By the time we both take a shower and lay back in bed it is almost four in the morning.
"I have to be up in an hour." I groan against his chest.
"You could sleep until seven thirty and still make it on time." He reminds me. The idea doesn't sound appealing to have to rush around but I do need the sleep. I am thankful I took a nap earlier so I hopefully won't be dead on my feet during my first day of actually working at Vance.
"Mhmm.." I mumble against his skin.
"I'll fix your alarm." He says and I drift off.
My eyes are burning from lack of sleep as I try to curl my unruly hair. I line my watery eyes with brown eyeliner and put on my new ruby dress. The neckline is square and just low enough to accentuate my bust. The hem ends just above my knees and the small brown belt across my waist gives the illusion that I took longer to get ready than I actually did. I consider putting on a little blush but thanks to my night with Hardin, my cheeks are still glowing. I slip my feet into my new shoes and walk over to the mirror. The dress is quite flattering and I look better than I deserve. I glance over at Hardin wrapped in the blanket on my tiny bed, his feet dangling off the edge and smile. I wait until the very last minute to wake him, I consider not waking him at all but I am selfish and want to kiss him goodbye. I slip on my jacket and grab my purse.
"I have to leave." I say and gently shake his shoulder.
"I love you." He mumbles and puckers his lips without opening his eyes.
"Are you going to class?" I ask after I kiss him.
"Nope." He says and rolls back over.
I place another kiss on his shoulder and grab my things. I want to crawl back in bed with him so badly. Maybe living with him wouldn't be so bad, we spend almost every night together anyway. I shake the thought from my head. It's a bad idea, it's too soon. Too soon. I spend the entire drive imagining getting an apartment with Hardin, picking out curtains and painting walls.
When the elevator reaches the third floor a young man steps on with me. He is wearing a dark navy suit and smells like soap.
"What floor?" I ask him.
"Top please." He says. I was already going to the top anyway so I lean back against the wall of the elevator.
"Are you new here?" He asks. His eyes are a crispy blue which is a strange contrast to his dark hair.
"I'm just an intern." I tell him.
"Just an intern?" He laughs.
"I mean, I am an intern not an actual employee." I correct myself nervously.
"I started as an intern a few years ago and was hired on full time. Do you go to WSU?"
"Yea, did you?"
"Yep, just graduated last year. Glad that is over with." He chuckles. "You'll like it here."
"Thanks, I already love it." I tell him as we step off the elevator.
"I never caught your name." He says as I turn the corner.
"Tessa, Tessa Young." I call and he smiles and gives me a small wave.
The same woman from yesterday is at the desk and she introduces herself as Kimberly. She smiles, wishes me good luck and gestures towards a table full of food and coffee. I smile and thank her, grabbing sprinkled donut and a cup of coffee before I head back to my office. I find a thick folder on my desk with a note from Mr. Vance telling me to begin my first manuscript and good luck. I love the freedom of this internship, I can't believe my luck. Digging into my donut I pluck the note off the folder and get to work.
The manuscript is actually really good, and I can't seem to put it down. I am only two hundred pages in when the phone on my desk rings.
"Hello?" I have no clue how to answer my own office phone. I feel much more grown up than I ever have. "I mean, Tessa Young's office?" I bite my lip and hear a small laugh on the other end.
"Ms. Young, there is someone here to see you. Shall I send him in?" Kimberly asks.
"Tessa, call me Tessa please." I tell her. It seems disrespectful to have her call me Ms. Young, she is far more experienced and older than me.
"Tessa." She says and I can picture her friendly smile. "Should I send him in?" She asks again.
"Oh, yea. Wait.. who is it?"
"I'm not sure.. he uhm.. he has tattoos, lots of tattoos. " She whispers and I laugh.
"Yea, I will come out to get him." I tell her and hang up.
Hardin is here, the thought thrills me then scares me. I hope everything is okay. When I walk out into the lobby Hardin is standing with his hands in his pockets and Kimberly is on the phone. I get the feeling that she is pretending to be on the phone, I can't tell for sure. I hope that it doesn't seem like I am taking advantage of the great opportunity Mr. Vance has given me by having visitors on my second day.
"Hey, is everything okay?" I approach him.
"Yea, I just wanted to see how your first day was going." He smiles and rolls his eyebrow ring in his fingers.
"Oh. It's great I." I begin to say but stop when Mr. Vance strides toward us.
