by J. S. Cooper
"Go up to the top floor. He has the entire floor."
"Of course he does." I laughed and licked my lips nervously. "He wants me to go now?"
"Yeah. I guess so."
"Okay." I headed towards the elevator and pulled out my phone. I saw that I had a text from Anwir. I opened it as I waited for the elevator to arrive.
I thought about your ass all night.
Free tonight?
I stared at his texts and rolled my eyes as I walked into the elevator. What an idiot. I pressed the button to go to the top and wondered what I would say to my new boss. How did I tell the CEO of the company that I only meant to write the email to vent because of his ridiculous demands? Maybe I can say I was pranking him because I thought it was April 1st? No, that was stupid. Too stupid to even mutter out loud. I was dead. The ping of the elevator alerted me to the fact that I’d arrived at my destination. I stepped out of the elevator and walked to the desk that was standing slightly to the left.
"Good morning," An elderly woman smiled at me. "Can I help you?"
"I’m Marcia Lucas, I, uhm, just joined the executive team and was told Mr. Winchester requested to see me."
"Oh sure." The lady pushed the glasses up her nose. "One moment please." She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button. "Hello, Mr. Winchester, I have a Marcia Lucas here saying you wanted to see her? Yes, certainly." She placed the phone back down and stood up. "Mr. Winchester said to show you to his office, so this way please." I nodded and followed her down a small hallway; she knocked and then walked away.
"Come in," a deep voice sounded through the door and I swallowed hard. I was so dead. I walked into the office and saw a tall man looking out of the expansive windows. His back was to me and he was wearing a charcoal gray suit. "Ms. Lucas?" The voice was gruff, but yet still he didn’t turn.
"Yes, it is I." I licked my lips. "Look, I can explain. I think there’s been some sort of misunder..." My words trailed off as he turned around. "You." My jaw dropped as I stared at the handsome face in front of me. It was Green Eyes. "Anwir?" I frowned.
"Liar." He said as he stepped closer to his desk.
"No, I wasn’t lying. I was..." I chewed on my lower lip.
"No, that’s what Anwir means." He grinned. "It’s a Welsh name and it means liar."
"So, your name isn’t Anwir?" I blinked, trying to process everything.
"No, it’s not." He walked towards me and stopped a mere yard from me. "Surely you recognize me, Marcia?"
"Uhm...." I chewed on my lower lip.
"Aren’t you in my close circle? In fact, don’t I look at you as a daughter?"
"Well, I didn’t exactly say that..." I was starting to hyperventilate. How could this be happening? "Finn?"
"Yup, The Yeti himself." He grinned, his green eyes mocking me. I stared at his face in shock. How did he look so different? He’d lost about twenty years. But then I realized the unkempt beard must have aged him.
"Well, I didn’t mean that..."
"What? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed. "Or maybe the cat for your $60,000 corporate credit card?"
"You should have told me." I pointed at him, my face bright red. "You knew all along."
"Well, not when I first said hello. I thought you were a normal woman then." He shrugged. "It didn’t take me long to figure out you were just a disgruntled woman with issues who also likes to lie...a lot."
"What was last night about then?" I glared at him.
"I wanted to have a laugh." He chuckled. "I figured two could play the acting game."
"I wasn’t an asshole to you though."
"Oh yeah?" He winked. "I mean you did say in your email that I would be so lucky as to see your fine ass...so I was hoping that last night my dreams would come true."
"What would you have done if I would have said yes?" I glared at him. "What if I’d let you come back to my place. Would you have told me?"
"I was fairly certain that wouldn’t happen." He shook his head. "The way your eyes were shooting daggers at me. To be honest, I was surprised you even agreed to the drink."
"I knew I should have avoided you." I sighed. "The good looking ones are always drama."
"You can say that again." He crossed his arms and stared at me with a pointed look. "No one told you to lie and say you were the President of Marketing. Imagine my surprise when my brand new temp was going around telling strangers all about me and my business."
"I mean, I was just..." I paused. There was nothing that I could say that would put this in a positive light. I had definitely messed up. "So am I fired?"
"I don’t know yet." He shook his head as he studied my face. "You did take the tests and sign the contracts not to seduce me."
I rolled my eyes as he smirked. So green eyes was Finn Winchester. I just couldn’t believe it.
"So you knew?" I glared at him. "You knew it was me and that’s why you made me do those ridiculous tests and sign that ridiculous contract?"
"Maybe, maybe not." He ran his hands through his silky dark brown hair. "You seem the sort that would try and have her wicked way with me, so I just had to let you know that I’m off limits." He licked his lips and grinned as my jaw dropped.
"Trust me, I don’t want you." I could feel that my entire body was hot and bothered and the devil inside of my hand was calling me a liar. I wanted to tell him off. I wanted to kiss him, then slap him and walk out of the office with my head held high, but I needed the paycheck. I literally needed every cent that was coming. Susie would not be impressed if I was fired now.
"Sure, you don’t."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"Because it was fun listening to you talk." He shrugged. "Plus you’re funny. You’d be funnier if you weren’t a liar, but still, I enjoyed our interactions."
