by Brooke Page
Have you checked your email yet today? -Tyler
Yes, and thank you. It was very sweet of you. Sorry I didn’t thank you sooner. I am heading up to your dad’s office now. He wanted to meet with me about the Enterprise Yachts account. I can’t wait for tonight. I will text you when I know what time I will be done. -Becca
He didn’t reply back to me right away, but then again I didn’t have time to flirt via text with him. Once I felt presentable, I made my way to the elevator. RJ’s office was on the top floor. I assumed Tyler’s office was around there. Maybe he would peek his head out and say hi? I doubt it. He is still in the “no one can know about us” mood.
Once the elevator opened I took a deep breath and went to follow the sign that pointed to RJ’s office. I was stopped dead in my tracks by Tyler. I greeted him with a huge smile, but it quickly vanished with the expression he had on his face. He was fuming. I thought steam was going to come out of his ears they were so red.
“What the hell are you doing?” he sneered at me.
I was thrown back by his anger. “I’m meeting with your dad. He asked me to come up here and talk to him. I met him on Monday.”
“Why are you meeting with him? He never wants to meet with junior architects,” he seethed. What was wrong with him? I was a little hurt by how he pronounced junior architect. I know I was the low one on the totem pole, but he didn’t have to throw it in my face like that.
“He wanted to talk about the Enterprise Yachts project.”
He closed his eyes and tensed his jaw. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry, it must have slipped my mind. Not like we have talked a whole lot while you were gone,” my voice cracked a little.
His eyes scanned my whole body. I fidgeted under his stare.
“Why are you dressed like that?” His voice became very quiet, and almost had a trace of pain to it. I didn’t know how to react. Was I not dressed nice enough to meet his father? Gosh he really didn’t want me to meet his family. What is the point in investing time in someone if you are ashamed to introduce them to your parents? I was starting to get angry with him.
“I’m sorry, am I not dressed well enough to meet your father?” Now my tone was becoming agitated.
He was the one who was fidgeting now. “You look…” He sighed and his eyes softened. “You look stunning. The rest of this building is dull compared to you.”
I sucked in a breath of air. I wasn’t expecting him to say that at all. No one has ever said anything like that to me, not even Connor.
His eyes became cold again. “Why are you all dressed up for him?”
I narrowed my eyes, completely forgetting the compliment he had just given me. “I’m not, I WAS all dressed up for you, but I’m not sure if I want to go on a date with you tonight, or I’m sorry, to just hang out, since that is all we are allowed to do!” My anger shocked me as much as it shocked Tyler. He stared down at me putting his hand on his face with wide eyes.
“Becca, there you are! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up.” RJ said, emerging from his office down the hall. I closed my eyes, trying to regain my composure. Tyler turned his head towards his dad. I could feel his anger rising again, and it no longer radiated towards me, but over to RJ.
“Hey Tyler, back from Cleveland already?” RJ said with a gleam in his eye. Tyler’s stare didn’t change. He dropped his hand down from his face.
“Yes. Aren’t you going to talk to Will and Corey about the Enterprise Yachts account at 4:00pm? Why don’t you let Becca have her lunch and you can discuss what you need to discuss with her then,” Tyler’s tone was venomous.
A slow mischievous smirk came across RJ’s face as though he enjoyed Tyler’s animosity. “I just wanted Becca to feel welcome. Get her ideas on the account. I like to treat my new employees with some… affection.” He turned to smile at me. “Let them know I care.” I gave him a half smile. Tyler was burning a hole in RJ’s head with his glare.
“Becca, how about I meet you in my office. I am going to have a quick word with Tyler.” I nodded and slowly started to walk back to his office. I refused to look at Tyler. What was he thinking? Even if I had dressed nicely to impress his father, why would it be such a big deal? He is my boss after all. I wanted to make a good impression.
RJ’s office was huge. The space was unnecessary, and I’m sure he was only here once every few weeks. Three of the walls were painted light gray, while the back wall was a large built in shelving unit with cabinets and mirrors and was painted black. His desk was large and round, black on the bottom with a glass top. He had various pictures of himself and business associates at functions, then I noticed one of him and Tyler. It was at Tyler’s graduation from Michigan. Tyler had a half smile and looked so young. RJ had his hand around his shoulder with the same expression as Tyler. They both looked uncomfortable. The other walls that were painted gray had various large mock up drawings of the larger buildings the company had built. In the center of the room was a large black sofa with a coffee table and two modern looking white chairs on either side of the couch. The ceiling had a large circle drawn out with lights cascading out from the indentation. I noticed a table set for two off to the side by the large windows that were the length of the wall. He wasn’t kidding about eating lunch. My stomach churned. I hope it wasn’t anything fried.
I stepped in front of his desk and noticed an intriguing brick sitting by itself in the front center of the desk. I was drawn to it, walking up and running my finger across the concrete block. It was a normal looking brick, an average piece of tan speckled cement. Why would he have it set front and center of his desk?
RJ finally came into his office, closing the foggy glass doors behind him.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” RJ said, walking over to his desk, referring to the brick I was examining. “That is an RJ Brick, I invented it,” he said a little too proudly.