"Well..well..well.. Come to gravel for your job back?" He smiles at Hardin and pats him on the shoulder.
"You wish, you old wanker." Hardin laughs and my jaw drops. Mr. Vance chuckles and raises his fist before playfully nudging Hardin in his ribs. They must be closer than I thought.
"So what do I owe the honor? Or are you here to stalk my new intern?" He says and looks at me.
"The second. Stalking interns is my favorite pastime." He says and looks at me. I look back and forth between them, unsure what to say. I love seeing this playful side to Hardin, it doesn't come out much.
"Do you have time to get some lunch, if you haven't already?" Hardin asks me. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall, it's already two. The day has gone by quickly.
I look at Mr. Vance and he shrugs. "You have an hour each day for lunch so go ahead." He smiles and says goodbye to Hardin before disappearing down the hall.
"I text you a few times to make sure you got here but you didn't answer." Hardin tells me when we step onto the elevator.
"I haven't looked at my phone, I got sucked into a story." I tell him and I reach for his hand.
"You're okay right? We are okay?" He asks, his eyes locked into mine.
"Yea, why wouldn't we be?"
"I.. I don't know.. I was just getting worried because you weren't answering me. I had thought.. maybe you were starting to regret last night." He looks down.
"What? Of course not. I honestly didn't check my phone. I have no regrets from last night, not a single one." I can't hide my smile as the memories invade my thoughts.
"Good. Well that's a relief." He lets out a breath.
"You drove all the way here because you thought I was having regrets?" I ask. It's a little extreme but flattering all the same.
"Yea.. well not completely. I also wanted to take you to lunch." He smiles and lifts my hand to his lips.
We step off the elevator and walk outside. I should have brought my jacket. I shiver and Hardin looks over to me.
"I have a jacket in my car. We can grab it then walk around the corner to Brio, it's really good." He says as we walk to his car. He pulls a black leather jacket out of his trunk and I laugh. He must have an entire wardrobe in there, since I met him he has been pulling clothes out of it.
The jacket is surprisingly warm and smells like Hardin. It engulfs me of course so I shake my arms to push the sleeves up.
"Thank you." I kiss him on his jaw.
'It looks good on you, perfect fit." He laughs.
He takes my hand as we walk down the sidewalk, we earn a few strange glances from the business men and women on the streets. Sometimes I forget how different we appear on the outside. We are polar opposites in almost every way, but somehow it works for us.
Brio is a small but quaint Italian place. The floor is covered in beautiful multi colored tiles and the ceiling is a mural of what I interpret as heaven. The chubby smiling cherubs are waiting outside white gates, there is a set of angels one white and one black locked in an embrace behind the gates. The white angel seems to be trying to pull the other through to the other side.
"Tess?" Hardin says and pulls me by the sleeve of his jacket.
"Coming." I mumble and we walk to the table.
Our table is set in the back of the restaurant and Hardin sits in the chair right next to me instead of across. He pulls his chair closer and rests his elbows on the table. He orders for both of us but I don't mind, he has been here before.
"So you and Mr. Vance are really close then?" I ask.
"I wouldn't say that. But we know each other well enough." He shrugs.
"You seemed to really get along, I like seeing you that way." I admit.
The hint of a smile tugs at his lips and he puts his hand on my thigh. "Do you now?"
"Yes, I like to see you happy." I feel like there is more behind him and Mr. Vance's relationship than he is telling me but for now I am not going to push it.
"I am happy. Happier than I thought I would be.. ever." He adds.
"What has gotten into you? You're getting soft on me." I tease and he chuckles.
"I can knock over a few tables, bloody a few noses to remind you." He says and I push my shoulder into his.
"No thanks." I giggle.
Our food arrives and I thank the waitress before taking a bite. He ordered us some sort of ravioli and it is delicious.
"Good huh?" He brags and fills his mouth with food. I nod and do the same.
Hardin and I bicker about who is going to pay for lunch but he ends up winning.
"You can pay me back later." He winks behind the waitress back.
When we walk back to VP, Hardin follows me inside.
"You're coming up?" I ask him.
"Yea, I wanted to see your office then I will go. Promise." He smiles.
"Deal." I tell him and we step onto the elevator. When we reach the top floor I give him his jacket back and he shrugs it on. My eyes widen at how hot he looks in the leather jacket.
"Hey, its you again." The guy in the navy suit says as we walk down the hall.
"And it's you again." I smile.
