Brightly Burning Bridges by Ivy Wild
Skyler continued to surprise me.I’d thought for sure she was going to call at the eleventh hour on Friday and tell me to fuck off. It’s why I’d been hanging out in her parking lot last night like a freaking psycho stalker. Because when she made that call, I wanted to be able to convince her she’d made a mistake in person.
But she’d agreed. And she’d even fucking agreed to move to Georgetown. I’m a persistent bastard, but I really thought she’d dig in on that. I couldn’t tell if she was the same old Skyler I knew from a decade ago, or if she’d changed. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she went and did something to throw my conclusion in the air.
She’s the only woman I’d ever had to work at, then and now. I’m not sure what it said about me that I kept coming back for more.
I took a sip of whiskey-spiked coffee and flipped the page to the Financial Times. I was a total hipster about still ordering a paper. I looked up at the clock above the sink and began a sixty second countdown in my head. If she was anything like she’d been in high school, she was going to run late. And I was going to have a bit of fun before lunch. I’d even had the dogwalker take King out because I didn’t want him interfering. He was pretty senior these days but I had no doubt he’d remember Skyler.
Five minutes after the appointed time, the elevator finally opened and a timid “Uh, hello?” rang out in my condo.
“In here,” I responded sternly.
I turned towards the foyer to watch Skyler inch her way out of the elevator uncertainly. I smiled internally at her outfit. It wasn’t what I would call “professional,” but it was a good deal better than ripped Christmas leggings in February. She had a pair of navy cropped dress pants on and was wearing a flowy blouse that was so bright it looked like a Teletubby had vomited on it.
“Are you aware of the time, Ms. Jackson?” I asked, folding the paper. I didn’t look up at her.
She huffed and turned her wrist over. “It’s not my fault your doorperson wouldn’t let me in.”
In the back of my mind I knew that was a valid excuse. But I’d already paid the deposit on ruffling her feathers this morning and that bitch was nonrefundable.
“I don’t need excuses, Ms. Jackson. I need you to be on time. Do we understand each other?” I used that moment to look at her. Her pale lips had been smeared with a bright red gloss and they were currently pursed together in a way that made me want to bite the lower one and hear her gasp. “Use your words,” I said when she failed to respond.
“Yeah. Okay,” she snapped and I raised an eyebrow. She was going to be a handful, that was for sure.
I nodded curtly. “Good. I’m glad we understand one another.” I folded the newspaper and walked over to her. I smirked as I saw her eyes dart up and down my body. Try as she might, and she was trying hard, I could see the want in her eyes. My goal was to turn that into a need, hopefully without too much effort.
“Shall we?” I asked, breezing past her and pressing the elevator button. I could see her try and peer in further to my apartment, surprised that we were leaving already. “Were you expecting a tour?” I asked with a sly smile.
She blushed, the pink staining her cheeks against her pale complexion beautifully. “No!” she said all too quickly. “Where are we going?”
The elevator chimed and we both stepped inside. Her lilac and vanilla scent filled the space quickly and I clenched and unclenched the fist in my pocket to try and distract myself. This is why I generally didn’t play games with women I had a history with. Because I was in danger of getting caught up myself.
“I’m going to show you your new place.”
“Oh,” she said, surprise coating her voice. “I didn’t realize you had it set up already.”
The doors opened and we made our way through the lobby. “Morning sweetheart,” I said with a wink to the receptionist as we made our way out the door. I didn’t hang around for her response.
“Do we need to take the Metro?” Skyler asked, which was a laughable question.
“I don’t take the Metro, Skyler,” I said, looking left and then right at the street in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her make a face and I added, “and now, neither do you.”
She huffed. She was exceptionally good at it. “How do you expect me to get around, Silas?”
“Come on,” I said, indicating for her to follow me across the road. “Take a cab and expense it.” When we made it to the other side, I opened the door to the building in front of us and she furrowed her brow, giving me a confused and slightly pissed off look.
“Silas,” she said slowly, not walking through the door. I shrugged and walked inside, letting the large pane of glass close behind me. She caught it at the last moment, slipping in and quickening her step to catch up to me. “Where are we going?”
“I told you, to your new place.”
Her eyes widened. “I told you I didn’t want to live—”
“Under me. Yes, I do recall the specific phrase you used. Noted. You’ll be living beside me.” We stopped in front of the elevators and I pressed the button, my exterior as calm as ever. I knew she’d be pissed about this. But she’d agreed to live in an apartment in Georgetown. And I just so happened to own the top floor of the building next to mine because, quite frankly, I didn’t like the idea of anyone being able to peer into my apartment. So, I’d decided not to sell that particular unit.
I suppose I should have wondered more about why I was okay with Skyler living next to me. But I rationalized it away that Skyler wasn’t some stranger.
The elevator opened and I stepped inside, not waiting for my bratty assistant to follow. The doors began to close and she yelped and slipped inside for a second time. I pressed the button for the top floor and glanced at her.
