutely see through me, and the flicker in her eyes tells me she almost certainly doesn’t buy it, but she lets it slide.
"Oh, really?" she bites out, the words dripping with skepticism, but the confrontation fizzles out as quickly as it started. Her shoulders slump as her eyes move to look at the wall behind me. She mumbles something about working two jobs to help her family, and this soft admission stirs up a well of curiosity and admiration in me. There’s a lot more to Lyric than just her gorgeous face, stunning body, and magnetic presence.
She's holding back, and as much as I’m itching to dig deeper into this revelation, I decide against it. Pushing her now wouldn’t really help either of us. We’re kind of standing in uncharted waters here. Instead of bombarding her with more questions, I mentally shuffle some planned tasks for later.
"I guess I’ll grab my keys and head out so you can finish up for the night," I say, grabbing my key. “Since you’re working so late, why don’t you come in at ten tomorrow."
She shakes her head, her expression smooth again, keeping her thoughts a secret. "I’ll be here on time." The determination in her voice tells me I won’t win this argument. “I need the hours.”
Retreat before you fuck this up any worse runs through my mind, and I take a deep breath before mumbling, “If that’s what you want.” With one last look over my shoulder, I’m out the door with a million thoughts bombarding me and no easy answers.
As I’m walking to the elevator, I come to a dead stop when it hits me that Lyric has been working late nights and driving home through the nearly empty town where anything could happen to her. This new realization is totally unacceptable to me.
Spinning on my heel, I walk back over to the office. “I actually have a few things to catch up on here at the office.” It’s a lie. I’m going to sit at my desk and fantasize about the gorgeous girl working right down the hall. “So, I’ll get my work done and drive you home when you’re finished.”
