Chapter 6 – Adam
The moment I saw the message from Chrissy, desire grew in my belly and my cock started to throb with need.
We made plans to meet for lunch on Friday and even if it was against my better judgment, I knew I would be counting every minute until I saw her.
I went to my kitchen and opened up the fridge, absentmindedly staring off into space. I forgot what I was actually looking for inside, so I just grabbed the first thing I saw— a Bud Light.
I laid down on my couch and flicked through the channels without actually paying attention. My mind kept drifting back to Chrissy and her beautiful long blonde hair, her sensual and sexy eyes.
The way she moved her hips with deliberate femininity drove me wild. I had to have her. I had waited on texting or calling her because I was afraid I’d start begging, but at the same time I’d seen the desire in her eyes when she’d looked at me at the party, and the kiss we’d shared in my car was smoking hot.
She would look so good naked. The sounds of her soft moaning and sighing as we’d made out in my car came surging back to my mind and tingled in my ears.
I felt myself growing hard and tried to shake the thoughts out of my head, at least for now. Friday was only two days away but my heart was pounding in my chest. I wasn’t sure I could wait the two days, but I had no choice. At least I would be distracted at work, I thought wryly.
I walked to my master bathroom and splashed cold water on my face, trying to focus on something else. I stared at my reflection for a few moments, wondering who I was and where I was going in life.
There were so many factors to consider when it came to starting something serious up with Chrissy. For starters, her brother was my best friend, and still loomed at the back of my mind. He’d messaged me a time or two since his ship had sailed, from somewhere in the Pacific, but even with satellite access, contact was spotty. I didn’t think it was the way to start a man-to-man hey-can-I-fuck-your-little-sister conversation.
Jack would be pissed off if he found out about us. I could hear him saying something like, “Boy, I am going to pound your ass into the ground.” It was kind of funny, and kind of cringe-worthy, because Jack was in good shape. But then, I hadn’t exactly let myself go. I could take him, but it’d be a hell of a fight.
And why was I even considering fighting my best friend over a girl I hadn’t even had a date with? I was probably overreacting—he would probably just say something like, “Dude, she’s an adult. You’d better be good to her and keep all the details to yourself.”
But then there was Chrissy’s father, the more local, and probably more realistic, threat. I wished I didn’t have to answer to these people. Chrissy was an adult. Yeah, she was a college student living at home during the summer, but she was still an adult. And yeah, I worked for Gary, but that didn’t give him the right to dictate what I did with my private time.
Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe Gary was all bluster. I guess I’d have to see what happened.
****
I pulled up in the parking lot of the Monroe Development Company, and stared at the twelve-story glass building rising above everything in the industrial park. For a second I felt like a kid, like I should be honored and humbled to even be allowed access.
But that was stupid— I did have a master’s degree in this, which was more than Gary Monroe had. I’d already worked on several highly successful and profitable projects as an intern. And since Gary wasn’t stupid either, he wouldn’t have put me on the team if I wasn’t going to help his company succeed.
He needed me as much as I needed him. And he was too much of a hard-ass to hire me because I was Jack’s best friend and had slept in his basement rec room more times than either of us could count. Gary didn’t care about crap like that, and definitely not when it came to business.
I had only been on the job for a little over a week but I still wasn’t sure how things were going, and I was having a hard time figuring out whether I was impressing Chrissy’s dad or not.
I walked into my office on the eleventh floor, which luckily for me was enormous and had wall to wall windows. It was just one of those perks of being a Development Executive.
I sat down at my desk and logged into my programs, ready to do a little research for a new project.
Not even five minutes into my concentration, and it was broken by the receptionist who popped into my doorway.
“Knock, knock,” Elaine chimed cheerfully. She was in her mid-fifties and had an eccentric personality. She reminded me of the girl on Criminal Minds who always called in with the research findings to the team out on the field. She even had funky white rimmed glasses.
“Hey Elaine.” I smiled politely.
“Good morning.” She bounced into the office with a smile on her face, but then it turned serious. That’s the way Elaine was, I was starting to figure out. She could be happy and friendly one second, but then all business the next.
“What can I do for you?” I looked up at her from where she stood directly in front of my desk.
“The boss would like to know if you have those numbers ready for him this morning.”
“Numbers?”
“Yeah, the numbers on how much the Cain project is going to cost?”
Suddenly it dawned on me and I felt a flood of relief. I shook my head. “Of course, yes I have those numbers for him— well, the projections, anyway.”
“Great!” Elaine grinned. “He’s ready to see you now.”
She turned on her heel and bounced out of the room.
He wanted to see me now? But the day was only just getting started, how was he even here yet? I normally beat him to the office.
I was quickly learning that I must be on some sort of short leash with Gary Monroe. He must be sizing me up or have caught some chemistry between Chrissy and me or he wouldn’t be giving me a hard time like this.
