Be My December(22)

 

The moment the elevator door opened I hurried in and Josh followed in close pursuit. He hit the ground floor button and stood back against the wall, an awkward silence falling between us. Thankfully we didn’t stop until we reached the ground floor.

 

The moment the elevator door opened, I rushed toward the glass doors with the promise of escape within reach. My eager steps halted and I froze on the spot as a voice wrapped itself around me and caressed my very soul. It floated through the air like the perfect song and was a voice I couldn’t forget.

 

My eyes darted through the foyer as the need to find the owner of the voice hit me. My need to escape fading as my gaze locked onto a man with broad shoulders, a slim waist, and chocolate brown hair. Covered in a crisp white shirt and form fitting charcoal grey trousers, he paced in front of the Andy Warhol art work of Marilyn Monroe that I had been transfixed on earlier.

 

His phone was glued to his ear and his velvet smooth voice rose and faded as the conversation obviously grew heated and then resolved. My eyes roamed unashamedly over his body. He was the epitome of confidence and charisma. His stance showed ownership and determination while the slouch of his shoulders indicated frustration and fatigue. As my eyes took him in, I stiffened as something so unusual hit my body, something that I had refused to accept and experience in so many years; a want, a need assaulted my senses and terrified and exhilarated me all in one heartbeat.

 

Josh laughed beside me and the man under my watchful gaze spun around quickly.

 

Shit!

 

Familiar hazel eyes bounced furiously between Josh and I and a new desire to run hit me. His jaw flexed and he ceased talking into the phone held up to his ear and narrowed his eyes on me with a darkened intensity that stole my ability to breathe. As he stared at me, it felt like the world around me failed to exist and he looked so deep inside me that all of my secrets were being presented to him on a platter. I watched his mouth as he spoke quickly before ending the call abruptly. With wide strides he crossed the room toward where Josh stood beside me with a smirk twisting on his lips.

 

“We were supposed to meet at three thirty.” He muttered and tore his gaze from mine and glared at Josh with a force that transformed his eyes from a beautiful hazel to darkened chocolate brown that matched Josh’s.

 

“Eden Rivers, I’d like to officially introduce you to Ky Crawford.” Josh waved his hand effortlessly between the guy formerly known as Crawford and me. My body stiffened and I lost the ability to speak. Ky’s eyes softened momentarily at my shocked expression while his perfectly pout mouth stiffened into a tight line. “Ky is the Marketing Manager of Anderson Publications, my less cooler than me older brother and as we all know your knight in shining armor.”

 

Shit! Fuck! Bullshit!

 

Finding my voice and silently demanding my confidence to return I held out my hand warily. “I had no idea.”

 

Ky shook my hand firmly and when he spoke, his words were laced with animosity. “I knew all along.”

 

He dropped my hand dismissively and stormed through the open space of the foyer. My eyes were glued to his retreating figure and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. My head swirled with disbelief. How did I not put two and two together? Who would call their child Crawford anyway? The look on his face when I was called out would be engrained within me for a long time. He glanced over his shoulder at me quickly before he fell into hushed conversation with the young woman who had greeted me earlier. My heart beat so erratically in my chest that I was sure Josh could hear the thumping.

 

“I’ll text you later Eden,” he said softly with a subtle shake of his head. “I’ll get your number from Lauren.”

 

I had barely made it out of the building and into the craziness of New York City before my phone’s constant buzzing from within my bag grabbed my attention.

 

Tori’s name flashed on the screen and her excited voice shattered my hearing when I clicked to accept the call. “Eden, tell me everything. What did they offer?”

 

Leaning against the glass walls of the building, the air of New York City was hastily chilling around me. Late November had hit and it was only a matter of time before the air you breathed shattered your lungs and the beautiful spectacular of December in New York City would arrive, something I had missed so much during my time away. I listened as my best friend rattled off a million questions, never allowing me the chance to answer.

 

I looked back at the vast double doors, and my heartbeat returned to normal although my sense of unease was sky high. My nerves had disappeared and had been replaced by frustration. A confidence I had longed to have was now gripping me fiercely. “I feel like I should go back in there and apologize for rushing out and find out if Ky Crawford actually wants me to work for them. God I’ve probably just completely fucked this up. ”