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“Why did you call me that?”
Embarrassment heats my cheeks. Crap, I shouldn’t have told him that. The look on his face is serious, like he’s not sure if he can trust me anymore.
My mouth opens, then closes as I try to find the words to describe my first impression of him. I don’t want to completely humiliate myself. “Umm, well, I called you that because when I first saw you, you reminded me of Captain America.”
“Captain America? Like from those Marvel movies?”
“Yeah. But you know,” I made a sweeping gesture towards his jaw. “Just with more scruff. And maybe a better body. But the hair and bone structure is spot on.”
A quick burst of laughter has his entire expression changing. His green eyes go soft again. It’s almost like he’s relieved by my answer.
“Should I know who you are? Did we already do introductions and I’m blacking out?”
His eyes dart back and forth across my face, trying to detect… something. I’m not sure.
In a low mumble he says, “No. We haven’t met officially. Grant Helms.” His hand comes out to grasp mine. Not shake it, just hold.
Right at that moment the lights come back on to their full brightness. There’s a low hum, a jerk, and then we’re moving again. The ding of each floor becoming my second favorite new sound. The first being the way Grant says my name.
The floor numbers keep rising without incident and I’m counting down the seconds until we get to our destination. I don’t care if it will take me a full fifteen minutes, I’m taking the stairs down. I’m done with elevators for the next little while. On shaky legs, I push myself up, reaching for all my bags and boxes when I feel ready.
“I got ‘em.” Grant grabs the four pastry boxes from my arms. Leaving me with only the bags again. With his help I don’t have to line the bag handles up my arms anymore, which is a huge blessing.
“Thanks,” I say, right as the doors slide slowly open.
The lobby of this floor is stunning. My eyes squint at all the natural light that hits me as I walk off the elevator first. Airy and bright, the main reception area is welcoming but holds an underlying current of intimidation. The dark navy blue accents with floor-to-ceiling windows are beautiful and strong. There is greenery on both sides of me as I take tentative steps forward, not sure if this is the right place to bring donuts to.
“What the hell took you so long?” A snide voice says from the huge desk to the right of the elevator doors. I almost can’t see her past the potted plants that guard the doors.
“Sorry?” I say without thinking. What is she talking about? A woman with bleach blonde hair and a tight burgundy dress, steps around the plants. Glaring at me, she places her hands on her hips in exasperation and taps one of her stilettoed toes.
“Security called me, like, an hour ago letting me know you were here. You took your sweet ass time.” I’m stunned speechless. Was this woman for real? The attitude on her was really something. She clearly doesn’t like my silence. “Hello, delivery girl. Are you dumb?” She throws her hands up in exasperation.
“The elevator stopped.”
She ignores my statement, instead walking around the desk she was sitting at. “Just get your ass intothatboardroom and set everything up.” She extends a long arm, pointing to a door down the sleek hallway.
“But setting up isn’t part of my—” I’m cut off when she throws her head back and growls through her teeth. She even stomps her once tapping foot. The shock I was feeling about being trapped in an elevator is slowly being eclipsed with anger. Man, my emotions were a rollercoaster today.
“You useless waste of space. You need to—.”
“What did you just say?” Grant steps out from the elevator bay, his face hard with anger.
I watch as the sneer on Bitchy Barbie’s face falls and her body goes rigid. “Mr. Helms. I didn’t see you there.”
“Why should you seeing me matter? Is this how Battlements treats guests?”
“Of course not Mr. Helms. It’s just…she’s not…can I take you to Beckett’s office?”
“No, I’ll find my own way in a moment. I’m going to help Lexi set these pastries down.”
With that he starts to walk down the hallway towards the boardroom. I curl my lips over my teeth trying to hide my smile. She definitely deserved that, but I’m not going to say it out loud. Giving Bitchy Barbie one last wide-eyed look, I follow after Grant.
That was insane!I’ve never seen anyone go pale with shock and fume red at the same time. That’s a memory I will not be forgetting anytime soon. Another thing I won’t be forgetting is Grant’s tight ass in front of me. I thought I’d gotten a good look at it last night in gym shorts but wow. Up close it was even better. My eyes are locked on the swaying plump cheeks and I’ll admit I’m blindly following him towards the boardroom. When his butt turns, so do I. I’m only snapped out of my haze when he stops abruptly, making me almost crash into him, and catches where my eyes are looking.
A single brow goes up in question. I shrug. Not going to apologize for what’s so blatantly out there.
“Here’s good,” I say to him, pointing to a table to the side with my elbow. He doesn’t say anything, just follows my lead. Placing the boxes down, I hum in relief and stretch my arms, doing a shoulder dance in happiness. The muscles protest but I keep on dancing.
