In a Wild Moment(4)

Chapter 4

The first week hadn't gone as she had expected and now she had the party to contend with. She'd been so consumed with work that she'd almost forgotten about it. If it hadn't been for Mandy, she was sure that the others would have left her to own devices, but Mandy came and pulled her out of her office, thrusting her into proceedings. It only exacerbated the matter though, and made Scarlett feel even more vulnerable. Mandy brought them some drinks and tried to get Scarlett involved in conversations, but eventually Mandy got whisked away and Scarlett was left on her own. She stood by a group of people as they talked and she nodded, although she wasn't a part of their conversation. Eventually she moved away and got another drink. The only thing for her to do was to drink, and although it was the late afternoon she was soon feeling rather tipsy. Giggling to herself as she walked away from the mass of people that were talking, she sneaked away to a quiet part of the office where she could be alone.

Her mind was swimming in a hazy dream and a wide smile adorned her face. She found it amusing that this promotion was starting to feel in some ways like a demotion. It had only been a week, but already she was wondering how long she could endure the state of work. She knew that she was good at her job, but there was no sense in working if she wasn't allowed to perform the role she had been hired to do. She glided across the floor and made her way to the break room, where she leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. For a moment she felt like she was floating, and she almost went to sleep, but something interrupted her.

“Are you all right?” a man said. Scarlett opened her eyes and looked at him, tilting her head and shifting her body around to get a better view. She was more drunk than she thought she was, so when she thought she was appearing graceful she was actually looking rather ungainly, and the man tried his hardest to hide his amusement.

“No, I'm Scarlett,” she said, and then burst out laughing, falling against the surface of the table. She rose back up and brushed the hair away from her face, looking at the man again as he entered the room. She was struck by how handsome he was. He was tall, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that looked as mysterious as the vastness of the ocean. His body looked strong and broad. His suit was sharp, and he wore gold cuff links. His skin was milky but there was a splash of color that looked far more natural than Sam's.

“You know there's a party going on out there, right?” he said as he moved to the coffee machine. Scarlett scoffed.

“Ha, they don't want me there. I'm the new girl. They just want to keep to their own little cliques. But that's fine, I don't need them.”

“How new are you?”

“I started on Monday.”

“And you hate it already? Usually it takes people a little longer than that,” he said, pouring out a glass of black liquid. His voice was smooth and low, and when he pulled out a seat next to her and put the cup of coffee under her nose, she managed to get a brief sense of his cologne as well, which was strong enough to punch through the pungent aroma of coffee.

“It's not the job I hate. It's the people. They gave me a promotion so you'd think they'd want to hear my ideas, but whenever I bring them up, they just shoot me down and go with something else. What's the point of me being here if that's all they're going to do?” she asked, raising both her hands. She ignored the coffee for so long that the man had to physically place it in her hands, and when their skin touched a spark flew through Scarlett, meaning she wasn't only intoxicated by alcohol, but by desire too.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” he said, and placed a hand on her arm, squeezing it gently, sending a pulse of arousal through her. With glassy eyes, she looked at him for what seemed like an eternity. She traced the lines on his face, and realized that he must be older than she initially thought. He carried himself with authority and exuded a captivating charm. She couldn't look away. A powerful cocktail of feelings were sweeping through her and it was difficult for her to keep her thoughts straight. The coffee was playing with her mind too, fighting with the alcohol to sober her up, but it wasn't working yet. The break room felt vast in its emptiness but he was there, anchoring her, reminding her that she wasn't alone.

“That's not that attitude we're supposed to have here. I'm very disappointed that you've been treated in this manner,” he said, and pressed his lips together in annoyance.

