“you're taking up a fraction of my mind,
every time I watch you serpentine”
- Bad Liar, Selena Gomez
CHAPTER FOUR
"Oh, wait up. Could you deliver these files to Mr Carter before you get back to your research? I'm swamped right now." Lucas handed some files to a lady, his words making my ears perk up in interest. I was passing by Lucas' office, which was close to where I worked from, unlike Evan's office which was on another side of the floor.
I quickly stepped back as she reached the door, seeming irritated. I pretended to be engrossed in my phone, almost running into her as she took a few steps forward. "Oh! Pardon me."
"It's alright. People here are always in a rush. Never watch where they're going anyway." she grumbled sarcastically. Dark pencil skirt, plaid blouse, olive cardigan and a huge belt with designer heels and bold accessories. Someone liked to shop.
"I'm really sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I apologized. "Lovely cardigan, by the way."
She raised an eyebrow at me in surprise. "Thank you."
"The color is so rich. Where did you buy it from?"
Her annoyed expression turning into a pleased one. "Right? I got it online. 40% off." she smiled proudly, unconsciously smoothened it.
"Really? That's a steal. Why don't I ever get such deals?" I gushed, excitement bubbling in my voice.
"It takes practice. I'm a huge shopaholic!" she laughed. "Which department are you from? I don't think I've met you before."
"I'm in PR. I just joined recently." I said. "You're in marketing, right? I've seen you around a few times. Are you working on a new plan?" I motioned towards the files she was holding in her hands.
"I'm an analyst actually. These are just some files I need to drop off at Mr Carter's office."
"Is that so? I was just going in that direction. I can take them for you if you want."
"Really? I have so much work to do, but I don't want to throw you into the lion's den! Have you met boss? He is hot, alright, but so intimidating. I can't find my voice in front of him." she chatted away. I was glad to know that I wasn't the only one who thought this way.
"I have, actually. I really don't mind though."
"You're nice. Trust me, that's a rarity around here. Most of my colleagues are so grumpy! Makes my job ten times tougher."
"Tell me about it!" I chuckled, gladly taking the file she held out for me. Easy peasy.
Once she was out of my sight, I quickly opened the files, my patience wearing thin. My face dipped in disappointment as I carefully flipped through the pages. They were just some marketing reports, nothing interesting.
I sighed. It had become certain to me that I wasn't going to get my hands on anything useful this easily. I had to do more. I glanced at the files. Atleast they were my ticket to Evan's office. I felt warm all of a sudden.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on his door twice. "Come in."
The last time I saw him, he casually took home the bottle of wine I had joked about at the silent auction for 15,000 dollars. Casually. I didn't get a chance to talk to him the rest of the night after our dance, but I didn't miss the smirk he threw my way when he won that bottle. He was so smug... I hated it.
I opened the door and stepped inside, my eyes settling on the gorgeous man behind the desk. He was wearing a grey suit again that fit his muscular body irritatingly well.
"Ms Stone." he cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "What brings you here?"
"I came here to give these files to you." I said, keeping my tone neutral. "Mr Parker sent them."
"You can keep them on my table." he tapped on an empty spot on his table with his index finger. He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, his eyes slowly trailing down my body. It made my skin tingle. His eyes watched me like a hawk as I reached his desk, slowly putting the files where he told me to.
"Is that all?" I didn't miss the mischief in his voice. Like a dare. A challenge.
"Yes."
His lips twitched in amusement. As if he was having an inside joke with himself. Unfolded his arms, he got up from his chair, making me inhale sharply in anticipation. He stalked towards me like a predator, his steps slow and deliberate. A thrilling sensation ran down my spine.
He stopped merely inches away from me. He smelt delicious and my body wanted to lean in closer.
"Aren't you going to step back?" he whispered, his voice deep and husky. "Last time I saw you, you wanted to get away from me."
"No, I wanted to get a drink. But clearly you took it personally." I taunted with a smile.
"So you're saying I don't make you nervous then?" his voice was dangerously low, making goosebumps erupt on my skin.
Yes, you do.
"No, you don't." I took a daring step towards him, just to prove my point. Our bodies were almost touching and I felt heat pool up in my stomach. We were so close that I had to crank my neck up to look into his eyes.
Evan seemed momentarily surprised. He clearly hadn't expect this. Good. His eyes flickered to my lips, before darkening. The temperature in room rose up.
He leaned in closer, if that was even possible, his lips hovering over mine. My eyes closed on their own and I waited for his mouth to be on mine, shivering at the thought.
I waited. Waited. And just kept waiting.
I opened my eyes to see him walking back to his chair, a satisfied grin on his face. My mouth fell open, my face suddenly growing incredibly hot. I gritted my teeth, ready to explode.
"Take a seat, Ms Stone." he ordered casually, as if he hadn't just...done what he did.
Fine. If he wanted to play dirty, we could play dirty.
"There is something I wanted to discuss with you." he announced once I was seated. "I was going to have my assistant inform you later, but since you're here already, I'll get to it now."
I wanted to hit him. How did he manage to get the upper hand so easily? How did I let him get the upper hand so easily? His lips appeared so soft, so perfect, was it really the worst thing that I admittedly wanted to feel them on mine?
"Ms Stone? Are you listening?"
