by Lily Hayden
He frowned as if thinking and she couldn’t help admiring the crinkle of his weather-worn face. The word “rugged” jumped to the front of her mind out of nowhere and she shook the thought away, annoyed at herself.
“I ain’t seen it, sorry.” He said, showing no sign of amusement at her predicament. “Do you know your number? Wanna try calling it?”
He held out an identical phone, but without the designer phone case she used, and Taylor accepted his offering, feeling a tiny electric spark, like static, as their fingers brushed. She typed in her own number, misdialling twice with jangling nerves before it connected and they both scanned their surroundings, listening out for a buzz or a tinny ring.
“I can’t hear anything.” Taylor said at the exact same moment that Noah pushed his own finger to his lips and shushed her.
“I hear something.” He looked around expectantly, his brow furrowed in concentration, before he lowered himself to the wooden boards of the jetty.
She watched him, confused. If it had fallen down there, it would be submerged in the water and there was no way they could hear it. He peered through the slats before looking up at her.
“Ha!” He shook his head as if in disbelief. “You’re one lucky lady! Another inch and that phone would have been a goner!”
“It’s down there?” She gasped, forgetting her embarrassment and dropping to her knees next to him to look.
She made out the creamy coloured cover teetering on the lip of the frame. She slid a finger through the tiny gap, but even her slender digits were too large for the space. She looked at Noah, feeling helpless.
“Crap.”
“You definitely need it?” He asked, but there was a teasing smile in his voice.
“It’s stuck.” She sighed in frustration.
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I can get it.”
She watched, in incredulity, as he got to his feet, pulling off his shirt. She felt her mouth drop open as he revealed a strong tan chest, covered in tattoos and a smattering of gorgeous golden hair. He grinned wolfishly at her reaction as he kicked his boots off, pulling his jeans off to reveal tight, dark-coloured shorts that clung to his muscular thighs.
His self-satisfied expression was enough to snap her back to her senses.
“You can’t go in!” She yelped, forgetting herself and grabbing his arm. “It’s dangerous.”
“Maybe it’s dangerous for city boys.” He winked, not pulling away from her touch. “But it’s fine when you know what you’re doing.”
She felt a frisson of fear rise up inside her, and something else that felt a little like desire. Before she could form a sentence to object, he had slipped into the water and retrieved her phone, resurfacing in less than ten seconds. He stood next to her, dripping water onto the dry boards around them and held up the phone.
“Oh!” She was speechless. “You really shouldn’t have! That was so dangerous.”
“It’s fine.” He grinned, leaning past her to grab his jeans.
She felt her eyes unwillingly travel to the generous bulge. He followed her gaze and grinned at her.
“Is this like a hobby of yours?”
Taylor, who prided herself on having a comeback for everything, shook her head.
“Oh, God!” She covered her wide-open mouth with her hand. “I’m so…”
There was an explosion of butterflies in the pit of her stomach as Noah reached for her hand and pulled it away from her face, tugging her against his wet body. Instead of indignation, she felt desire course through her as his wet body pressed up against hers. He held her there; one strong arm pinning her against his chest and she heard a ragged breathing before she realised it was coming from her lips. She felt his free hand reach behind her and cup her ass through her jeans, and then as suddenly as he had grabbed her, he let her go and turned back to dressing as casually as if nothing had happened.
She stood stock-still, unsure whether she’d imagined it when she felt the familiar buzz of her phone. He’d put it back into her pocket. She ignored it and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something.
“Run along then.” He nodded his head in the direction of the visitor centre. “Ain’t you got stuff to do?”
Thrill Seeker
Shauna watched the hands of the wall-mounted office clock tick so slowly that it may as well have been going backwards. She noticed a few heads turn to stare at her and she realised she’d let out a loud sigh. The heads, as if in synchronisation, swivelled back to their own monitors now that their disapproval had been dispatched and Shauna forced her eyes back to the screen she should have been looking at.
