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With a small frown, he notices the refusal to call him by his first name.
“Get to work.”
“Yes, sir!”
I blink away my tears after closing the door quietly behind me, even though I ache to slam it to show my frustration.
“It was that bad, huh?” Susan asks sympathetically.
Afraid I might burst into tears, I nod and reach for my jacket on the coat hanger.
“You should have told him why you came late. Don’t allow him to ride roughshod over you.”
I stare at her as if she’s speaking an alien language. Is she trying to get me sacked? To make it worse, her words send a sensual image running through my mind. Riding Gareth’s dick has plagued my dreams twice.
Susan places a hand on my shoulder. “You’re one of the hardest working women I know. You deserve some slack now and again. So what if you came a few minutes late? You’ve been here early every day of the week. You have been here on Saturdays, too. So, I see no reason why he couldn’t overlook the slight lapse in time management today.”
I nod as I understand what she’s saying, but the fear of further igniting his anger and losing such a lucrative job stops me from going back into his office to tell him what I think of his highhandedness. No matter how hard I work, he will always be cross with me.
Is it because I’m a woman? That isn’t right. I’ve never seen him cross with Susan, Jackie, or other women who work here. The way I react to him must irritate him. I have to stop being so jumpy around him. But I can’t help it. He’s the first guy I’ve wanted to do smoking hot things to in bed. But I can’t keep doing this to the detriment of my job.
Mom would lose the house, and Melissa would have to wait tables after class instead of studying. Yeah, I could get another job, but not one paying such a high salary. The competition out there is fierce. My attraction for Gareth has to die a natural or a forced death, but it has to be gone.
“You’ve got to stand up to him the way I did one morning, or he’ll keep treating you like a schoolgirl.” Susan pats my shoulder and moves away.
“Thanks, Susan. I’ll summon up the courage someday.”
“Good luck,” she remarks with a warm smile and goes into his office, holding a file.
As I walk past Alex’s desk, he whispers, “Me thinks the boss has the hots for you.”
I frown heavily at his absurd assumption. I laugh and walk out of the office, shaking my head. I’m convinced the only reason Gareth hasn’t dismissed me is that we’ve come so far on the project. He treats me like an unruly child. Alex is clueless. Hopefully, after this project, I won’t have to work closely with Gareth again.
Undoubtedly, I’ll miss seeing him every day, but then, I’ll have peace of mind working with others. As I settle at my desk in my office, I make a mental note to always remain professional with him. Even if it chokes me to death.
CHAPTER6
GARETH
I’m only going to find out what she’s up to and what progress she has made with the security software. I’m not going there because I haven’t seen her all day,I try to convince myself as I stroll down the corridor toward Hailey’s office.
I’d been caught up with meetings concerning other projects, and I hadn’t set eyes on her today. I tell myself that it’s because of the project, but deep down, I know that it’s because I yearn to see her. Despite my resolve to get her off my mind, I haven’t been able to do that. It meant acting like an ogre towards her, which doesn’t speak well of me, but it’s the only mechanism I have not to draw her into my arms and kiss her senseless whenever we’re alone in my office. The temptation keeps rising daily, and, for the first time in my life, burying myself in various projects doesn’t distract me from lustful fantasies.
A few days ago, I nearly gave into temptation when I caught a glimpse of her creamy breasts encased in a lace bra. Lord! It had taken everything in me not to push back my chair, stride over to her, and bury my face in them. Sheer willpower had stopped me from locking the door, lifting her tight skirt up to her waist, and tearing off her panties… if she had any on.
I take deep breaths as the stimulating image makes me rock hard. Anger had come to my rescue, and I’d bitingly told her off even though the horror in her eyes showed me she hadn’t realized her button was unfastened.
Since then, I’d noticed her uneasiness around me had reduced. Funny enough, I missed it. Although quite annoying, I usually enjoyed watching the blush on her face whenever she fumbled.
Now, she appeared calm, relaxed, and collected, exactly like I wanted my employees, but it irritated me. I had no excuse to snap at her over every little thing. And if I was being sincere with myself, I’d been angry I didn’t see her when I came into the office that day. Every morning on the drive from my Upper West Side townhouse to my office building, I looked forward to seeing her. Seeing her nervously smiling face had replaced my morning cappuccino. And I had reacted badly to her absence.
At the door to her office, I put on my game face and knock briefly. Hailey is staring into her laptop with a pencil in her mouth, another in her tussled hair, and papers scattered on her desk. Empty candy wrappers are in the bin and beside it. The messy environment immediately bothers me. I appreciate order.
It takes her a few seconds to acknowledge my entry. She probably thinks it’s someone else. Finally, her eyes shift from the screen to me, and she stiffens. I enjoy watching her reaction to my presence in her office for the very first time. Swiftly, she rises to her feet.
Our eyes meet and hold for seconds on end. Something strange passes between us before I snap my gaze from her flushed face.
“Er… I didn’t expect to see you here,” she mutters and attempts to tidy up the desk while I pointedly stare at it. “I get a little messy when I’m working.”