He was gruff enough as it was, but I also knew that micromanaging people and holding power over their heads was just a way to control things. I didn’t know if he did it to other Development Execs, but I figured if he needed me to prove myself, I could do that. I knew what I was doing—I’d had these projects solidified before I’d even started working last week.
He needs you as much as you need him, I reminded myself. If he thought I wasn’t right for the job, then he wouldn’t have hired me in the first place. I tried to give myself that little pep talk as I walked down the long hallway toward his office.
I passed by the rows of cubicles and heard our associates on the phone or answering calls. I kept my head straight ahead, focused on my destination.
I got to his office and noticed the door was open. At least I didn’t have to knock on the door and wait for him to respond and let me in.
“Hello,” I said as I walked assertively into the room. I knew I had to act confident or I’d be eaten alive. I didn’t go to school and work my ass off just to be weeded out of the system.
Mr. Monroe looked up from his computer. “Adam Gardner, just the man I wanted to see this morning.” He beckoned me in further and stood up to shake my hand. “Do you have those numbers, son?”
“Yes, right here.” I straightened out my shoulders. He was tough, but I’d be damned if I’d let him intimidate me.
“Good, good. Take a seat.” He gestured to the black leather chair in front of his large desk.
“Thank you.” I was going to resist the urge to add “sir” to everything I said to him if it killed me. “As you can see here, I’ve got the preliminary set of numbers at the top of the spreadsheet. In the middle I’ve listed ways to cut costs, and the third list is a way to stay within budget.”
I pointed to each list on the spreadsheet but Mr. Monroe only glanced at it and grunted sharply. He took the folder from me and tossed it dismissively to the side of his desk.
“Is there a problem, Gary?” I asked after a moment. “I know I’m new here, but those numbers are all accurate and verified.”
He cut me off by holding up a hand. “No, the numbers are fine.”
“Then what’s up?”
After a moment, Gary made eye contact with me. “You’re a smart guy, right?”
I was taken aback by the question but nodded anyway. “I’d like to think so,” I said cautiously.
“Good.” He nodded and looked back at his computer.
Was that some kind of threat? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to find out.
As if reading my mind, he looked back up at me and gave me a phony smile. “Just do the work as you’re asked to and stay out of trouble. You should be fine.”
He gave me a wink and I just stared blankly at him.
“What’s the matter, boy? Cat got your tongue?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I─”
But then I stopped, because I heard a familiar voice. It was down the hallway but it sounded like it was quickly approaching Gary’s office.
“Something the matter?” He raised his eyebrow.
“No, I’m fine,” I smiled politely. “Is that all you needed?”
He grunted.
I didn’t see anyone I recognized in the hallway. I went back to my desk and plopped down into the seat, running my hands through my hair in frustration.
I took a few calls and worked on some more spreadsheets before getting ready to head out to the field to check on a development site. I locked my computer and then I heard that familiar voice again, and the sound of her laughter.
I leaned my head out of my office. I had to do a double take and rub my eyes because I thought I was seeing a figment of my imagination at first.
Bianca. Fucking Bianca. As in my beautiful but hateful ex-fiancée, Bianca. We had been together a little over a year but we ended up calling off the wedding before we put down any deposits on stuff, thank God.
What was she doing in this office? Was she stalking me? Surely not. Part of me wanted to sneak out the back door to avoid a confrontation with her, but the other part of me wanted to know what the fuck she was doing here.
Then to even further my surprise, I watched as Mr. Monroe came up behind her to greet her. He was smiling brightly and shook her hand enthusiastically.
What the hell was going on here?
They both said something I couldn’t decipher from this far away and then they erupted into laughter as Bianca placed a hand on Mr. Monroe’s shoulder in a very friendly fashion.
I was getting more confused by the second. I looked down the hallway and licked my lips. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid running smack into them and I had no choice but to leave, I was going to meet with a contractor at the job site before heading home for the day.
I took a deep breath and began to stride down the hallway, toward the main exit to the office.
“Adam Gardner!” he called out.
I smiled at him and Bianca as I approached them. I pretended at first that I didn’t know who she was, because I didn’t know how much he knew about me and my private life.
“Adam, please meet Bianca Walker. She’s my new social media guru.” He grinned as proudly as if he’d introduced her as his mistress.
Smoking hot or not, she was off my radar. “Hello,” I said and tried to avoid eye contact with her. It wasn’t lost on me, however, that she looked positively gleeful about the entire thing.
“Hello.” Bianca smiled at me archly.
“Off to the races, Adam?” Gary looked at me questioningly.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to check out the new project on the east side and meet with a client.”
“Ah, good for you.” He smiled. “Well if you ever need to know where to find me, I’m sure that Bianca here will be able to track me.”
I wasn’t so sure about that but I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge before I had to endure any more of this excruciating conversation.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me. I don’t want to be late.”
I got to my car and shouted in frustration. But as I opened my car door, my phone buzzed. It was Chrissy. My heart leapt with excitement and anticipation. And thoughts of Bianca were long gone.