"You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?" I sighed as I stared at him. "You just look so different."
"It’s amazing what a good razor, a haircut and some well fitted suits can do for a man."
"I guess so." I nodded, trying not to notice just how well those suits were fitting his body.
"I bet you want me to buy you a drink now though, huh?" He gave me one of his self-assured grins and I remembered why I’d initially thought he was a cocky bastard. "Debating whether or not you can have another chance with me?"
"You can kiss my ass, Finn." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Shit, I really wanted to be out on the streets.
"Is that an offer, Marcia?" He raised a solitary eyebrow as he took another step closer to me.
"Is what an offer?" I took a step back.
"Are you asking me to kiss your ass?" His eyes peered at me as if he were asking me the most important question in the world. "Or would you prefer me to bite it?"
"That’s...that’s not an appropriate question."
"I think you crossed the line of appropriateness a long time ago, Marcia."
"So where do we go from here?" I folded my arms. I was not going to let him intimidate me. Yes, I’d messed up, but I needed to know what was going to happen now.
"You tell me?" He pulled out his phone. "There’s a Hilton a few blocks from here."
"A Hilton?" I paused. "The hotel?"
"Bingo!"
"A hotel?" I shook my head. "You think I’m going to go to a hotel with you? You think I’m just going to say, sure Finn, let’s go and get down and dirty and..."
"Marcia..." He shook his head. "Did you do any research on my company before applying for a job here."
"Of course I did."
"Well then you would know that I am in talks with Hilton to be one of their suppliers of linens." He stared at me with a stern expression. "I have a meeting today with the general manager of the local Hilton to visit the different suites. I thought perhaps you would want to come and take notes...seeing as you were hired to my executive team."
"Oh." I didn’t know what to say. "So I’m not fired?"
"Not yet." His lips twitched. "Though t
hat can be arranged."
"Uhm, that’s okay." I brushed my hands down the front of my skirt to smooth it down. "I can go to my office and grab my notebook and a pen and we can get to work right away, Mr. Winchester."
"Not calling me Finn any longer?"
"I don’t think that’s professional, do you?"
"I don’t mind being unprofessional." He grinned.
"Let’s get one thing straight Mr. Winchester, I am sorry for exaggerating my position in the company, but I want to make it clear that I’m not interested in flirting or anything else. I am a professional and I hope you will be one as well."
"So you’re not attracted to me anymore?"
"Who said I was attracted to you?"
"You came on the date last night."
"It wasn’t a date."
"It was a date." He nodded. "Who hurt you?"
"Who hurt me? What are you talking about?"
"You’ve been defensive since the first time we met. I’m just curious why."
"Maybe I don’t trust men that are too good looking for their own good."
"You think I’m too good looking?" He grinned.
"Too good looking, too rich, too cocky, too everything." I nodded. "I’m not interested in anything you’re offering."
"But I haven’t offered anything yet."
"Well that’s good then." I stared at him for a few seconds. "So are we going to go to this hotel or what?"
"Yes." He nodded and turned around. He walked back to the window and looked out. "It’s a beautiful city, isn’t it?"
"Yes," I said softly. "You have an amazing view."
"It’s not the view I want, but it sure is amazing." He turned around and sighed wistfully. I stared at him wondering why he looked so pensive. What did he have to be so sad about? He was literally a billionaire, with a view that millionaires would envy. He had everything going for him. I couldn’t even pay my rent. "Meet me down in the lobby in 15 minutes." He said suddenly. "You’re dismissed, Marcia."
"Okay, thanks. I’ll be there." I walked to the door and exited his office. I felt slightly off, like my world was off-kilter.
Sixteen
He was waiting for me in the lobby and as I walked out and towards him, I could feel butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know why. It wasn't like this was a date. In fact, I didn't think that he would ever be interested in asking me out again. And I couldn't blame him, considering the fact that I'd lied to him the very first time I'd met him and I'd signed a contract saying I wouldn't seduce him or do anything with him and I'd called him an asshole.
"Hey there, Marcia." Shantal waved and smiled at me. "What's up?"
"I'm just going to do some work with Mr. Winchester." I nodded my head towards him, and she slapped her hand against her mouth. Finn turned around and looked at me, a smirk on his face as he surveyed me.
"I see you've been getting to know everyone, Marcia. And you've not been here but a couple of days."
"Well, Shantal and I met on my first day, and she's really nice and..."
"Don't tell me. She was one of the girls you were having drinks with yesterday."
"Actually, yeah. How did you know?"
"Because she seems like that sort of woman."
"What does that mean?"
"I mean, it seems like she's the sort of woman that likes to have fun, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
"And what?" He shrugged. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm saying you're young. You want to have fun in the city. Drinks are fun."
"Okay."
"Everything I say doesn't have a double meaning. You know that, right Marcia?"
"I guess so. I mean, it's just hard to believe when..."
"When what?" he interrupted me. "Remember the first time we met?"
"Vaguely."
"Remember, I was introducing myself. I was friendly. You were the one that lied to me and dismissed me."
"I didn't mean to lie to you, and I was dismissing you because I was having a private conversation with my best friend and..."