“You know, when you open and close your mouth like that, you look like a fish out of water,” I chuckled.
She shut her jaw with a click and crossed her arms over her chest. “This wasn’t what we agreed.”
I laughed. “Oh yes. Yes it was. Just say thank you, Ms. Jackson. If you fight me on every single thing, our working relationship is going to suffer.”
For the first time the entire morning, she kept in stride with me as we exited the elevator. Those pale lavender eyes of hers opened wide as she looked around. This unit’s views of the Potomac were partially obscured, but they were still pretty decent. I’d had the place decorated a year ago, thinking I would turn it into a rental, before I realized I didn’t want someone being on the same level as me. So, except for a monthly cleaning, it’d sat vacant all this time.
But, I’d hired the best interior designer and by that I meant one that listened to my suggestions, so the place was well appointed. I watched as Skyler walked through the kitchen, running her hands along the white quartz and stainless steel appliances. I made my way over to the living room and past the beige leather sofa. I motioned for Skyler to follow me and another first for the morning occurred when she followed instructions without talking back.
“It’s a two bedroom,” I explained. “The first door is your office, the second your bedroom.”
She peered past me into the office before standing up straight and fixing me with an intense stare. “Did you plant cameras in this place?”
Her question caught me completely off guard and I let out a genuine laugh. It felt strange, but not in a bad way. “No,” I said, finally catching my breath. “I did not plant cameras in the place, Skyler. Quite sure if I did, you could haul my ass to court for all I’m worth. Your dignity is safe.”
She hesitated a moment, as if considering what I’d said, before nodding her head. “I’m sorry I had to ask.”
“I never said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind,” I teased and she rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.
We made our way back out to the living room and she pointed to my building across the street. “So you’re really intending me to live right across from you?”
“Yep,” I said, taking a seat on the leather sofa. I looked up at her with a shit-eating grin. “Objections?”
She let out a dramatic sigh and took a seat opposite me on the sofa. “None for now. So, where is your office?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling my phone out of my pocket to check emails. Three back to back emails from Bob were sitting at the top of my inbox and I internally groaned.
“I mean, where do you go to do work every day?”
I furrowed my brow. “I don’t have an office, Skyler.”
“How can you not have an office?” she exclaimed. “Where does all your mail get sent?”
I didn’t look up but I waved my phone in the air. “To various receptionists at the various companies I own who scan and email it to me.”
“So where do you get work done?”
I continued scrolling through the rest of my emails, nothing else catching my eye. I looked back up at her. “Wherever I happen to be.”
“No wonder you need an assistant,” she muttered under her breath.
“Well, now that your office will be so close, I imagine I’ll be getting a lot more work done here,” I said coyly. I wondered if she’d take the bait.
“Here?” she replied with an audible gulp.
“Yes, here.”
She closed her eyes briefly. I could almost feel how frazzled her nerves were and I figured I’d had my fun for the morning at her expense. “But, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I’m generally quite busy with meetings and conference calls I have to attend.”
I saw her sigh and nod her head. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, before she finally spoke up. “Can you tell me what sort of work I’ll be doing for you?”
I shrugged. “If I need something, I’ll email or call you. I’ll have the company receptionists start forwarding documents to you so you can organize them, instead of me.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, her attitude seeming to perk up a bit at my description. I wondered just what she thought I was going to ask her to do that had her so worried. My guess was that the last real “executive” job Skyler had was actually when she was doing homework for me. Maybe she was just nervous and a part of me wanted to put her at ease.
I started scrolling through emails on my phone again as the silence stretch on between us.
“Why are you doing all this, Silas?” she finally asked, breaking the quiet.
I didn’t look up at her. If I met her gaze, I’d have to be honest. And I hadn’t really figured out why I was doing half the things I was doing right now. And that made me immediately uncomfortable. Because I always had a reason for my actions. I cleared my throat, trying to cover up my delay in responding. “Because I need an assistant who is available to me at all times.”
“You could have hired any number of women to fill that role, Silas.”
I smirked. “You’re right. I did briefly consult my Binders of Women, before deciding to go with you. So congrats on that.”
“Yeah, but,” her voice shrank. “I guess, just never mind,” she said, giving up on her question.
Her attitude shift had me wanting to comfort her and that was my red flag. I needed to be as far away from Skyler as possible at the moment. I stood abruptly and made my way to the elevator. She scrambled to her feet to try and follow me but I put up my hand. “I’ve got to get going. Go ahead and hire a moving company to get your stuff sent over. There’s a company credit card in your desk drawer you can use to cover the costs.”
“Silas—” she tried to call out after me, but I was already inside the elevator, pressing the “close door” button and trying to remain calm.
When I stepped outside into the cool, fall air, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my beating heart. I clutched at my chest, in complete shock that it was still there.