“It’s lovely;” I said, taking my hand away from the brick. How does one invent a brick? Weren’t they just concrete?
“Come take a seat with me, will you?” I met him at the table set for two as he was pulling out the chair for me. I gave him a shy smile and sat down. His hand grazed my shoulder and gave me a shiver.
“Our food will be here shortly. I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered sushi for us.” I tried to give him a pleasant nod. I think he bought it. I was picky about sushi and was more interested in the California rolls.
“So, Becca. Is there anything I can do to make your job better? More comfortable?” he asked me smoothly, pouring some sparkling water into a very fancy glass that looked more like a wine glass.
“Everything is great RJ. I really like everyone, and I am always busy. It’s been a dream come true.” I said honestly.
He gave me a dazzling smile. It reminded me of Tyler’s. Then my mind drifted to his unhappiness with my meeting his dad. The pleasant thought of Tyler’s smile vanished. I hoped he was stewing in his office. I could picture his sulk.
“Well, I’m glad you like it,” he said, waving one of his assistants inside.
Our food came just as he was talking, and I was relieved when RJ’s assistant placed California rolls in front of us. There were six other types of rolls, only one other one looked like it might have some promise to be good. His assistant was one of the leggy blondes that walked in with him on Monday. She gave me a look over and huffed, then turned to RJ and asked him in a very seductive voice if he wanted anything else. He shook his head then shooed her away. The blond was clearly upset by his reaction to her and glared at me as she left.
“Please, help yourself. I like everything but the California rolls,” RJ said, starting to put pieces on his plate. I let out a small smile.
“Good thing that is the only sushi I like.” Sort of like.
His grin widened. “Are you getting along with all of your co-workers?”
“Yes, everyone is great.”
He studied my face for a moment, and then tilted hi
s head. “What about Tyler?”
I chewed my sushi roll slowly, as though that would give me more time to think about how to answer him. I wanted to say we had secret rendezvous, but I didn’t have it in me. If Tyler didn’t want his dad to know about me then I wasn’t going to be the one to spill the beans.
“”Tyler… is great, a bit grumpy sometimes,” I said trying to sound nonchalant. I slowly moved my eyes to meet his.
His grin faded. “He can be a bit of a grouch.”
I let out a slight laugh. He could be more than a grouch. RJ cocked his head at my laugh, his grin reappearing.
The rest of the lunch we continued with small talk and the trip out to Ludington for the Enterprise Yachts account. He eventually brought up my dad.
“You should talk to your dad about the expansion on the arena. We would love to have him as a client. I’m sure he would be proud to say his daughter had a hand in the remodel. You could be the lead architect if he decides to sign with us.”
There it was--my father’s name being thrown in my face again. Being the lead architect would be a dream come true, but not if I only got the job because the building was my father’s. If I’m going to be a lead on a project, I want it to be because I earned it, not because of my last name.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe I will bring it up at family dinner. We don’t really talk about work though.”
“I will make sure you receive a nice bonus for the sale. It is a big deal for us to keep getting local commercial accounts. It would mean a lot to me if you could land this,” he said, crossing his legs.
The businessman in him was starting to come out. I could see where Nathan got it. I glanced at the clock above RJ’s desk and started to stand. He instantly stood with me.
“I should get back to help Will and Corey prep for our meeting this afternoon,” I said politely. RJ started to walk over to me, putting his hands on my forearms and leading me past the table towards his black couch as though he wanted me to sit down. I felt uncomfortable with his hands on me. When he moved me towards the couch he pulled me to sit down. He took his hands from my arms and sat down next to me, turning his chest to face me.
“You don’t have to rush back. I’m sure everything is prepared just fine.”
I fidgeted in the seat, crossing my legs and folding my arms across my lap, worried if I were to look exposed he would take that as a sign he could touch me again.
“I like your necklace,” he said as he reached up to finger the yellow and gray swirled teardrop shaped piece of clay. It was laced through a black string. I quickly stood up before his fingers could touch my skin. He quickly stood with me.
“Thank you for lunch and for making me feel welcome,” I tried to sound sincere. I’m sure it was in my head, but a slimy feeling came upon me when he reached for my necklace.
He smiled as though nothing strange had happened. RJ went to open the door for me, and as I walked by, he placed his hand on my lower back. I tried not to tense; he was just being friendly.
“I will see you in a few hours Becca. It was great doing lunch. We should do dinner sometime.” His smile was mischievous.
I gave him a friendly nod and continued to the elevator. Before getting into the elevator, I decided to walk down the other hall to see if I could find Tyler’s office. The door was closed. I decided to knock. I heard an irritated ‘come in’ and I slightly pushed open the door. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.
I slowly stepped in and closed the door behind me. Not taking but a foot in the door, I put my hands on my hips and stared him down. Tyler was standing next to a table that had fancy glass liquor jars. He was pouring himself a glass, his back towards me. His office was a lot like RJs, gray walls with black fixtures. He didn’t have a couch, but two large, black chairs that sat in front of a white desk. He didn’t have any pictures hung up.
