Chapter One
Abel
“You’re working late again?” Angie’s voice chastises me through my cell.
“I have to; the big prick is taking off on another date with the model-of-the-week and he left me a huge pile of work. It all has to be done by Monday morning or I’ll never hear the end of it.” I wish I could just set it on fire at this point, but I’ve never been much of a criminal.
“So do it tomorrow and come out with me tonight, Abe. You can’t spend another Friday night in the office doing that asshole’s work for him.” She sounds hopeful but I’m about to pop that hope like a bubble.
“I can and I will. I don’t want this stuff hanging over my head this weekend. It’s better to get it done now. If you’re still out when I wrap things up, I’ll meet you for a cocktail.” I can almost feel her shoulders slump with defeat.
“Fine. But if you don’t make it out tonight, it’s dinner and dancing tomorrow night. You have to move on, honey. Tom is never going to come around, and even if he did, do you really want him anymore?”
“Call you later. Love you, boo,” I say, and that elicits a giggle.
“Love you too, cupcake.”
In case you’re wondering, Tom is my boss. He’s the big prick who dumped a mountain of work on me so he could go out with yet another model. We’ve gone out a couple of times and I was stupid enough to believe we had something. That was months ago, and I’ve been holding out hope that he’ll come around. It’s dumb but I really liked him. I’m not the kind of person who just ditches people when they make mistakes.
I’m pretty sure at this point, he’s just using that personality trait to get me to do his work. So, I’ve let the asshole use me too many times. This is the exact reason Angie told me not to date my boss.
He’s so good-looking, though, and rich too. It was hard for me to say no when he looked into my eyes and asked me out to dinner. Something about the way he talked to me, and the way his eyes devoured me like a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, made me feel special. Now I know it’s an act. Tom is an exceptional showman and salesperson. Why can’t I let it go?
I take the files he left on my desk and break them down into piles. First, I sort them from biggest to smallest, and then I rearrange them in order of time to complete. That’s when I realize I’m procrastinating and wasting time too.
If I’m going to waste time, I might as well have a little fun doing it. So I spend a half hour looking up Tom and his date on the web. Most of the stuff I find about Tom I already know. His date is hot stuff in the fashion industry, and he’s dated a few actors and a couple of rock stars too.
He never sticks with them long, and I wonder if that’s going to be a relief or a disappointment to Tom. Ugh. I have to stop thinking about him. I’m seriously super pathetic right now.
I’ve had about as much of this place as I can handle. I quickly finish the two easiest of my tasks so that I can at least say I accomplished something other than cyberstalking my boss. My email chimes and it looks like Tom sent me a few more things to do this weekend.
“Thanks, asshole,” I murmur to myself. His date must be going swimmingly if he’s emailing me more work during dinner. That makes me feel a little better.
I’m done here for the night. I’ll get up extra early tomorrow and knock most of this out by the afternoon. Angie’s going to be pissed but I’d better head home to bed. I’ll make it up to her tomorrow night. I should also probably set up a dating profile on one of those sites for finding your perfect mate. It’s time to start taking steps to get over Tom. Even baby steps would be better than sitting around mooning over him and his Omega of the week.
After packing up my stuff and putting my trash can out for the night cleaning crew, I head to the breakroom to pick up my lunch bag. I’ve sent as much as I could of my workload to Tom’s email, but I’ve got a couple of physical files that need to be dropped off in his office before I forget.
An uneasy feeling washes over me as I walk down the hallway to his office. The cleaning people aren’t here yet and I should be alone in the building. It doesn’t feel like I’m alone, though. I can also swear I hear rustling coming from behind Tom’s door as I get closer.
I reach into my bag and grab my pepper spray. There’s a good chance I’m just being paranoid but I’m not going to take any chances. I’ve lived in the city long enough to know that no knight in shining armor or superhero with perfect hair and even more perfect abs is going to swoop in and save me.
My heart is racing and it feels like it’s going to jump out of my throat as I turn the doorknob to Tom’s office. It occurs to me that it would be smarter to turn around and go downstairs to the security desk. Or perhaps I should have called the cops? It didn’t matter. My curiosity was running the show at that point.
That’s right, I’m not alone in the building. Sam, the security guard, is here too. He should be down at the desk, but who knows if that’s where he is right now. Maybe he had a reason to come up here. That thought helps me calm down a little.
“It’s just Sam, so calm down Abel,” I whisper to myself, more as a prayer than an affirmation.
When I open the door, I’m so surprised at what I see that I drop the pepper spray. “Damn,” I curse myself.
“It’s far less effective that way.” The handsome intruder chuckles and gives me a disarmingly sweet smile.
I should probably scream and run away, but something about him makes me smile back instead. I even feel myself relax a little bit. He’s wearing a janitor’s uniform, but not the one the regular cleaning crew wears. Despite his piercing blue eyes and the adorable lock of dark hair curling against his forehead, I put my guard back up just a bit.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask as I straighten my spine.