Thirst

by Mia Ford

  “Thirty-five,” she replied nervously and she noticed that the man arched an eyebrow. He pressed the button, and didn’t press another one. She gulped. So, he worked at her new office! And she had just been staring at him like an ogling teenager.

  Belle looked away, hanging her head towards the floor, but she could sense that he was looking at her.

  “First day?” he asked, as the elevator started up. She jerked her head to look up at him, fully aware that her cheeks were burning up by now.

  He had a hand thrust into the pocket of his pants, and the other one clutched a brown leather briefcase.

  “Yes,” Belle replied meekly and the man only smiled.

  “Nervous?” he asked, after a few seconds of silence and she shifted on her feet.

  “Little bit. It’s my first job too,” she said and took in a deep breath.

  He nodded his head and then looked past her towards the changing lights on the elevator.

  “I’m sure you’re good at what you do if you’ve been hired at Rymer & Mills,” he added and Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t looked at it that way before. She had got the job. Even if it was an internship. She had been handpicked out of hundreds of applicants and she knew she was ambitious and confident enough to survive the six months of internship. So, technically, he was right…she had nothing to really worry about.

  Belle let out a small laugh and their eyes met. His blue eyes were kind and sharp at the same time, and she wondered what position he held at the agency. If he worked there at all.

  “What do you do?” she asked him, when he hadn’t said anything for some time.

  “Ah, nothing at the moment. I’m hoping I’ll find something to do today,” he said and Belle’s mouth opened slightly. She couldn’t believe that he had been so polite and encouraging towards her, when he was just on his way to a job interview.

  “Oh, best of luck with that,” she said and the man smiled and nodded.

  “Thank you,” he said politely, just at the doors pinged open again. He gestured to her again to lead the way, and Belle stepped out, smiling as she passed him. She felt their clothes graze gently and there were instant goosebumps on her skin. There was something magnetic about this polite stranger, and she whipped around just as he was stepping out of the elevator himself.

  “I’m Belle Freedman, I hope you get the job,” she said and stuck out her hand to him. The man looked quizzically at her hand for a few moments, before lifting his head to look at her again.

  “I’m Devon Rymer. Welcome to my agency,” he said and took her hand in his and gave it a strong shake. Belle’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She knew she had never felt more embarrassed before.

  Chapter 3

  Devon

  Devon was smiling as he shook Belle’s hand. He knew he had an iron grip and an intimidatingly strong handshake, but this girl didn’t seem to be affected by it. She only looked surprised, because she hadn’t known who he was.

  She was the one to draw her hand away, and Devon took note of her huge brown eyes, the way her neat braid lay delicately over her shoulder. She was sharply dressed, especially for her age. He assumed that she was in her early twenties, and he tried to remind himself not to stare.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I had no idea,” she said, taking a few steps away from him. Devon smiled and shook his head.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I know I’m a private person, there’s no way you could have known what the partners of the agency look like,” he replied, pushing his hand into his pocket again. He was expecting the girl to blush, or turn her eyes away from embarrassment, but she stared back at him with an unwavering gaze.

  “Well, thank you for your kind words earlier,” she said, and Devon realized that she was thinking of taking her leave now. For some reason, he wanted to keep talking to her, but he couldn’t think of anything to say to her to make her stay.

  “Have a nice day, Ms Freedman,” he said instead and she smiled widely. He noticed how bright her eyes were when she smiled and how her lips lifted up on the sides as she did it. He couldn’t bring himself to look away.

  She nodded to that and then walked away, towards the reception area. Devon stood in front of the elevator doors for a few more seconds, watching her walking away, before he breathed out a deep sigh and started making his way towards his own office.

  His secretary Lily found him soon enough, and intercepted him in the corridors.

  “Mr Rymer, we have two meetings set up for you before lunch. You are supposed to meet with Pat Lynch & Sons first thing,” Lily was walking with him, keeping pace. She also had his double shot Americano in her hand, which she eventually handed to him.

  Devon’s mind was occupied with thoughts of Belle instead, and he stopped abruptly in front of his office doors.

  “Lily, do you know about a Belle Freedman, who has been hired as an intern? It’s her first day today,” he said and Lily looked back at him with some surprise in her eyes. She didn’t expect him to be talking about an intern that early in the morning. In fact, Devon, rarely ever spoke about interns to begin with.

  “Well, I don’t know her personally. But is there something you want me to find out? I can ask Susan, she’s in charge of all the interns,” Lily said, fixing the files and papers in her hands.

  Devon was thinking, and he wasn’t really looking at Lily.

  “Have her come over to my office, maybe between the two morning meetings,” Devon said. Lily nodded and turned on her heels to walk away. “Oh, and also ask Susan to keep a close eye on her, and give me a report at the end of day about her work,” he added, before pushing open the door to his office and walking in.

  Once inside, Devon placed his coffee on his desk and walked around to the glass wall that overlooked the Hudson River. He had his jaws clenched as he watched people walking over the bridge. From the thirty-fifth floor, they looked nothing more than just tiny dots.