"I know, I know. You've been hurt."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Because I can see that your walls are up," he said, his eyes peering into mine. It felt like he was looking into my soul and at every heartbreak that had ever broken me.
"Well, it doesn't matter who may or may not have broken my heart. We are not going to have any more conversations about this because we are professionals and..."
"Yes, yes, Miss Lucas. Come on. Let's go."
"That's it?" I said frowning.
"What?" He shrugged, looking at his watch. "We have to be there within 30 minutes, so let's go."
"I mean, we were just having a conversation and..."
"And what? You told me the it wasn't professional and you didn't want to talk about it anymore."
"Yeah, but..."
"You can't have it both ways, Miss Lucas. You can't want to be in my employ and want to be in my bed. I mean, you can if you really want, but we just have to set some ground rules." He grinned. "I'm okay with that if you are."
"No, that is not what I'm talking about," I said flustered, thinking about lying in his bed. "I..."
"You what, Marcia?"
"Nothing." I shook my head. "Let's go."
"And go we shall." We walked out of the front of the building, and I turned around to look at Shantal staring at me, her mouth slightly agape. I wondered just how much of our conversation she'd heard.
"And I do know you're not going to go and tell your friends everything we talked about," he said. "You did sign a confidentiality agreement, and you also signed a nondisclosure agreement."
"In regards to my work, not in regards to my private life."
"I'll find if you read that confidentiality agreement one more time, you'll see that your private life is pretty much tied into that as well, especially when it concerns me."
"You're absolutely ridiculous. What, are you going to sue me if I tell my friend that my boss is green eyes?"
"Green eyes?" He grinned. "So is that the name you gave me?"
"Well, it's certainly not Anwir." I glared at him.
"What? I thought it was quite clever, actually."
"Really?" I said. "Anwir? Liar? What?"
"It took me 30 minutes to come up with that name."
"What do you mean it took you 30 minutes to come up with that name?"
"Well, I knew when you got to the bar you would want to know my name, and of course I couldn't tell you that I was Finn Winchester because you'd run out of there really fast."
"I ran out of there really fast anyways."
"Yeah, but that's because I wanted you to." He grinned.
"You wanted me to run out of there and leave you in the middle of the bar by yourself."
"Okay, maybe I didn't want you to run out. Maybe I was seeing how far I could push you. Maybe I was hoping that perhaps you'd go back with me to my place and you'd show me that fine ass of yours."
"Really?" I glared at him. "Enough."
"You look like you're mad, Marcia." He laughed. "Or rather, that's your normal expression when you look at me."
"Yes it is, because I think you're totally impertinent and..."
"And what?"
"Nothing," I said. "Are we catching a car to this hotel or..."
"I thought we'd walk."
"Walk?" I groaned slightly as I looked down at my heels. My heels were not made for walking, at all, very long. "Do we have to walk? Because..."
"Because what? You don't like to exercise?"
"I mean, I don't mind walking, but I'm wearing heels. And if we're going to walk to this hotel, I really need to change my shoes."
"What do you mean you need to change your shoes?" He looked confused.
"I have my flats upstairs in the office. I wore my flats to get to work and then I changed into my heels once I got to the office because they look more professional and..."
"Okay." He stared at me as if I were crazy. "You
do know that this is a workplace and..."
"And what? Is there something wrong with me changing from flats to heels?"
"No, but you could've just wore flats in the office. Who are you trying to impress?"
"Oh, I'm just trying to impress everyone in the office." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I want to impress Japer or maybe I want to impress Sebastian or..."
"I see." He shook his head. "So you're another one going for Sebastian, huh?"
"What do you mean another one going for Sebastian?"
"Almost every woman in the building has either gone for me or Sebastian. And they know they can't get me, so..." He shrugged.
"Oh yeah, because every woman wants you."
"Pretty much." He grinned. "I mean, you heard about the girl that said I knocked her up." He laughed. "I mean, you told me the story when you thought I was someone else."
"So that was true?" I stared at him. "Really?"
"Yep." He nodded. "You can't make that shit up. So," he put his hand up in the air, "we can take the car then."
"Are you sure?" I said. "I mean, I can run up real quick and put my flats on and..."
"No, I like your legs in those heels." He grinned. "We'll take the car." A Lincoln Navigator pulled up, and a man jumped out of the driver's seat and opened the back door for us.
"Hello, Mr. Winchester."
"Hi there, David. This is a new member of the executive team, Marcia. Marcia, this is my driver, David."
"Hi, nice to meet you."
"You too." He nodded. I slid into the backseat and then Finn slid in next to me. David closed the door after Finn slid in.
"Wow, so you have a chauffeur?"
"That surprises you?" He laughed.
"No."
"Then why did you mention it?"
"I don't know. Something to say. We don't all live in the world of the rich and the elite, you know. Some of us actually take the subway and..."
"I take the subway."
"Really? You take the subway?"
"You called me a Yeti." He grinned. "Do you think a Yeti drives around in a chauffeur-driven car all the time?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "I've never met a Yeti before I met you."
"Why does that not surprise me? So, Marcia."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever been camping or hiking or rock climbing or..."