“Nathan, I’m not in the mood,” he started to say without turning to me. I decided to take a different approach. Not sure where my courage was coming from, I slyly came up to his back, tracing my fingernail down his spine.
He quickly spun around, nearly spilling his glass. “Jesus Becca, you scared me!” he gasped, taking a step back from me. I narrowed my eyes at him and took a step to fill the space between us.
He gulped at my expression nervously, but then put on a cool exterior. Taking another sip from his glass, he let his eyes bore into mine. I wasn’t going to shy away from him this time. I was going to tell him exactly how I felt and exactly what I thought about our encounter before my meeting with his father.
“What the hell was wrong with you earlier?” I glared at him.
His eyes became intense. “I didn’t know you were going to have lunch with RJ. You never told me.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “What? Do I have to ask for your permission?”
“No, but I would like to know when you are going to be alone with him. You didn’t have to go behind my back about it,” he spat.
I scoffed at him, “Behind your back? He is my boss! I can’t say no to him because my secret friend doesn’t like the idea of me being alone with him!”
“What did you do with him?” he shouted.
“I had a meeting with him! We talked what else would we be doing!”
Tyler’s jaw clenched tight. “Anytime a pretty girl goes in there for lunch, they normally aren’t talking.”
My jaw dropped. “You thought I was having a nooner with your Dad? For God sakes Tyler he is in his 50s!” How could he ever think that I would ever sleep with him! Yeah, he was attractive for his age, but I would never have any type of physical contact with the man or none that I would start. He did touch me a few times which made me feel uncomfortable, but I wasn’t about to tell Tyler that.
Tyler didn’t take his eyes off me. His face suddenly looked pained, like something had been taken from him.
I waited for him to say something, but the silence irritated me even more. I turned around to leave. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him about our drunken night together or any of our other times we have spent hanging out. Have a great night!” I nearly shouted while storming out the door. He didn’t try to follow me. He didn’t say a word. I was so mad at him. Why on earth would he be so jealous of his father? His parents were still married, although I guess that doesn’t matter to some people. I stormed into Corey’s office where Will and Corey were staring at the plans they had been working on. They both turned their heads towards me, and then looked at each other, then back at the plans. I let out a sigh.
“Sorry I’m a little late. My meeting went longer than expected,” I huffed, trying to gain my composure. I hoped they weren’t able to see the steam that was radiating off of me from being so mad.
Corey stifled a smile. “Did RJ get you all flustered? He has that effect on Will, too.”
Will furrowed his brows at Corey and then turned to me. “Don’t worry about it Becca, RJ can be a lot to handle. Are you okay?” He was being sincere, which made me feel horrible. Will was so worried about this account, yet he still wanted to make sure I was okay. I felt bad for Will, he talked about his wife and two young boys all of the time, and with this account happening he hadn’t been home to see them nearly as often as usual. I knew what it was like to not get to see my father very often.
We finished prepping for the meeting and headed to the floor where we were going to be conferencing. We all arrived early, wanting to get everything in place and perfect for RJ to examine. Nathan, and to my surprise, Tyler, came walking in to take a seat. I refused to look at Tyler. Nathan noticed and sat down next to me.
“Becca, nice to see you again,” he smiled while watching Tyler. When I got the courage to glance at Tyler, he was looking anywhere but at me. He sat down at the far end of the table and pulled out his phone. A minute later, my bag started chirping. I rolled my eyes and ignored it. Tyler peeked up at me and then looked down to his phone. My bag chirped again. I blew out air, crossing my arms glaring at him. Nathan looked b
etween the two of us. Chirp. I rolled my eyes. Everyone was looking at me now.
Trying to contain my heated cheeks, I searched to get my phone out of my bag. I saw Tyler smirking out of the corner of his eye as though he had won. Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the messages.
I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have talked to you like that-Tyler
Will you walk with me to my car for our date tonight instead of me picking you up? -Tyler
I know you hear your phone-Tyler
I can do this all afternoon. -Tyler
My fingers couldn’t type fast enough for his reply. I secretly hoped his phone was on ringer so everyone would look at him with each reply I made.
You’re right; you shouldn’t have talked to me like that. -Becca
Not a chance in Hell. -Becca
Yes, I did hear my phone. I was obviously trying to ignore you. -Becca
You can do this all afternoon but it won’t change anything. -Becca
His phone constantly vibrated, and his arrogance quickly turned to distress. Before he could reply, I silenced my phone and noisily threw it in my bag so he would notice. Tyler cocked his head at me and gave me a pleading look. I thought his lips might start to pout soon. It was kind of cute, but I needed to remember that I was mad at him. I quickly started fumbling with my iPad, as though I were preparing more for the meeting. I heard Nathan let out a chuckle. He clearly caught on that we were talking to each other.
RJ walked in with two of his super model assistants and was ready for business.
“Let’s see what you have come up with, Will,” RJ said leaning over the prints.
The rest of the meeting was very typical. We threw around ideas that could make it better and thought about different ways to make the buildings more eco-friendly. I had trouble following along because I was so worried about whether Tyler was looking at me or not. I wanted to forgive him and wrap my arms around his waist, but I needed to hold my ground. I wasn’t going to be walked all over anymore.