His eyes dart to Hardin who is standing next to me. "I'm Hardin." He says to the man.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Trevor, I work in finance." He tells Hardin. "Well I will see you around." He smiles and walks away.
When we walk into my office Hardin grabs my wrist and turns me to face him.
"What the hell was that?" He spits. Is he joking? I look down at my wrist in his hands and take that as a no. His grip isn't tight but it holds me in place.
"What?"
"That guy." He huffs.
"What about him? I just met him this morning in the elevator." I pull my wrist away.
"It didn't seem like you just met, the two of you were just flirting in front of me."
"What?" I can't help but laugh. "You're insane if you think that was flirting, I was being polite and so was he. Why would I flirt with him?" I try to keep my voice down. Causing a scene in my office will not be good for me.
"Why wouldn't you? He was nice and clean cut, suit and all." Hardin says.
He seems more hurt and worried than angry. My instincts tell me to cuss him out and tell him to get the hell out, but I decide to take a different approach. Just like when he was breaking things at his father's house.
"Is that what you think? That I want someone like him, someone unlike you?" I ask in a gentle voice. He is taken aback, I know he expected me to blow up at him. He contemplates what to say next.
"I don't know.. maybe." His eyes meet mine.
"Well you're wrong, as usual." I smile. I need to talk to him about this later, but my need to make sure he knows he has nothing to worry about overpowers my need to correct him.
"I am sorry if you think I was flirting with him, I wasn't. I wouldn't do that to you." I assure him. His eyes soften and I bring my hand up to his cheek. How can one person be so strong yet so weak.
"I..okay." He says. I laugh and caress his cheek. I love catching him off guard.
"Why would I flirt with him if I have you?" I say. His eyes flutter and he finally smiles. I am relieved that I am learning how to disengage the bomb that is Hardin.
"I love you. I am sorry for blowing up like that." He says and presses his lips to mine.
"I accept your apology now let me show you my office!" I say in a cheery voice.
"I don't deserve you." He says quietly, too quietly. I choose to ignore it and keep my uplifting attitude.
"So what do you think?" I beam.
He chuckles and listens intently as I show him every detail, every book on the shelf and the empty picture frame on my desk.
"I was thinking I want to put a picture of us here." I tell him. We have never taken any pictures together, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind until I placed the empty frame there. Hardin doesn't seem like the type who would smile for a camera, even on a cell phone.
"Oh. I don't really do pictures." He confirms my thoughts.
I am a little embarrassed by him shutting it down that way and he notices.
"I mean.. I guess I could take one. Just one though." He strains.
"We will worry about that later." I smile and he seems relieved.
"Now can we move on to how sexy you look in that dress, it's been driving me crazy since I got here." His voice is a full octave deeper and he takes a step towards me. My body heats immediately, his words never cease to unravel me.
"You're lucky I didn't open my eyes this morning, if I would have.." He traces his fingertips along the neckline of my dress. "I wouldn't have let you leave."
He brings his other hand to the hem of my dress and caresses my thigh.
"Hardin.." I warn him. My voice betrays me and comes out as more of a moan.
"What babe.. you don't want me to do this?" He lifts me up and sits me on the edge of my desk. Oh.
"It's.. " My thoughts are clouded by his lips against my neck. I dig my fingers into his hair and he nips at my skin. "We can't.. someone could come in.. or something." The words are jumbled and don't make much sense. He puts his hands on my thighs and opens them further.
"There is a lock on the door for a reason.. I really want to take you right here, on this desk. Or maybe against the window." His mouth travels lower on my chest. The idea of what he is proposing sends electricity through my body. His fingers brush over the lace on my panties and he sucks a breath through his teeth.
"You're killing me." He groans as he looks between my legs to see the white lace set I bought yesterday. I can't believe I am letting this happen, on a desk in new office on the second day of my internship. The idea thrills me as much as it terrifies me.
"Lock the.." I begin but we are interrupted by the shrill ring of my phone. I lean back and scramble t answer.
"Hello? Tessa Young speaking." I say. I really need to ask around and see how I should be answering the phone.
"Ms. Young. Tessa" She corrects herself. "Mr. Vance is leaving for the day and is on his way to your office." She says with a hint of amusement in her voice. She is warning me because Hardin and I are in here. She must be able to sense how irresistible Hardin can be. I flush and thank her before climbing off my desk.
"He's coming in here, stand over there." I gently push Hardin towards the window.
"Rain check then?" He smirks and there is a knock on my door.