The Desire Variable | Rewrite

⸻ SIXTEEN ⸻

After lunch with Tammy, Dakota, and Kat, I climb upstairs again.

This time, the office isn't empty.

Lex is on his computer, working on something. Our eyes meet over his screens, and I hold his gaze for as long as I can—not very long—before looking away and moving for my seat.

"Don't worry. I just need a few things, and I'll get back downstairs," he coldly explains.

Does it mean he's working downstairs to avoid me? We're grown adults. It's ridiculous to go to these lengths. Even if it was the most incredible kiss of my life, and I almost got his dick inside me in the process.

"Don't feel obliged to on my account," I say, trying to be professional. "It was just a kiss."

His gray eyes instantly seek mine, veiled with dark anger. I can see it clearly, despite his glasses.

Although many thoughts seem to cross his mind, he doesn't say anything and returns to his screen. I sit down to get back to work, tired of feeling like shit all the time. We remain in utter silence for a long time, and my attention span becomes that of a four-year-old. I end up breaking the silence out of necessity.

"Would you mind checking on the shared calendar and tell me if everything seems alright?" I try to give my voice an assertiveness I'm most definitely not feeling.

"I've gone through it already. I didn't see anything wrong."

From him, it's almost a compliment. Then, about half an hour later, I'm alone again. I let out a long sigh, the tension leaving my body slowly.

I sincerely hope things settle down soon because this isn't a sustainable work environment.

And I have more important things to care about. Like my date with Oli, for instance.

Of course, my wishful thinking does jack squat, and the uncomfortable tension persists for the following days. Even though Lex is barely here, away for meetings or working downstairs, there's this silent animosity in the air whenever we come across each other.

We both pretend the kiss never happened, and basically ignore each other's existence altogether. Or at least, I pretended to ignore him. Because no matter how hard I try, I can't wipe those memories out of my head. That kiss, that amazing, earth-shattering kiss, is now engraved in my brain, and I keep reliving it.

Not even Idris doing overtime is enough to chase away the need that grows in my core when I think of those steamy minutes in his car. My poor clit is about to fall off at this point, but it still manifests itself whenever our gazes accidentally meet. I really, really need to get laid.

And conveniently enough, I have a date coming up. Not that I expect anything to happen from it, but it's a first step to a potential relationship with Oli. With every day that passes, I like him more, with his gentleness, humor, attentiveness... Were it not for my frustrating boss, I'm pretty sure I would have developed more sensuous feelings for him by now.

Tamika is sitting on my bed as I browse through my things for my date with him in less than an hour. When she claps her hands to get my attention, I twist around, holding a white dress.

"I know you wore it recently, but the black dress you had for the sale's dinner looks amazing on you. And Oli hasn't seen it yet, so he won't care."

I shake my head, determined not to wear this dress ever again. For all I care, it can be thrown into an incinerator. By the twelfth outfit that gets discounted, I'm starting to understand why some girls take hours to get ready. This is draining. But finally, I end up with something that gets validation from both Tammy and Kate—the latter being included via a video call.