"Hm?" my cheeks heated up again. What the fuck was wrong with me?
"You seem a little dazed. Is there something wrong?" The smug expression was back on his face, pissing me off to no end. There was just so much that was wrong, starting with how extremely impish he was.
"Nothing's wrong. There is just a lot of work I need to get to. So I was hoping you could get on with whatever you need to discuss." I maintained.
An evil glint flickered through his eyes.
"I want you under me."
I blinked, his words taking a moment to fully registered.
A choked sound emerged from my throat as I began coughing ridiculously. "I-I'm sorry, what?"
He had a secret smile on his face as he poured me a glass of water, smoothly sliding it to me. "Here."
I snatched it in irritation, bringing it to my lips. I took a few sips, trying to compose myself, before setting it back on his desk.
"Like I was saying," he continued. Oh, lord. "Work under me."
"That's not how you put it the first time." I glowered at him. I knew he had done it on purpose and enjoyed it thoroughly too.
"How did I put it then?"
"You said—nevermind." I grumbled.
He smirked at me wickedly, but didn't comment on the topic any further. For some reason that only irked me further.
"As a PR assistant, I want you to report directly to me for the next couple of weeks. You'll be supporting the PR department and updating me regularly. We're in the middle of an expansion and I need everything to be approved personally by me during this time."
"The work has recently been a bit overburdening because of the expansion. I have two personal assistants you can coordinate with. They'll inform you what is to be done. Understood?"
I kept a straight face. "Yes."
"You'll be resuming your clerical and administrative duties, but you will also be assisting me. Think you can do it?" I saw it clear in his eyes, the challenge was back.
"I can do it."
"Good. If you do this properly, you may even be rewarded..." he trailed off making me shiver. Focus. Focus. Deep breath in, deep breath out.
"But.. why me?" I asked, almost hesitantly.
"Isn't it obvious?" he pursed his lips, drawing my attention to them. "I want someone to be at my constant beck and call, Ms Stone. I couldn't think of anyone else from your department to do that."
I swallowed. Deep breath in, deep breath out!
"Since you're a beginner, I mean. I need someone who doesn't already have too many responsibilities. Besides, Mr Parker highly recommended you for some reason." he clarified. Right. "I also think you will get to learn a lot with me."
Evan slowly reached for my glass on his desk, then took a sip from it, his eyes staying on me the entire time.
Every word he uttered, sounded like a threat, a promise, and it excited me more than it scared me.
He was so provocative.
Like he was going to beat me at my own game without even trying.
It got on my nerves. Every single one of them.
"Anything else?" I needed to get more time with him, but I also had a sudden urge to get away from him. He was confusing me too much.
"I suppose you haven't had a chance to talk to Mr Parker so you're unaware about the trip."
"What trip?"
"We're going on a business trip to Chicago in four days."
+++++
"You're going on a business trip to Chicago in four days!?" Ella exclaimed, eyes wide. "With our target?"
"I'm not going with Evan. I'm going. And he is going. So we're both going... But that's all. There is no ‘together’ in this. It's just a business trip. Other people will be there too."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why aren't you excited?"
"I am excited." I sighed, putting a piece of French fries in my mouth. We were slumped on the couch, having pizza. It had been a long day for me and I needed unhealthy food to function. "It's just that I'm more stressed."
"I can understand why this must be taxing." Ella nodded. "You didn't get off on the right foot with Evan so it's going slower than usual. But you're the one who wanted a challenge this time, right?"
"Mm." I hadn't told her about the attraction I felt for Evan because I wasn't sure what it was myself. I knew he had noticed the tension between us too, but I had no idea what he was planning to do about it. If he was planning to do anything at all.
I was intrigued by him.
Not his money, him.
Itt was extremely frustrating. I didn't know what to make of it. But I couldn't let it hinder with my plan.
My plan was his money, not him.
"Here." Ella passed me the beer bottle. "Just relax. It will be fine."
"I have work tomorrow." I almost laughed at how normal that sentence sounded. As if I was a regular person with a regular mean of income. "It's a weekday." I pushed the bottle away from myself.
"Really?" she scoffed.
"Really." I chirped. I sat up straight and removed my laptop from my bag. I logged in and opened my Word document. "Now let me work. This is urgent."
"What are you doing?"
"I didn't tell you? Evan asked me to write a small press release on the success of the fundraising event. I need to email it to him by tonight." I said, going through my final draft on my laptop. "Do you think he is trying to assess me? I keep getting the feeling that he is."
"Maybe he likes you already and our plan is going better than we thought." Ella answered jokingly. "Now keep that laptop aside. What happened to not wanting to be a corporate slave? You've been working all week on a job you don't care about, that you're not going to keep for too long anyway. You really need to cool off."
"Alright." I rolled my eyes at her. Ella could surely be dramatic when she wanted. I took a small sip of the beer she had been holding out for me. Maybe she was right. I just needed to cool off a bit. I was getting in my head too much.
I quickly sent the email to Evan, before logging off. "There. Now no more Evan Carter or corporate slavery for tonight. Only Netflix and beer."
Ella grinned. "Sounds like a plan."
+++++
I love it when Evan acts all mischievous. It's so fun to write. Do you like this side of him?
Q- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go first?