Company Ink by E.L. Lewis

f i f t e e n

"Hello? Mom?" I prop my cell phone against my ear as I cross the street to the office. I woke up at an ungodly hour this morning, so I could make it to work an hour early to set up for the Wagner meeting. I'm so tired right now that I did the unthinkable and stopped for a coffee at Starbucks. I blame Monique for keeping me up past midnight looking through bridal magazines. I don't know why she even bothers to look at couture dresses, I know she's going to buy off the rack. But whatever, if she wants to fantasize about dresses neither of us can afford then that's fine.

"Why are you calling me so early?" I add.

"Well, good morning to you too Cassie," my mom sighs. "I saw that you were active on Facebook and decided to give you a quick call."

I've been waiting for her to finally reach out after Lucy's vague comment. Here it comes. "Okay... What's up?" I ask hesitantly. "Lucy mentioned you had some big news to share with me."

"We do!" Mom exclaims. "But your father and I would like to discuss it in person. We'll be in the city later this week. Can you meet us for lunch on Thursday?"

"Yeah, sure. That's fine," I say, pausing outside the office building.

"Wonderful! Your father and I can come to pick you up from work. I remember that there's this nifty little lunch spot right by NVP that has these delicious bento boxes."

"Oh, that place closed down," I lie, mentally thanking Lucy that she hasn't blabbed to my parents that I lost my job. "Why don't we go somewhere new? There's a great Indian restaurant on 5th, I think it's called The Pink Elephant. I can meet you there instead; there's no need for you guys to pick me up."

I've decided that I'm not telling my parents about NVP until I secure a full-time position at a different company. If my dad found out I got laid off and took a temporary position in a field that I didn't even study in, I'd never hear the end of it. I don't want to disappoint him more than I already have.

"Aw, that's too bad but okay. Can you make a reservation for 1 pm?"

"Yup. I'll call them today."

"Alright dear, have a great day."

"You too, bye Mom."

What the hell are they planning on sharing with me? They rarely come to the city during the week. I'm starting to think this 'news' might not be related to gardening anymore. I suppose I'll find out in two days.

Entering the building, I take a sip of my dark roast coffee and walk towards the elevators. Dark roast has the least amount of caffeine says the internet, which is brand new information to me, but it makes sense seeing as the blonde roast nearly put me into cardiac arrest. As I turn the corner, my body jerks from the sight in front of me, and I wince from the hot liquid splashing against my lips.

No way. Nope. Not doing this right now. It's far too early for an Adrian encounter. Why is he here? Does he always come in at this time?

As quietly as I can, I turn on my heel and tiptoe to the emergency staircase. Fifteen floors. I'm going to have to climb fifteen damn floors in order to avoid him. What has my life become?

Evidently, I'm not quiet enough because as I open the emergency door, Adrian sings from behind me, his voice laced with humor, "Cassie... what're you doing?"

Nope. I don't hear him. I'm pretending that I do not hear him. I open the door and rush inside and up the stairs. I run up the first flight and then a loud thud crashes behind me, followed by quick footsteps. I hasten my pace and climb the stairs even faster.

"Cassie, stop!" Adrian laughs, his voice bouncing off the walls. "You know I'll catch up."

God, my thighs burn and I'm not even on the third floor. I stop to catch my breath, my heart pounding out of my chest. I have a bone to pick with my yoga instructor; she told me my cardio would benefit from her classes. What a load of hooey!

"Oh, Adrian? Is that you?" I squeak, starting the trek once again. "Didn't hear you." I look over the railing to find Adrian's thick head of brown waves bobbing up and down with every step.

"Cassie, you're being ridiculous right now. Slow down before you pass out," he says, his voice louder than before. Dammit, he's gaining on me.

"I am in excellent shape!" I say, completely out of breath and panting. "This is nothing. I hiked Machu Picchu for God's sake!"

"You're not going to be able to avoid me forever, you know? I am your boss. You'll have to talk to me face-to-face at some point."

I wipe the sweat starting to form on my forehead. "I know that! I'm not avoiding you. I just uh- missed my morning workout."

"You're a horrible liar," he says, his voice clear as day. I am a fantastic liar! How dare he insult me like that! I whip my head around. Fuck. He's caught up. "Please continue walking though. I have a great view from down here."

I immediately swing my purse over my shoulder and cover my ass with my Tuscan leather bag. "Go in front of me!" I snap my fingers while pointing.

Adrian smirks and joins me by my side. "No. But I'll walk beside you. Gotta make sure you don't fall."

"Right, that's why you're here. My safety," I grunt and take a sip of my coffee. Definitely shouldn't be pumping more caffeine into my body seeing as I already feel jittery as fuck, but I don't have any water on me.

"It's true." Adrian shrugs. "I wouldn't want you to sue the company."

I look up at the sign on the wall. We're only on the 7th floor? Are you freaking kidding me? "I won't fall. I have excellent balance and stamina. You should see videos of me on the balance beam from high school. I was a natural."

"You did gymnastics?" Adrian grins, a devious look capturing his eyes. "That means you're flexible."

I scowl at him. "You really have a one-track mind, don't you?"

"Me?" Adrian grips his chest. "I'm merely stating facts."

"Mhmm." I roll my eyes, choosing to tap out of this conversation, partly because I'm having a hard time walking and talking, but also because I know where this topic will lead. "Let's go with that."

"You seem irritated," Adrian observes lightly.

Iglare at him. "Well, some might say that being chased up a staircase at 7:55 in the morning is reasonable grounds for irritation!"

