It wasn’t right there. It was so far from there I wanted to scream.
Bob waltzed back in after lunch and asked if I needed help. I told him I had it.
I didn’t have anything, and I damn well knew it.
Just past seven, Steven clapped me on the shoulder to announce we could do dinner another day because he had to get home. I had to get home too, but I couldn’t leave without ironing out this contract.
Gloria was the last to shut down her computer other than me. She glanced at Jett’s office, but he didn’t seem to pay her any mind because she spun on a heel and left. I expected that from her now. She didn’t waste niceties on anyone. Everything she did was calculated. Effective. Almost robotic.
Another hour passed. The glow from Jett’s office beckoned to me while I sat at my desk, letting my screen be the only sign of life in the office space. I reworked the whole clause in the contract. I sighed. If Bob could do this, I could do this too. Except I didn’t have his expertise or all those years of experience.
Why had I said I could do this?
A notification sounded on my laptop, and I looked to the corner of my screen.
Jett: Go home.
Me: I’m still working.
Jett: On something Bob can finish for me in .2 seconds tomorrow. You’re wasting company time and company time is money.
Me: I’m salaried.
Jett: Go home.
Me: Look, I’m working on a few things. If I can’t iron it out in the next hour, I’ll talk with Bob tomorrow.
The lightfrom his desk clicked off. His entire office in the glass fortress went dark and the city lights flooded in. My body hummed, my heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings, and the part of my mind where I told myself Jett was never an option turned off.
One of the glass doors opened and Jett walked out, navy suit jacket over his shoulder and the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up. He glided down the stairs like a man so comfortable in his environment it had become part of him.
He’d married himself to the job and it showed. Every person respected his drive, his accomplishments, his unrelenting determination to work harder than every other businessman out there. His employees sat up taller when they encountered him, his clients’ jaws dropped when he reported quarterly numbers, his competitors bowed down when he went up against them. His presence alone mirrored that of a stallion in the wild, rare and magnificent.
“Victory.” My name rolled off his lips like a command. “I’m tired. Turn off your computer.”
“As you should be after flying around the country. I’m finishing up here, but Gloria showed us how to leave with our FOBs. So, no worries. I won’t be here too much later.” I scanned him. His forearms flexed, and my thighs clenched in response. I wanted to feel them around me again, near me again, even a brush of skin would probably hold me over until Steven and I went on a date.
And I had to go on a date with Steven because Steven was serious. He wanted more than just sex.
I did too. I squeezed my eyes shut to ward off the temptation in front of me and then glared back at my computer screen. I intended to conquer this godforsaken sentence. He must have finally given in because I heard his footsteps retreat, and I smiled to myself.
Without him in his office looking down on me and no one waiting on me to finish, I had all night to figure it out. The lack of pressure instantly motivated me. I’d approach the contract from fresh angles, rework the structure of it, form something new and better. All parties would benefit and walk away happy.
I started typing away with more targeted strokes, hit every key with pizzazz. All I had needed was some space.
A loud pop sounded. I yelped as my screen and all the lighting went dark. I glanced around, but my eyes didn’t adjust that quickly to the shadows.
I tried to restart my computer, but nothing happened when I pressed the button.
I reached for my desk lamp and knocked something over. I gasped at the clatter, and then I heard a rustling from behind me.
I whipped around and grabbed the first thing within my reach. My stapler would make a decent weapon, right?
“Hello?” I said, my voice strong. Whoever stood in the darkness couldn’t possibly see my hand shaking, I told myself. I inched away from my desk, navigating slowly to the door in order to put distance between myself and that noise.
“Pix,” Jett sounded amused as he stepped into the light that cascaded in from the window.
“Are you afraid of the dark?”