But he knew it was impossible. He needed to maintain a professional relationship with her. There had to be some other woman who also made him feel that way. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Hell, he didn’t even believe in love. He had spent his entire adult life sleeping with and seducing beautiful women, and not one of them had made him feel like he could spend his entire life with them.
How had this twenty something girl from Little Canada, an intern in his office, stirred these emotions in him?
Devon jumped out of bed and stared at the clock. It was only four in the morning and he hadn’t had a wink of sleep yet. He walked over to his closet, stripped down his clothes and changed into his running gear. Maybe some fresh air would clear his brain, he figured.
Belle Freedman had messed up his life, he thought now. He should be angry with her. He led a comfortable life as a confirmed bachelor, concentrating on his work and the success of his agency. He was happy that way. But now he had a taste for a different kind of happiness, and all this other stuff just seemed bland. His penthouse didn’t excite him. He had no use for his gym. He didn’t feel like going to work. He was going through all the emotions that teenagers went through, but he was forty-three years old! He should have been way past that age. He shouldn’t be feeling these feelings, for a girl he couldn’t have. For the first time, Devon felt powerless and out of control.
Devon left his apartment and took the elevators down to the lobby of his luxurious apartment building. The security guard at the door was surprised to see him that early. He smiled at the man and jogged out into the streets. The sky was still dark, the streetlights were still on and Devon began to run. He had no idea which direction he was running in, but all he wanted was to shake off that feeling.
He didn’t even want to imagine the kind of guilt that Belle was feeling. He was guilty himself, for being weak and sleeping with her. He wondered if this would ruin her peace of mind. She felt so delicate and small in his arms when he held her. He had stroked her hair and wished that he could fix everything. But he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t even have her in his arms again.
Devon plugged in his earphones and turned the music on loud as he continued to jog. He had decided he would till he was out of breath, till his chest felt like it was about to explode; so that he wouldn’t have to think about Belle and how much he missed her.
Chapter 16
Belle
Belle was hunched over her keyboard, her fingers midway in the air. She had been trying to concentrate for some time now, but her mind was elsewhere. When she looked up at the screen, she saw the cursor blinking. She had forgotten what she was about to type.
“Hey, Belle. Do you have the report ready?” Jasmine stuck her head around the cubicle, and Belle looked up with her wide brown eyes.
“Umm…give me half an hour? Please? Sorry, I got slightly delayed,” she said and Jasmine licked her lips, before disappearing without saying anything.
Belle had been working in the Brooklyn office for a week now, and she didn’t think it was going very well. Jasmine was her mentor in this office, and she could sense that she had failed to impress her. She tried hard, she tried her best…but she couldn’t help but think about Devon all day. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since that night in his office. It was obvious that he was keeping out of her way.
Susan had explained to her that she was needed more in the Brooklyn office and she would have more opportunity to learn there. It was true that she was closer to their apartment now, but the distance from Devon was only making her think about him more. Belle decided that she only needed to give it time. That with time the wound would heal. That she would be able to make amends with Jesse and move on, but it had been a week and she still couldn’t stop thinking about how Devon had made her feel.
Belle shook her head and tried to concentrate again. She forced herself to work on the new market survey, and completed it within half an hour.
She walked over to Jasmine’s desk, left it by her computer because Jasmine wasn’t at the table and then she walked out of the office. It was already a quarter past one and she knew Jesse would be waiting. They had planned on meeting for lunch.
Belle hurried, weaving through the crowds till she found Jesse sitting on the wall at the spot where they had decided to meet. They didn’t have the money to go to an actual cafe or restaurant, so they had planned that he would pack lunch for them and bring it along with him.
“Ham sandwiches!” he said with a grin and waved two foil wrapped sandwiches in the air as Belle hurried towards him.
&nbs
p; “Sorry, I got caught up at work. I only have fifteen minutes,” she said and he leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t worry about it babe,” he said kindly and handed her one of the sandwiches. Belle unwrapped the foil and took one ravenous bite of the sandwich. Jesse jumped off the wall and she noticed that he had an unusual smile on his face.
“What’s up?” she asked, realizing that she wasn’t actually interested in what he had to say. She wanted to go back to the office, sit at her desk and day dream about Devon instead.
“I got a call back from the restaurant where I dropped in my CV yesterday,” Jesse said, beaming still. Belle forced a smile on her face and nodded her head.
“That’s great news, Jesse! When do you have to go back?” she asked.
“At three today. I think I’ll get the job, babe. I told you I’ll figure it out,” he said and Belle reached over to give him a kiss.
“I know, I’m happy for you,” she said and her muscles stiffened when Jesse reached for her hand.
“I’m happy for us. We can finally start living our lives,” he said and Belle agreed. She allowed him to squeeze her hand, but pulled it away instantly on the pretext of unwrapping her sandwich.
“I’m looking forward to it. They pay well. Enough to make rent anyway. But I’m sad that we’ll be seeing each other less often,” he said and Belle pursed her lips.
“That’s normal isn’t it? It’ll take some pressure off me,” she said and Jesse’s face darkened instantly.
“I didn’t realize that you felt so pressurized,” he said and Belle shook her head.