I don’t know why I decided to stay behind this late. Actually, I do. I hope work will keep my mind off Erin. I’m constantly thinking about her, but achieving no satisfaction. Our little performance in my office earlier only made the entire situation worse. Now I know she has some rather kinky fantasies, but, thanks to Sanchez, I didn’t get to hear exactly what she wants.

I still can’t believe she wants to tie me up. I’d have never expected that. And I think I’d be into it. Normally, it would never be my thing, since I like to have all the power and control. But with this hot, mysterious woman, I think I would have to see what all she had in mind, to say the least.

I’d left the office to pick up some dinner and now I’m on my way back. It wasn’t until everyone had left that I realized how hungry I was. I had worked my way through lunch, which I often do. And for some reason, I’m going back to the office to eat my takeout. A lot of what I’ve been doing lately hasn’t made much sense.

I get to the top floor and head for my office. The door is open. I’m pretty sure I closed it.

As I get closer, I think I hear… mumbling? I can’t pick up any words, but it sounds like someone is in there. Is it Sanchez? Would he sink so low to search my office? That’s not even a question; of course he would. The man is on a mission. I march to my office with the intent of telling him off.

“I swear to God, Ron—” I get inside but instead of Ron, I see Erin with a look of alarm on her face. She looks beyond scared and I immediately feel sorry.

“Mr. Reed!” She jumps out of my seat and it rolls back and hits the wall. The noise makes her wince. “What are you doing here?”

The better question is…

“What are you doing here?” She seems to calm down a little and realize that she may be the one in the wrong. She hugs herself and curls into her body.

“I-I was dropping off another file,” she points to it, “and I guess I- I don’t know… I’m sorry I came into your office like this. If you want to fire me, I understand…”

Fire her? That’s ridiculous. I still need to figure out why I’m so enraptured with her. Plus, her sitting at my desk, after hours when it’s just her and me alone, isn’t such a horrible thing.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not a big deal. You just did something I do every day.”

She’s surprised, but I can see her shoulders go down as she relaxes. Her arms drop and I even get a small smile.

“Really?”

“Really.” I go over to my desk and sit down opposite of Erin. She watches me with an unchanging expression. “Why don’t you sit down?”

“In your chair?”

“Yeah, like I said. No big deal.”

Erin finally takes a seat, but I can see she’s once again quite tense. I’d love for her to relax. She shows so much more of herself when she’s relaxed. She has her hands folded on her lap and won’t look at me.

“I just picked up some dinner and you can join me, if you want. I honestly got way too much food and I don’t want it to go to waste.”

She looks up at me.

“I am hungry…”

I had decided on pizza since it was the closest place. I tell her to open my desk and get some paper plates. Soon we both have some slices, but I’m the only one eating. Erin must still be uncomfortable.

“What are you doing here so late?”

It is a bit weird. Even I don’t stay this late typically and I actually own a part of this company. She’s only been here for… three days? Wow. I’ve known her three days and look at the mess we’re in.

“I just wanted to get some work done. I didn’t realize how late it was getting.”

She finally takes a bite and I think that if I can hold an everyday conversation with her then maybe she’ll relax. I ask her about her family, hobbies, life, anything I can think of. Soon, we’re both laughing and I’ve learned a lot about her. She loves to cook and paint. This is her first job. She’s an only child from a very religious household. She wants to move out of her parent’s house, but needs to get the funds together. She also loves to run.

I wish she wasn’t so ashamed of what happened between us. I also wish I didn’t care so much. She’s one woman, yet her happiness has become… important to me?

I even divulge some facts about myself. I don’t like talking about myself with anyone, especially women I’ve been with. But I guess, technically, I haven’t been with Erin, but I would like to be with her and, in my mind, sharing isn’t very sexy. But she must be the exception because the more I learn about her, the more I want to know.

Before I know it, we’ve been talking for a couple hours and it’s almost… ten o’clock!

“I didn’t realize how late it was.”

I can tell Erin doesn’t know how late it has gotten, so I tell her. Once again, she shoots up from her chair.

“Oh my god! I need to go!” She’s scrambling to gather her stuff and I find this mad dash slightly amusing. But I don’t want her to leave.

“You don’t have to leave. We can keep talking.”

My words make her suspicious and to be honest, if I was her, I’d be wary, too. Usually, this is the kind of line that I would use in the hopes that by the end of the night I’d be having sex. But just spending time with Erin is enough. Of course, I want to sleep with her, but I also just want to be with her.

Dear God, what am I saying?

“If you’re afraid the night will take a turn… I can be good if you can be good.”

I look at her expectantly, hoping she’ll say yes. She stops her scramble and looks down at me. I can see her thinking about my proposal.

“I’d like to stay,” she says this while fidgeting with her hands, “but I need to get home. My parents are waiting. I’m sorry.”

If she wants to stay, she should stay. But I don’t want to push her away. I feel like tonight has changed things between us and if I move too fast, I might scare her off again. I watch as she gathers her things and heads for the door. She’s about to leave, but before she exits, Erin turns back to me.

“Plus, I don’t think I could be good for much longer, anyway.”

With that, she leaves my office and I’m left to contemplate her words. She keeps saying things that I can’t wrap my head around. This has gotten a lot more involved than I’d expected. It is nothing like the “relationships” I’m used to, that’s for damn sure.