"I was only chasing you because you were running," Adrian notes flatly. "Why is that by the way?"

"As I said—I missed my workout," I reply calmly, keeping my eyes affixed on the floor in front of me and not on the man that has infiltrated all my dreams.

We continue up the stairs in silence for several flights until Adrian places a hand on my shoulder, stopping us.

"Cassie," he says softly, his strikingly dark eyes meeting mine.

I let out an exhausted sigh, secretly grateful for this mini break. "What?"

"You know what." He examines me intently for a second before stating, with obvious annoyance, "We need to talk about this. I'm getting quite tired of all these games. You need to tell me what you want because this whole back and forth is getting old."

I sigh. For once, I have no clever rebuttal. No witty remark. Nothing. Because he's right. I need to decide. What do I want? Is he worth the risk? If it's just for sex, then no, he's not. If it's something more than that then... maybe? I don't know why, but the thought of just being a fling is causing my heart so much unease. It's never bothered me before but now, the idea makes my stomach churn.

"You don't do relationships," I state in a hushed tone. "Right?"

Adrian's intensely expressive eyes burrow into mine, his hand finding its way to my face, cupping it, almost tenderly.

"No, Cariño, I don't," he whispers. "But you knew that."

"Why not?" I mutter, closing my eyes, trying to pretend that his presence isn't affecting me in ways I've never felt before.

"It's complicated, Cassie," Adrian says in a low tone.

I open my eyes and stare at him with frustration. "It's complicated? That's your answer? Seriously?" There's a non-answer if I ever heard one.

"There are things that are beyond my control," he says, a hint of pain in his voice. "That's all I can say."

A dozen questions dance around my mind. What does he mean? Out of his control? This man is a walking contradiction. How can something be out of Adrian Cavallero's control? I bite my lip and lean into his touch, conflict radiating off my body.

"In that case—" I take in a sharp breath, fighting against every instinct. "I'm not willing to risk my job for you."

Adrian's jaw tightens but he continues to caress my cheek. "Is that your only hesitation?"

"Yes," I lie. Or half-lie. I'm not even sure anymore. There's a definite physical connection between us but I don't like the idea that there's no room for that to grow into an emotional one, which is something I never thought I'd feel. I'm losing it. I swallow away the lump forming in my throat. "I can't afford to lose this job. I have too much going on right now."

"I see." Adrian slowly drops his hand and takes a step back. "You realize that your position is temporary, right? You're only here for six months."

I narrow my eyes. "What are you implying?"

Adrian smirks. "I can wait."

I cock my head to the side, raising an inquisitive brow. "Really? You seemed to have shown no restraint at the club." I tap a finger against my lips. "If I recall correctly, you said something to me about patience and then a week later you said fuck it. Doesn't seem like 'waiting' is your forte."

Adrian's eyes darken. "Trust me, Cassie. That was me holding back. If I had no restraint, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

I have this primal urge to leap out and latch onto him. Everything he's saying, his gruff tone, his enigmatic energy, his confidence, fucking everything is drawing me in. Without thinking, I reach out and place my palm on his chest, taking a step closer to him. "You'd wait?" The question spills out of my mouth unintentionally, like a part of me thinks that time will change his answer.

"For you?" He leans closer to me. "Definitely." Suddenly, he rakes his hand through my hair and pulls me forward. His mouth meets mine in a wet lingering kiss, his tongue gentle but ravenous, and I don't dare pull away, savoring this moment, because I know it's probably the last for a while. When he draws back, he whispers in a raspy tone, "But can you?"

Fuck. My whole body feels like it's on fire, enveloped in blissful heat. "Yes," I peep, feeling frustrated and flushed. My heart and brain, and mouth and body, erupt, in an internal duel, and nothing makes sense anymore. Nothing.

"We'll see about that," Adrian smiles cunningly, like he knew that kiss would make me doubt my decision. Pointing to the door next to the sign that reads 10th floor, he adds, "Can we take the elevator now?"

Begrudgingly, I nod my head. "Yeah, whatever." Our conversation has drained all of my mental energy. I know I'm doing the right thing, acting like a grown-up, but I feel so incredibly shitty right now and I'm not sure why.

Adrian opens the door for me and leads me to the elevator. "What're you working on today?" he asks casually as we ride up to our office.

"There's a three-hour-long meeting with Wagner Corp this morning. Mr. Pearson asked me to sit in and take minutes," I respond flatly. He's talking to me about work right now?

Adrian visibly tenses when I say Blake's name. "He asked you to take notes?" he inquires in a low mumble. "Of course, he did."

"Isn't that what PAs are for?" I ask, confused.

"Usually, we record all meetings and get one of the administrators to transcribe the entire thing afterward." Adrian's top lip curls into a scowl. "I don't know why you need to sit in."

I shrug lifelessly. "Maybe he wants me to familiarize myself with the merger?"

"Sure, that's why," Adrian huffs just as the elevator doors open.

"Okay..." He's acting strange right now, but I don't have time to pry. "I need to go and set up the boardroom. I'll see you around?"

Adrian's somber eyes don't leave mine as he says, "I'll be waiting for you, Cassie. Just say the word."

My heart flutters ever so slightly but I tell that bitch to simmer the fuck down. I need to de-Adrianize myself for my own sanity, for my own mental health. Hell, for my damn physical health too.

"Don't hold your breath," I say quietly and head to my desk.

Monique better bake me a fucking cake for what I just did.