It was that thought that kept me up half the night. I spent my school years convinced that once I was out into the real world of adulthood, I stood a better chance of finding a man who didn’t immediately expect sex.
But what if I was wrong all along? Were those the days that a woman could play hard to get and get away with it? Was I already too late?
When I voiced those questions to my mom, all she answered with was a solemn, “You won’t know unless you ask, will you?”
The swing from scolding to enabling this stupid crush threw me for a loop, leaving me more confused than ever. With a huff, I pushed my blankets off and hopped out of bed.
If I couldn’t sleep, I was at least going to make the most of my time. With that thought in mind, I headed into the kitchen and dug out my cleaning supplies.
By the time Monday morning rolled around my apartment was clean from top to bottom, but I still hadn’t figured out what to do about my inappropriate feelings for Mr. Wolfe. Going through the employee handbook Janice had given me hadn’t helped manners.
Interoffice relationships weren’t forbidden in the strictest sense of the word, but they were generally discouraged. There was also a line in the rules about dating those higher in station than you, which was strongly discouraged and grounds for firing if deemed problematic.
Considering Mr. Wolfe was at the top of the food chain and I was a lowly assistant, I was certain that pursuing him would qualify as problematic. At least if I understood the rules correctly.
“I’ll never know if I don’t ask,” I muttered.
“You talking to me?”
I jerked my head to the side and apologized to the woman sitting beside me on the bus. She gave me a look like I’d lost my mind, muttering under her breath that everyone from New York was a basket case.
I was secretly pleased to have been mistaken as a native even though I probably should have been offended.
After spending the rest of the ride to work psyching myself up to ask Mr. Wolfe for clarification of the rules, it was devastating to discover he’d be gone most of the day with meetings outside the office. While I was dropping my lunch into the fridge, Jeremy informed me that he had already come and gone.
It was without question the slowest work day yet. I spent the entire day distracted—screwing up simple coffee runs as I kept a watchful eye on the entrance, hoping to see his tall frame come into view. I somehow managed to get through the day without any major catastrophes like spilling coffee on another coworker.
By the final hour of the day, I was a mess. The day was rough from start to finish—both physically and mentally draining.
That’s when I finally saw him.
He had come in the front and lingered at Janice’s desk, speaking softly to her while the rest of the workers buzzed around like nothing was different. I was frozen across the way, watching him with a strange pain in my chest.
He looked exhausted. I instinctively knew that something had gone wrong and whatever kind of bad day I had was nothing in comparison to what he had gone through.
Just as I was pushing away the urge to go speak to him for another day, he looked up and his eyes sought mine, freezing when they landed on me.
He smiled and my heart thudded hard.
Yes. He was the one I wanted. There was no doubt in my mind.
The only question left was how to go about getting him. The first step was making sure it was possible, which would hopefully be easier now that he had taken the files Janice was holding out to him and making his way toward me. I met him halfway, falling in line beside him before he had a chance to come to a stop.
“Can I speak to you privately?” I asked, darting my gaze around the area to make sure no one overheard and got the wrong idea.
He nodded and led me to his office in silence, closing the door behind me after I brushed past him. We made eye contact again and I stared up at him admiringly.
He really was the most handsome male I’d ever seen. I couldn’t even think of a celebrity that I found more attractive.
“Mallory?”
I swore he leaned toward me and I caught myself as I started to rise on my tiptoes. It took some serious force to flatten my feet and step back, creating some distance between us.
“I-I had a question about something I saw in the handbook.”
I didn’t miss the way his body stiffened and I had the sneaking suspicion it was because I called attention to our situation. He cleared his throat and waved to his desk, taking his seat behind it and reaching into a drawer while I sat down.
“What’s your question regarding?” he asked as he flipped open the handbook.
“The, uh... The part about interoffice relationships.”
His body didn’t move, but his eyes flew up to mine. It was startling how intently he was staring at me while his hands slowly closed the book.