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Oliver splits off from his friends and grabs himself a drink. I feel somewhat pervertish with the way I follow him around the room. I was so certain he was Kade earlier, that I’m positive I gave off weirdo vibes. Which fucking sucks, since this is the first time I’m meeting the founder of our company. Thinking on it now, I laugh at my paranoia and decide to try for a do-over. Now that I’m no longer a mess and have gotten a drink in my system, I’ll reintroduce myself. I step forward, only to be cut off by Joe and one other gentleman who were walking in front of me toward the exit. On their way, Joe waves to Oliver, who’s pulling his phone back out of his pocket.
“It was good seeing you again, Kade. We’ve gotta get that cigar the next time you’re in town,” Joe says, using his pointer finger as he speaks.
I freeze right in my tracks. Kade?
Kade
“You, too, Joe. Have a nice night!” I respond without taking my eye off my iPhone.
Jessica texted me a few hours ago, and I wanted badly to respond. But with all the conversations with everyone, there wasn’t time for me to get away and answer her. The day had been long and felt like torture when all I wanted to do was ditch this party and go meet my woman. To finally see her face, pull her curvaceous body close to me, breathe in her scent, and hopefully make her mine.
Hey there, sweets. Sorry for the delay. This holiday party has kept me busy. But I’m all yours in about an hour. I can’t wait to see you either.I grin as I hit send and wait for her to respond.
Boing... Boing... Boing...
“The hell?” I snap my gaze around the room to be sure I’m not hearing things. I’ve had a few drinks, so maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I swear I heard that silly ringtone Jessica uses. What are the odds I’d find her here, of all places? It dawns on me we never talked about where she worked exactly, we didn’t even share last names. I wanted to know, I want to know everything about her, but with her rules on autonomy, I figured she wouldn’t be ready to share those details, so I never asked.
I text the number again to see if I’m hearing things. Where would you like to meet? I hit send.
The tune sounds off again but is silenced almost instantly. I frantically look around at anyone with a phone in their hand, hoping to find out who the ringing belongs to. Impatient, I click Jessica’s name and place a call. There it is again. Straight ahead is a woman rushing for the exit while fumbling with something. It’s the young woman from before, the strange one who sniffed me when I presented her with the award and gift card. Erin stops her, trying to engage in conversation, but instead the girl waves her off and continues to leave. I hit redial and watch as she quickly ignores it.
No fucking way! I follow behind her, being careful not to look conspicuous in front of my employees. When I reach the hall, I see her turning the corner. Picking up speed, I hit the curve, catching up to her by a few feet.
“Jessica?” I blurt, slightly out of breath.
She stills for a moment before continuing her escape.
“Sweets?” I call out.
Jessica pauses, her shoulders rising and falling at a rapid pace. She doesn’t need to say anything for me to know it’s her. I’ve studied her picture a million and one times, and with the brief glance at her ass when she went to grab more wine during our virtual date, I’ll know her body anywhere. How did I not notice her before when she walked to receive her gift? I search my memory of earlier, trying to place her face since she refuses to turn around.
“Jessica. Why did you run?” I stand directly behind her, so close I can feel the warmth coming from her skin. She still doesn’t say anything, so I take my time walking around to face her.
“Why did you lie to me?” she asks, her voice shaky and hoarse.
“Wow. You’re amazing!” Is all I can muster. I have no idea what she thinks I lied about, but I don’t even care. This woman is fucking beautiful, more than I imagined. Her mid-cut black dress fits elegantly over her breasts yet firmly around her wide hips. She’s sexy and classy all wrapped in one, and I have to admit I love it.
“Don’t do that? You lied to me.”
“I’m sorry, you’re just gorgeous. I can’t believe you’re here, working for my company.” I reach to stroke her cheek, but she pulls away. “What’s wrong, sweets?”
“Don’t call me that,” she barks while holding her hands out to stop my touch.
“I’m confused. Why are you acting like this?”
“Why did you tell me your name is Kade?”
“Because that’s my name.”
“You’re Oliver Braxton and you failed to mention you own the company that I work for.”
“My name is Oliver Kade Braxton. I didn’t lie to you. I gave you the name my close friends call me. And I didn’t tell you the name of my company or ask you where you work because you wanted to keep things anonymous. You didn’t exactly jump to tell me anything either.”
Jessica looks away from me, but I follow her eyes, determined to keep her focus yet trying not to be distracted by her features. Her body is beautiful on camera but divine up close. The fluorescent lighting in the hall casts a radiant glow on her smooth brown skin.
“I would never lie to you. Can you please look at me?”
She does, and tears form in her eyes. I reach out only for her to pull away again. I don’t understand what’s happening. Things were great, we were excited to see each other, but now it’s as if she’s disgusted with me. She’s the one who wanted all the secrecy. We could have avoided this a long time ago, and now she’s acting as if I broke some golden rule.