“It's okay. I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I guess it's just the way things are when you start a new job… but it just reminds how alone I am. I put so much effort into my career that everything else has slipped away, and I try to tell myself that it's all been worth it. But when I look around for a friend to talk to, there's no one there, and it's just all so depressing. Especially since my parents keep telling me that I should live life properly and not pour myself into work, but I just want to be the best I can be, to push myself to the top and prove that I did something with my life. That it wasn't all for nothing, because one day I'm going to die. It could be today or tomorrow, and I want to get there before it all ends,” she said, looking and feeling morose.

“Wow, this just got real heavy real fast,” the man said. “Look, I don't know what's going on in there,” he pointed to her head. “But it seems to me like you're a determined woman, and I've always been a good judge of character. Give it some time. Keep working hard and show them what you can do. Eventually they'll see that you’re very competent and they'll have start listening to you. In the meantime, why don't you try and go out there and mingle. Maybe they're not as bad as you think they are.”

“They're worse. I'm just stuck in the office all day. None of them make the effort to see me or talk to me. Only Mandy. She's my only friend here. The rest of them just stay in their little groups and turn their backs to me. I feel like I've done something wrong, but I don't understand why they hired me if they were just going to treat me like this.”

“Okay,” he said, sighing and adjusting his position in his seat. “I'm going to tell you something that you may not be aware of. The person you replaced was named Liz. She was a woman who had been here for a long time, longer than anyone else. She'd actually mentored most of the people on this floor when they first came to work here, so everyone thought of her fondly. But unfortunately, as she grew older her performance... declined. Her mind wasn't quite what it once was so the company decided that it was time to force her to take retirement, and when she realized this, she kicked up a fuss because she didn't want to go. Everyone else on the floor sided with her, and I think there's still some bitterness about it. So it's not you they hate, because they haven't even been given a chance to know you. They would have felt the same about anyone. Just give it time and they'll come around,” he said softly.

Scarlett nodded her head, but given her state, the man wasn't sure if she understood what he had said. She swayed a little and ended up resting her head on his shoulder. He looked around at the door, but nobody was there, and when he tried to extricate himself she wouldn't let him.

“It's just all been so hard since she died,” Scarlett sighed.

“Since who died?”

“Lisa,” she said. “And why do you have to be so handsome? I finally meet a gorgeous man and it has to be at work where I don't feel like I belong and when I'm drunk. I'm probably a mess and you must think I'm some crazy woman who just pours her heart out to strangers.” She tilted her head up and her eyes caught the glare of the lights in such a way that made them shimmer. Her head was close to the man's and he could feel her soft breath against his skin. Her body was pressed against his chest, and through his shirt she could feel taut muscles. Scarlett wanted him. Her body yearned for passion and she felt that this man could give her what she needed, what she craved.

Slowly, she dragged her tongue across her lip and flashed a naughty smile at him. Tension simmered between them and she could feel his body bristle with attraction. She'd been so lonely since her relationship with Matt had ended and now this man had walked into her life like he was made from one of her dreams. There was a moment when time stood still, when nothing else mattered apart from the two of them. In the romance of the moment, they forgot that they were in the break room—they could have been on a beach with the sun glistening on their bodies, or on top of a mountain with the starry night sky as their only companions.

Scarlett tilted her head and leaned in, captured by the heat of the moment. She could hear the beating of her heart in her head. Could she feel his too? She swore it was thrumming to the same rhythm. Their eyes met until the final moment when they closed. She felt his hot breath scorch her lips as they met, and a moan escaped the corners of her mouth as their lips pressed together. Passion blazed through them and Scarlett was rendered speechless by the power of his kiss.

“Wow,” she said as they broke apart, and leaned her forehead against his. They were both breathing heavily, and Scarlett wanted more. She was hungry now, ravenous for him. She wrapped her hands around his head and kissed him deeply, frantically, as though she were a drowning, gulping for air. His hands fell against her hips and their tongues danced playfully together. Scarlett took his lower lip in between her teeth and bit down on it, sending him wild. His grip on her tightened and arousal surged through her. Never had she known such immediate, unbridled passion. The desire was uncontrollable and she was ready to give him everything.