God, this was boring.
After the eventful journey to Louisiana and the awkward-but-exciting first day in the offices of MLB Designs, Shauna had had high hopes for her time in New Orleans, but it seems that her summer had simply peaked to soon.
Despite her best efforts to integrate herself with Joe, a junior designer, and the rest of the open-plan office gang, she had found her temporary colleagues either extremely boring or extremely cliquey. She’d made a totally conscious effort (there was no point lying to herself) to take extra care over her appearance in the hopes of running into Armand again, but she was firmly into week two and she’d neither seen nor heard a peep from the tall, dark, handsome stranger since he’d rescued her from being sent home on the first day.
After a super boring weekend, she’d tried to come to terms with the fact that she couldn’t spend another week staring hopefully at the elevator doors waiting for him to return. She was here to gain experience and she needed to push him out of her head. She figured it would be easier to distract herself if she was at least doing something productive with her days, but Joe didn’t seem big on delegating and she had spent what seemed like an eternity, although in reality was just three days this week, watching him work over his shoulder and occasionally completing minor administrative tasks for the world’s most boring man.
The only ray of sunshine in the metaphorically grey skies of life at MLB Designs was Aaron Le Blanc, a senior executive. It turned out (after the initial mix up where he had almost sent her back to Chicago on the next flight) he was a really nice guy. He had strolled out of his impressive glass-walled corner office to come and see her not long after the frosty Sylvie had whisked her away from her steamy induction with Armand. Aaron had been genuinely apologetic about the mix-up and had taken some time to speak to Shauna about her college degree and her career aspirations. He had assured her that she would find her time here useful and had popped out to see her twice in the first week. Joe and the Office Meerkats had been ear-wigging and she’d felt too self-conscious to admit that she was finding it all a bit tedious. She vowed to herself that she would mention it next time she got a chance, otherwise, apart from having a fairly impressive company to add to her CV, she would have wasted her entire summer here.
She glanced up as the elevator doors sprung open and was bolstered to see Aaron exit. She hadn’t seen him all week and she’d heard someone mention that he and Sylvie were out of town at a conference. As if feeling her gaze from across the floor, he turned in her direction and smiled broadly.
She smiled back, grateful for any human warmth, and raised a hand in greeting. To her surprise, he crossed the short distance between them, instead of turning left towards his own office.
“Hey.” He grinned, clapping Joe almost-aggressively on the shoulder causing the man to startle. “How’s our intern getting on?”
“Mmmm.” Joe made a non-committal noise, briefly glancing up from his screen. “Fine.”
“Good. Good.” Aaron nodded, turning his attention back to Shauna.
Shauna’s first impression of Aaron had been that he bore a resemblance to Armand, but now she had taken a closer look on more than one occasion, she could see that she had been wrong. They had similar colouring: tall, dark and handsome, but Aaron was clearly older with a smattering of grey at his temples. He was a little heavier than Armand: his
body showing signs of muscle giving way to age. His eyes were nice, but they didn’t have the depth and the, Shauna paused trying to think of an adjective to describe Armand’s eyes before giving up, sexiness. He had a nice smile though, and he was the only person who had shown any signs of friendliness towards her.
“How are you finding it?” He asked her, sounding genuinely interested.
She paused, suddenly unsure of how to tactfully raise her issues now that she was being put on the spot.
Her loaded silence seemed to speak for itself and he frowned, his eyes furrowing deeply.
“Why don’t you come down to my office for a chat?” He said quickly.
Joe shot her a dirty look and she felt her cheeks start to burn with awkwardness. Reluctantly, she scampered after him to his office, ignoring the Office Meerkats and the cold eyes of Sylvie, who was holding court at the copy machine.
Aaron shut the door gently behind her and gestured to the fancy leather seat next to his desk. She obediently slipped into the chair and waited as he fussed around, removing papers from the briefcase he’d been carrying. Finally, he finished his unpacking and settled down, not into the matching leather chair behind the desk, but perching on the end of the desk. Shauna looked up at him, suddenly conscious that his crotch was level with her eyes.
