Heartthrob ✓

six

S I X

"YEAH, WE CAN MOVE THAT MEETING TO WEDNESDAY, THAT SHOULDN'T SET US BACK," ASHTON SAID TO HIS CLIENT.

I felt weird for standing outside of his opened office door the way I was, but I was holding the papers he asked me to fetch for him. But considering how this was my job, some things just couldn't be helped, I guess. Besides, I was incredibly indebted to him because I had been trying to find employment for months and here he came, out of the blue and it was everything I could've asked for. A nice job, decent pay, safe part of town, and the environment wasn't too stressful save for a few bad apples. It was the dream, actually, especially when considering how I started off as part of a catering company and went to lurking in a café for opportunities before my cousin finally hit me with a golden one.

The call went on for a while longer until he finally hung up, spinning his office chair so that he was facing my way. "Ms. White, what can I do for you?"

There were parts of me that would've winked at him seductively before saying "many things, sir," but what made my job so great was that I kept my feelings at bay as best as I could. The last thing I needed was to go stir-crazy over him and put everything I had made work well for me at stake.

"Well," I said awkwardly, "I have those papers you asked for." Internally, I was groaning because of how unprofessional I sounded. I didn't even look at them, save for a quick glance over to see that they had the company logo as well as lots of words in thick paragraphs and small script. This was definitely not my area of expertise and it made me feel cast out of a circle that made up the atmosphere of this floor. Not to mention how I was hired because I left a lipstick stain on his glass at a party and not for any of my qualifications - which were rather slim.

He scooted forward in the chair until he was directly in front of me, taking the papers from my hand and sliding back to his desk. "Let me just sign these real quick and then you can run these over to Ms. Marks on the next floor down."

"Whatever you do," Elijah warned sternly, "avoid Meredith Marks at all costs. If you have to communicate with her, be as tight-lipped and formal as you can because she means business. She's the great-niece of one of the first women to work for the Baldwin's which is tragic because there were only three generations of women, but she takes it upon herself to make sure she is the only outstanding female. Rumor has it, Elise who worked here was bullied into resignation."

I groaned externally now, Elijah's words from the bus ride yesterday haunting me. I could barely deal with Ashton and Emilie Standifer, I didn't need to throw Meredith into the mix. I could see it now, she likely dressed like an evil librarian and ruled her floor with an iron fist.

"What's wrong," he asked, his concern clear in his voice and the fact that I'd fallen for him made me wince. Ouch, I thought, I think I fell a bit too hard. "Are you hurt or something?"

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. There was always hurt that I felt, and Ashton Baldwin didn't make it very easy to ignore. "I'm fine, just a bit anxious. I'm finally leaving this floor for work purposes, it's such an honor."

Clearly I was just playing around with him, especially since I wasn't even leaving his floor, just running an errand for him. So to see him feigning anger was hardly what I expected and I wanted to laugh but his fake angry face was too serious.

"Ms. White, are you suggesting that I'm overbearing to you? I'd be highly insulted if you were since I think we've been getting along just fine - like a house on fire, even."

"Your presence can be stifling, suffocating even," I said, taking a step back to emphasize my point. "It's like I'm choking on air whenever I'm here."