  He couldn’t get Belle Freedman out of his mind. Not only was she gorgeous, but there was something comforting in her voice. She seemed sweet and cheerful, and he wondered if she was from a small town. He was sure that she wasn’t from New York, and he suddenly felt worried if the city might affect her. If in a few months, Belle might turn into a completely different person.

  The phone on his desk beeped and he walked over and pressed a button.

  “I’ve set up a meeting between you and Ms Freedman for eleven fifteen, Sir,” Lily’s voice came through.

  “Good, thanks Lily,” Devon said.

  “And I’ve told Susan what you said. She said she’ll come in and have a word with you at the end of the day,” Lily added.

  “Thanks Lily,” he said again.

  “Also, she was wondering why you’ve taken an interest in her, and if there’s a problem. She was worried that she might have made a bad hire,” Lily continued.

  “No, Not all. There’s no problem and please tell Susan that she’s made a great hire. I like Belle, she seems enterprising and bright,” Devon said and with that he ended the call and sat down on his chair.

  He steepled his fingers on his desk and narrowed his eyes as he thought about it some more. He couldn’t put a finger on the exact reason why he had taken an interest in Belle. It wasn’t just her looks was it…? Because he knew he could have any number of beautiful young women he wanted, in fact he tried to keep his distance from them as much as possible, so that a relationship didn’t come between him and his work. Besides, wasn’t Belle a bit too young for him?

  There had to be something else about Belle that he had noticed. Just during their five minute conversation in the elevator, he was instantly drawn to her. To her smile. To her innocent confidence.

  Devon shook his head, to drive the thoughts out of his brain. He had an entire day’s worth of work to get through and he wasn’t going to allow a girl to occupy his mind.

  He pressed the buzzer again and got through to Lily in an instant.

  “Set up the board ro
om for the first meeting, I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said and with that, he took two large gulps of his scalding coffee.

  Chapter 4

  Belle

  She was nervous as she walked towards Devon Rymer’s office. Her team leader, Susan, had informed her that Mr Rymer wanted to personally meet with her at quarter past eleven, and Belle had no idea what for. Susan couldn’t give her the details of the meeting either, so Belle had spent most of the morning fretting over what she had done wrong.

  As far as first days at work go, Belle assumed that it had been going well. She had been given the task of conducting some simple market surveys, and she had spent the morning doing that; completing her task well before the eleven fifteen meeting with Devon Rymer.

  So, now she walked self consciously towards his office, as directed by Susan and found his secretary sitting at the end of the corridor behind a desk.

  “You must be Belle,” the middle aged woman said, looking up at her from over her crescent shaped spectacles.

  “Yes, I’m here to meet with Mr Rymer,” Belle said and stuck out a hand to the woman.

  “I’m his secretary, Lily. Nice to meet you Belle. Mr Rymer will be with you shortly,” Lily said and shook Belle’s hand weakly.

  “Sure,” Belle said and took in a few deep breaths. Try as she did, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she had conducted herself wrongly in some way. That Mr Rymer wanted to talk to her to tell her off. Maybe it had something to do with the way she was staring at him!

  “Don’t be nervous. He told me that he thinks you’re an enterprising young woman,” Lily interrupted her thoughts. Belle looked at her and forced a smile on her face.

  “Really?” she asked, surprised to hear that. Lily shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

  The phone beside her on the desk rang and she pressed a button.

  “You can send Ms Freedman in, if she’s arrived,” the deep voice said and Belle instantly recognized the voice to be Devon Rymer’s.

  “You can go in now,” Lily said kindly and Belle nodded.

  She took small slow steps as she walked down the corridor towards the only door that was located at the end of it. Devon Rymer’s office was isolated from the rest of the floor in one corner. She couldn’t even imagine how wonderful the view had to be from that room.

  She knocked softly on his door, and heard his voice asking her to come in.

  Belle turned the knob and pushed open the door. Devon Rymer was sitting behind his desk, signing a sheet of paper. He looked up at her, and she was struck again by how intensely attracted she was to him. Belle gulped.

  “Take a seat, Ms Freedman,” he said, straightening himself in his chair.

  Belle closed the door behind her, and walked nervously towards the desk. His office was made of only glass walls, so bright sunlight flooded the room. She noticed the sleek, minimalistic decor of the office, the eggshell white leather chairs, the large oak desk, the potted plants. He had a pretty simple room, with no paintings or additional decor. It seemed like Devon Rymer was a no-fuss kind of man.

  Without a word, Belle took the chair across from his desk, and realized how intimidated she was in her surroundings now. Despite what Lily had told her outside, she wasn’t feeling too confident. She couldn’t think of one good reason why he had called her into his office.

  “How has your first day been going so far?” he asked, breaking the silence. His clear blue eyes were trained on her, and he was looking at her with an intensely fiery gaze. Belle could barely find the strength to keep looking at him without blushing. He seemed to be the kind of man who knew everything about everything.

  “It’s been going well. I’m learning a lot. I’ve been conducting some market research for clients who sell teenage magazines,” Belle replied, shifting in her seat. Her hands were clasped together on her lap and she was pressing her fingers together.