“So,” He broke the silence, leaning forward so he was too close to her face for her to feel comfortable. “Everything been ok?”
Shauna felt all her bravado disappear, like the air from an untied balloon, leaving her uselessly deflated. Underneath the clamouring nerves, she felt a pang of annoyance at herself.
God, you’re a pushover. She chided herself silently. You never say how you really feel. Look what that’s got you in life. Chad walking all over you. Mikey Rosen leaving you on ‘read’ for almost two weeks. And now, wasting a golden opportunity to further your career because you’re too shy to rock the boat! Taylor and Ella would be furious!
She took a deep breath and, staring down at her own lap, she tried to force her brain to put her concerns into words.
“Well,”
That’s a start. she silently applauded herself. You can do it.
“Yes?” Aaron leaned forward, elbows on his knees, pressing his hands into a steeple.
Just fucking say it, Shauna. She could almost hear Taylor’s privately-educated accent. Her perfect enunciation made even the word ‘fucking’ sound posh.
“The thing is,” She found herself beating around the bush. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity, but, uh… It just kinda feels… What I mean to say… Uh! I’m sorry.”
She felt her cheeks flaming with mortification and she rose from the seat, careful to avoid brushing up against Aaron’s legs. She walked over to the window and looked out at the impressive views over downtown New Orleans.
“I just kinda expected to be doing a little more interesting work.” She finally managed to admit, her tone apologetic and embarrassed.
“Right.” Aaron cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I know the other intern has been with Rebecca and he’s found it all great. Was there any reason you didn’t want to stay with Armand?”
“What?” Shauna frowned in confusion at his words. “No, Sylvie told me I was to help out Joe.”
She saw a flicker of something like understanding shadow Aaron’s eyes, followed up by a slight grimace.
“Ah.” He tilted his head and regarded Shauna thoughtfully. “I see.”
Shauna felt herself growing hot underneath his scrutiny.
What? What did he mean?
She waited for him to elaborate, but he stayed seated gazing at her, too close and intense for comfort.
“I’m sorry you haven’t been finding your experience useful.” He said finally, glancing at the expensive watch at his wrist. “I’m afraid I’ve got a meeting that I need to get to, but how about we get some dinner after work and discuss this further?”
With that, he rose to his feet and moved behind his desk; his hand hovering over his phone.
Sensing that he was dismissing her, Shauna clambered awkwardly to her feet, smoothing down the back of her floaty tea-dress.
“Uh, you don’t have to do that…” She replied hesitantly.
Aaron was already tapping away at his phone and he barely glanced up at her as he replied.
“I’ll meet you in reception at 6.”
His stance, back to her, signalled quite clearly that their conversation was over, and she slipped quietly back onto the office floor to her seat next to Joe, facing the clock that seemed to move a little faster.
The staff began to trickle out after 5pm and Shauna felt herself growing more nervous as her meeting with Aaron loomed closer.
What was he going to say? She wondered. And what had he meant about her choosing to not work with Armand? Was he annoyed that she was making a fuss? What if he cut the internship short and she had to go home?
She felt the familiar knots of anxiety rising in her abdomen and, as she watched Joe start to pack away his belongings in his usual meticulous order, her skin began to feel hot and clammy with nerves. She excused herself, bidding Joe a civilised goodbye, and dashed into the staff restroom, shutting herself in a cubicle to take a moment to herself. It was a quarter to six. She had fifteen minutes to pull herself together and make a plan to deal with whatever was coming her way. She tapped out a message to the group chat, praying that Taylor or Ella would see her message and respond.
Within minutes, she had messages of both her friends, reassuring her that all would be fine.
“You better stand up for yourself!” Ella signed off. “Call me when you get home! Love ya!”
