Amber
My hips shook as I sang along to Maroon 5's Animals and finished polishing the mahogany desk in the CEO's office. With the last portion of the wood buffed to a pristine shine, I tucked the neon orange microfiber cloth I'd been using into the pocket of my work apron. Pleased with the thoroughness of my cleaning, I allowed myself a few seconds to dance. My hands were up over my head as I continued singing, and I wiggled my hips as I spun around toward my cart.
"Baby I'm preying—"
My warbling came to an abrupt halt as I spun around and realized I wasn't alone in the room. I could feel my cheeks turning a tomato shade of red as I yanked the earbuds from my ears, my mouth hanging open like a damn trap door.
My over-the-top reaction was a response to the single most gorgeous man I'd ever seen in my life leaning against the closed office door. Black hair and a carefully trimmed beard accentuated a face that made my mouth go dry.
Casually dressed in well-worn blue jeans, a pale gray tee and a pair of black Doc Martens, he somehow managed to look like he'd just stepped out of the pages of a magazine. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. This was because I could not stop gaping at him. His eyes held mine as he strode across the room purposefully covering the distance between us. When he stopped in front of me, I realized his eyes were a unique dark navy color, one I'd never seen before.
"Are you wearing colored contacts?"
His eyes widened in surprise as he barked out a laugh.
I barely refrained from smacking my forehead while I groaned inwardly. Jesus. I'd just been caught getting down like a backup dancer for JLo and the first words I managed to force out were about his eyes. I knew he had to be thinking I was a complete lunatic.
"I'm not wearing contacts," he answered, the laughter still in his voice as he came to a stop in front of me. "My grandmother claims God went a little darker when he colored in my eyes."
My humiliation soared to new heights when he mentioned his grandmother because I knew my assumption about who he was had to be correct. There was no doubt that I was looking at Jacob Channing, the CEO of Fragrance Allure. Not only had I just been busted dancing, one of the owners of the company had been the one to catch me in the act.
I swallowed past the nerves tightening up my throat as I looked down to the cream color berber carpet beneath my feet. I'd been on the job for eight months without incident but there was no doubt in my mind I was about to be fired.
My only option was to throw myself at his mercy. "I'm so, so sorry—"
His eyebrows pinched together as he cocked his head to the side. "For what?"
I was entirely too transfixed by him, so much so that I had to force myself to look away.
"I, uh… for dancing," I spluttered.
Several seconds had passed before I dared to let my gaze return to his face. Big mistake. I tried not to allow myself to get sucked into staring into his eyes, but I'd miscalculated in a big way. Instead, my attention was on his lips. Dear sweet Jesus, they were perfection. They were the definition of the term kissable, so much so that I had to fight a damn near overwhelming urge to lean in and trace my tongue across his lower lip.
I forced myself to look down, which wasn't any better. The gray tee stretched across his broad chest might as well have had you know you want to touch this written on the front. Heaven help me, I really did.
"It would be criminal to fire you for dancing," he replied.
God, the timbre of his deep voice made me want things I'd never even considered before. I knew I was blushing harder as the temperature in the room went up about eighty degrees. I stifled a groan when I felt a bead of sweat sliding down my back beneath my shirt.
It wasn't fair that he looked like six plus feet of absolute perfection while I was wearing navy blue polyester shorts, a yellow polo shirt with the company logo stitched over the left breast, and a pair of Keds. My self-confidence was nil at the moment, and that wasn't taking into account that my platinum blonde and pink hair was in Pocahontas style braids. The short navy and yellow polka dot covered apron I wore was the mortifying cherry on top.
I felt myself blushing as I bit my lower lip. "I shouldn't have been doing it here," I said. "I know I'm paid to clean." He gestured around the office with his right hand. "Looks pretty damn clean to me. If dancing helps you do your job this well, keep it up."
His eyes sparkled with amusement as he brought his gaze back to me. I caught a whiff of his cologne, something sporty yet sensual. My already scrambled thought process devolved even further. "I, um, thank you?"
"Was that a question or a statement of thanks?" he teased.
I desperately needed to get myself together. My stomach was a bundle of nerves, and my heart was beating like it did when I was miles into a run.
After a deep breath, I tried again. "It was a thank you."
Anxious to do something that would allow me to focus on something that wasn't him, I turned to my cleaning cart.
"I appreciate your understanding, Mr. Channing. I'll get out of your hair now."
"I need you to call me Jake."
I refrained from pointing out that my supervisor would probably fire me on the spot if he heard me calling the CEO by his first name. Even knowing I'd probably get in trouble if anyone found out, I felt compelled to use it.
"Okay… Jake."
"Don't you want to tell me your name?" he asked.
The weird thing was that I did want him to know my name—but really, what was the point? It wasn't like our paths would cross in the future. Still, I told him anyway.
"It's Amber," I answered as I began rolling my cart toward the door.
He came forward and set his hand down on the side of it, stopping me from continuing. "Show me where it needs to go, and I'll push it there," he said.
"No!" I yelped. "If anyone sees you pushing my cart, I'll be fired for sure."
