Something about Grayson pulled out every bit of confidence I had. Maybe it was the fact that I knew he found me attractive or maybe it was the fact that I was leaving soon. Either way, it felt like I had nothing to lose.
He stopped walking mid-step, and glared back at me. We stayed like that for a few seconds, his blue eyes warning me away as best as they could. I stayed rooted to my spot, clenching my fists and waiting for his response.
“No,” he said with a sharp shake of his head. “When I was with Nicole last night… in my bed… with her legs wrapped around my neck, I never once thought of you.”
I wanted to rear back and punch his stupidly gorgeous face. His demeanor practically begged me to, but instead, I swept up every bit of confidence left inside of me and walked up to him until I was just an inch or two away from his chest. The rounded toes of our work boots pressed together and I jabbed my finger into the center of his ribcage, hard.
“You’re such a liar, Grayson,” I declared as the tension multiplied around us.
“You know what else I am?” he asked, leaning an inch closer. I stared at his lips as he spoke. “Your boss.”
I clenched my jaw, narrowed my eyes on him for another second, and then turned away. He stayed perfectly silent as I walked away from him, heading back toward my car with emotions boiling over inside of me. My heart knocked against my ribcage as I realized there’d be consequences for the game I was playing. He was my boss, and he had major pull in this city. If I pushed him too hard, too fast, my career could be over, but something told me he was enjoying the game just as much as I was.
After all, he didn’t have to hire me, he didn’t have to be my mentor, most of all, he didn’t have to divulge the fact that he found me attractive during my interview. He could have kept that his little secret.
…
Grayson’s lover, Nicole, made an appearance in the office for another lunch-time romp later that day. As her size zero frame floated through the main room, I mentally called Grayson every nasty name under the sun. He’d called her on purpose. He wanted me to back down. He greatly underestimated me.
I turned to watch her walk toward Grayson’s office. Beatrice caught me staring and did a finger-down-the-throat gag. I smiled and winked.
“Three times in two weeks,” Peter spoke up, drawing my attention back to our table. “That’s a record.”
“What is?” I asked.
“Grayson’s lunchtime rendezvous. I’ve never seen him bring women into the office like this before,” Peter said.
I shrugged with feigned indifference and tried to get back to work. The entire time Nicole was behind his closed door, my ears picked up on any subtle noises around the office. I swore I heard her moaning, but no one else stirred so I figured I was imagining it.
Twenty minutes later, as I walked back from the break room with a cup of microwaved soup, the door to Grayson’s office opened and Nicole stepped out. Her blonde hair was more tousled than when she’d first walked in. Her red lipstick was smeared beneath her bottom lip and she tried her best to walk casually en route to the elevators, but it was clear what had happened. My stomach rolled with anger and jealousy. Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him.
Any appetite I’d had a moment before was now replaced with the need to vomit. I dropped my cup of soup into the trash bin near my desk, knowing that if I held onto it for another second, I’d hurl the entire thing at his door.
“Everything okay?” Peter asked, eyeing my poor soup now splashed along the inside of my trashcan.
“Peachy!” I answered with a fake smile before turning to Alan. “Alan. I finished my work from this morning. Do you have anything else I can work on?”
Chapter Nine
I didn’t see Grayson in the office again the rest of the week, and my confidence in his attraction to me was starting to wane. Every day, he arrived before I did and either left after I was long gone or while I was otherwise occupied. Who knows. Either way, I was two shots shy of storming into his office just to confirm he was still alive.
On Friday evening, I stood in front of my closet, incredibly annoyed that Grayson had chosen to avoid me since our little fight at the job site. Knowing him, he’d probably try to bail on dinner as well. After all, it was a dinner celebrating my new position at his company—a position he undoubtedly regretted giving me.
I sighed as I sifted through my cocktail dresses, hoping one would jump out at me and scream, “WEAR ME! I WILL MAKE GRAYSON BEG ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES.” Oddly enough, I was left on my own. I guess my clothes weren’t feeling particularly chatty that evening.