Shauna dropped her phone back into her bag and exited the bathroom stall, splashing her face with cold water from the faucet before reapplying her make-up quickly. She ran a comb through her loose red curls and straightened her dress. It was almost 6pm, and she nodded at her reflection in the mirror. She could do this. This internship had been a fuck up from the first day. If they didn’t want her, she certainly didn’t want them. Feeling more confident, she strutted towards the elevator, ready to face Aaron.
She had mentally prepared herself for both an agonisingly long wait and the humiliation of being stood up. Between her awful first day and Mikey’s lack of response to her message (and follow-up and subsequent follow-up to that!), she was almost expecting Aaron to forget about her, however he was stood at the reception desk, back to her, chatting to the unhelpful Kevin.
They both turned towards her as she emerged from the elevator and Aaron turned away from Kevin, crossing the open space to her. As he grew closer, she felt her nerves waiver as she prepared herself for his apologies that he needed to cancel, but his face lit up into a welcoming smile.
“Ah!” He smiled. “There you are. Shall we?”
Unaccustomed to being offered a man’s arm, Shauna hesitated before she took his arm, half-mortified, half-flattered at the old-fashioned gesture. She could feel Kevin’s eyes on them as they exited the glass-and-chrome structure and Aaron led her to a low, red Porsche parked in a VIP bay outside the doors. Her eyes lit up at the curves of the sleek masterpiece and she gave a low whistle through her teeth.
“Nice car.” She appraised, before lowering her body and slipping awkwardly into the passenger seat.
Aaron closed her door and walked around to the driver’s side.
“It’s a little flashy, I know.” He flashed a self-depreciating grin.
“It’s gorgeous.” She stroked the dashboard before she could stop herself.
“I’m a speed freak.” He started up the engine and they both fell quiet in appreciation of its mighty roar. “It does-“
“Zero to sixty in 4.6 seconds?” She finished before he could.
He stopped, halfway through pulling on the safety belt, a perplexed look on his face.
She laughed, forgetting her self-consciousness. This was another reaction she was used to.
“Zero to one-hundred in 9.8?”
She grinned. “I’m a massive car fanatic.”
“Wow.” He looked impressed. “You ever drive a 911?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “I’ve actually got a 1972.”
She enjoyed his predictable reaction. Mouth dropping open in surprise.
“No way!”
She giggled. “Way! It was my Grandpa’s. He couldn’t bear to part with it.”
“Is it driveable?”
“Uh-huh.” She sank back into the bucket seat, letting the exhilaration of the ride take over her senses. “It’s in mint condition.”
“That must be worth a lot.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, still unsure whether she was winding him up.
They chatted easily about cars and Shauna felt herself relax, finally comfortable talking about her favourite subject. She hardly noticed the miles churn past them and when he finally pulled into a parking lot, she felt a tinge of disappointment that the ride was over.
“I was going to suggest we get dinner, talk about how we can make your placement more enjoyable and drop you home.” He admitted, a twinkle in his eye. “But, how about we do something?”
Shauna felt a flutter of something that definitely wasn’t nerves this time and she glanced over at the controls of the Porsche.
“What are you thinking?”
“You’re going to love it. Trust me.”
He carefully backed out of the restaurant parking lot and took off on the open road. She watched as New Orleans fell away behind them and they were suddenly at a racetrack.
“No way!” Shauna’s eyes lit up with delight as she eyed the huge track beyond the chain link fence.
“Let me speak to my buddies!” Aaron pulled up against the entrance and climbed from the car.
Moments later he returned, and they drove around to an electric gate that slid open for them. A man, dressed in racing gear, ushered them through to the track. Shauna expected Aaron to stop the car and speak to him, but the man grinned and gave a thumbs up and Aaron eased the car to a starting marker.
“You ready?” He grinned at her.
She nodded, unable to keep the wide smile from her face. She was almost dizzy with the anticipation. This was her true passion. The only way this could be better…