  “Good. What would you say has been your one major finding?” he asked, sitting back in his chair. Belle gulped before answering. She noticed how broad his shoulders were, he didn’t have his suit jacket on and she could see the muscles rippling under his thin white shirt.

  “I would say that teenagers will only subscribe to magazines if they get free samples of products with each copy. Otherwise, they just have the internet for everything,” Belle replied, and tried to match his eyes with a confident gaze.

  A soft smile was grazing Devon’s face. He looked handsome, with rugged features, in the bright light of the room. Belle wondered if she had ever seen eyes as blue as that before.

  “You’re picking up fast,” he said finally, and she nearly breathed a sigh of relief. She had prepared herself for an onslaught of complaints. She smiled at that, and he smiled too. Despite how intimidated she was in her surroundings, she couldn’t help but admire how comfortable he had managed to make her feel.

  “You’re not from New York, are you?” he asked and she was slightly taken aback by that question. Belle cleared her throat and lifted her chin in the air.

  “I’m from Little Canada, Minnesota,” she replied and Devon Rymer’s eyes narrowed.

  “Where did you go to school?” he asked.

  “Minnesota State, Mankato,” Belle said and now he nodded his head.

  “Are you living by yourself in New York? Ms Freedman,” he continued.

  Belle shook her head and tried to force a smile on her face.

  “No, I live with my boyfriend, and please Sir, call me Belle,” she replied and felt her cheeks burn up. Across from her, Devon Rymer’s features darkened and he clenched his jaw tightly. Again, she wondered what exactly he was thinking and if she had done something to displease him.

  Chapter 5

  Devon

  He couldn’t control the rush of jealousy he felt the moment he heard the words escape Belle’s beautifully luscious chocolate brown lips. She had a boyfriend! What was he thinking? How could he just presume that she was single? Then the thought struck him, that she was an employee at his agency. He was her boss. There was a code of conduct he had to maintain. Devon cleared his throat and picked up a pen from the desk.

  “Okay, Belle. I hope you’re setting into New York nicely,” he said and she seemed to buy what he was saying. Devon was worried that she would be able to see right through him. That somehow she would know what was on his mind. Till that instance, when she told him she had a boyfriend, Devon hadn’t officially acknowledged to himself that he was interested in her as more than just an employee.

  “It’s a lovely city. I can’t say that it’s easy, but I’m having a lot of fun here,” she said cheerfully and tucked in a few loose strands of her brown hair behind her small ears.

  Every movement she made filled Devon with tension. He realized that he was growing more conscious of her body, of her presence, by the second.

  “New York is tough, but you seem like someone who’ll make it,” he replied and Belle nodded and smiled. She seemed like the kind of person who looked at everything in life with positivity. She could brighten up a room by just walking into it. Her boyfriend was very lucky, Devon thought to himself and stood up with a jerk.

  “Well, thank you for coming in to see me, Belle,” he said and stuck out his hand to her. She looked surprised for a few seconds, like she didn’t expect the meeting to end so suddenly. Then she half stood up and reached for his hand and gave it a tight firm shake. Again, Devon was pleasantly surprised by the strength in her arms.

  When she drew her hand away, she straightened herself up and was looking at him curiously.

  “I was worried there for a bit, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me because I’d done something wrong,” she said and he laughed too, forcing himself to do so.

  “No, of course you haven’t. I just wanted to check in on you because you looked quite nervous in the elevator earlier,” he replied and Belle licked her lips. She remained standing where she was, with her hands clasped together and she looked around the office.

  “This is
a wonderful office, you have a lovely view,” she said and he wondered if she was stalling. If like him, she too wanted to keep talking. He tried to push that thought out of his mind. She had a boyfriend, Devon had to remind himself of that again.

  “Thank you, Belle. I like to keep it simple,” he said and she fixed her large brown eyes on him again. Devon could see her perfectly shaped pert breasts rising and falling under her white shirt, and he felt a movement in his pants.

  “Hope you have a good first day, thank you again for coming in,” he said quickly and sat back down. He didn’t want her to remain in his office and make it any worse. Devon was certain now that it was more than just curiosity in an interesting person. He was attracted to her sexually, and he wanted to avoid feeling that way as much as possible.

  Belle nodded, thanked him and then walked out of the office. At the door, before she left, she threw him a quick grateful look and then she was gone.

  Devon sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, and let out a huge sigh. Inviting her to a private meeting was a bad idea, he told himself. He should have just left it at that in the morning. There was no reason for him to interact personally with an intern.

  He was annoyed with himself because he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought this through. Belle was a young, vibrant, beautiful and intelligent young woman. What were the chances that she didn’t already have a boyfriend? Besides, she didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would be interested in the things most women in New York were interested in. She wouldn’t be interested in Devon’s money or his power. And he felt like he was too old for her.

  Frustrated, and at the edge of his seat, Devon picked up his personal cell phone and dialed a number. One he had been dialing less often in the past couple of months. On the third ring, she answered the phone.

  “Alisha,” he said, closing his eyes.