ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴠᴀʟꜱ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ

₀₃₀

𝘞𝘙𝘌𝘕 𝘑𝘈𝘔𝘌𝘚

BEING HELD BY RHYS MOORE IS the warmest place on the Earth.

With his big arms wrapped around my torso, and his cheek pressed on top of my head, while my face is smooshed against his hard chest, my arms around his neck. It's the best place i've ever been. Even if we're in an elevator.

After the meeting had finished, both Rhys and I exited the room and walked to the elevator in silence. Then when we stepped into the elevator and the door closed, his arms were around me.

I was so happy that I could've jumped onto him. But I kept myself calm and decided to hug him back like a sane human being.

"You did amazing, Miss James." He whispers into my hair. I squeeze him a little more.

"You didn't do so bad yourself, Mr. Moore." I pull away from his chest so that I can look at his face. But when I do, all my air is stolen from my lungs.

He's looking at me with a certain look. One that I know, one that i've never felt before. It's scary. So scary. But I can't stop looking at him, too.

My eyes drop down to his lips. His plump, smiling lips. My heart stutters a bit. I'm leaning in when I feel the strain on my cheeks. I'm smiling. I'm smiling at Rhys.

The elevator door opens.

We pull apart and fix our suits. Lucky there's no one there. But I can feel Rhys looking at me like he's never stopped. Like he didn't care that the door opened.

I clear my throat and walk out of the elevator. My heels make my walk more enhanced. Rhys behind me makes me feel bigger.

When we're outside, Rhys grabs my wrist. His thumb automatically rubbing against my pulse.

"We still on for dinner?" He asks.

"Could we do lunch?" I tilt my head and Rhys nods.

I remind myself this is not awkward. This is not awkward. This is not awkward. Yes, we maybe out, yes it was fantastic, yes I want to do it again, but no I won't. We're keeping it professional.

__________

I flop onto my bed after I get home. First the presentation took up more of my energy then i'd like to admit. Second, the whole elevator thing. And third, the lunch.

Lunch was nice. I don't really know how else to explain it. We talked about the presentation. He threw out more compliments. We ate our food. He dropped me off. Now i'm home.

Things feel...normal with Rhys now. He's still cocky and i'm still mad that he gets paid more then me, but I can deal with him. I like dealing with him.

And by the way he looks at me, the things he says and does to me- i'd say he likes dealing with me too. So we like dealing with each other-big deal. It's not like i'm going to fall in love with him.

I call Lex.

__________

It's felt like years since the presentation, and there's still no word on the final decision. It's like i'm a ticking-time bomb. Every second I don't know what they decided, I lose a little more of my sanity.