Jake frowned as he shook his head. "I'd like to see someone try."
"No, really," I squeaked frantically. "I'll lose my job. There's a reason cleaning of the executive offices happens after you've all left for the day and that reason is that we're not to be seen. It took me forever to find a job that didn't require me to work before three in the afternoon that didn't require food service. I'm the worst waitress in the entire world, Jake. I can't lose this."
The internal struggle he was having played out across his face for several seconds before he nodded and lifted his hands away from the cart.
"I don't like this."
My dancing in his office hadn't been an issue, but pushing a wheeled cart was an issue for some reason. I wasn't sure why.
"It's nothing to worry about," I assured him. "I push this thing around all night, and I've never had a problem. It's not like it's heavy."
"I'm assuming you like working here?"
"Yes," I answered. "It's got great hours, the pay is good, and the benefits are excellent. It's a no drama, no tension job and I want to keep it that way."
He nodded. "Can I ask you a question?"
"What do you do during the day that you need to work at nights? College?"
The minute I thought of Macon, I smiled with pure love. "No. I graduated last year. I figured I'd be working in an office by now, but instead, I'm home with the baby all day."
Jake looked unhappy with that. I wondered why.
"You're married?"
I shook my head. "Oh! No. Macon isn't mine. He's my nephew. My best friend is alone because her husband is deployed, so I'm helping out until he gets back. I watch the baby Monday through Thursdays during the day while she's in class. That's why I needed a job with these hours."
He looked impressed, which made me smile. Most people thought it was weird that I had stepped in to help so that Caroline could finish her degree. She'd missed our senior year because of her pregnancy, and I knew better than anyone what graduating meant to her.
"You're a great friend," he said.
I shrugged as I let out a little laugh. “Caroline is my family and what I’m doing is just what family does."
He nodded his understanding. "There's nothing more important," he agreed.
I smiled, pleased with his understanding.
"So you like children," he stated.
I nodded. "I love them. In a perfect world I’d wind up with three or four of my own in a few years."
He smiled at me like I'd just shared invaluable information with him.
"You're very young to be thinking about having a family," he stated.
"I don't feel as young as I am," I said with a little laugh.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"I turned twenty-three last week."
"I'm sorry I missed it. Happy birthday, Amber."
My eyes had dropped to his lips as he spoke but when he wished me a happy birthday, my gaze flew up to meet his.
"I—thank you, Jake."
We stared at each other for countless seconds, not saying a word. The air seemed thick with heightened tension, and I found myself leaning toward him. Never before had I felt such a need to be closer to someone. Something about him seemed to be calling out to me as though it was inviting thoughts and desires that I'd never experienced.
Sounds from the hallway pulled me up short. I acted quickly, getting into position behind the cart as I began pushing it toward the door.
"Wait! Don't leave—"
Jake's sentence was interrupted as the door to the office swung open.
"I'm just checking in to see if you need any help finishing up—"
My shift supervisor, Glenn, stopped talking when he saw Jake was in the room.
"Wow, Mr. Channing, I'm so sorry. Had I known you were coming in I would have altered the cleaning schedule, so we didn't interrupt you."
I dared not turn around as I felt Jake walking closer to me. "It's no problem," Jake answered affably. "I'm not here to work. I just came by to grab a file for a conference call I've decided to take from home in the morning."
"Ah," Glenn said as he nodded, "I see. Well, glad we weren't underfoot. It looks like you're finished in here, right Amber?"
For some reason, I was reluctant to leave without saying goodbye to Jake, but there was no choice. I didn't look back as I pushed the cart out the door.
I had not a shred of doubt that I'd never see Jake Channing again.
* * *
I was still thinking about a certain tall dark and gorgeous CEO as I left work almost two hours later. I'd seen my share of handsome men in my twenty-three years, but none had made the impression he had. Too bad someone like Jake would never be interested in dating someone like me.
I yawned as the elevator doors opened into the parking garage. It was just a few minutes after nine, which meant I'd be at Caddy's Diner enjoying my standing order of their pancakes of the day by nine thirty. Afterward, I'd go home, do a load of laundry and get to sleep by midnight. That meant I'd get a good seven or eight hours of sleep, depending on what time Macon got up. Caroline's first class was at eight, so she had to leave the house by seven to get there in time.
I knew she was looking forward to graduating so that she could be the one to spend those early morning hours with the baby. She was also anxiously awaiting Rob's return from Afghanistan. His six-month deployment had become eight, which meant he'd missed out on almost all of Macon's ten months of life. I could see the strain of that was wearing on them both, and I prayed each night that word of his return would come soon. Caroline would be graduating in another ten weeks, and I knew she wanted Rob there more than anything.
As I approached my car, I lifted my head and stopped dead in my tracks. Jake was there, leaning against the cement pillar between my car and the next space. I glanced around, sure that he had to be waiting for someone else. His eyes locked onto mine as I stepped closer.
"What're you doing here?" I asked.
"Waiting for you," he answered.
I couldn't contain the smile that spread across my face.
“Really?”