Gabriella
It’s a bright spring afternoon, and, for the first time in months, I don’t feel as if the world is coming to an end.
My mood might be due to the beautiful pink blossom from the cherry trees blowing across the lawns like confetti outside the conference room. Or it might be the new suit I’m wearing that I bought for today, because I wanted to look smart for the Japanese investors.
Or it might be the fact that the guy sitting at the far end of the table hasn’t taken his eyes off me since I walked into the room.
I know who he is: Harrison Grant, one of the four directors of Hearktech, the telecommunications company I work for. Harrison is, quite possibly, the most gorgeous guy in the history of the world, ever. Maybe in the history of the universe. He’s around six-foot-two, and even though I’ve only seen him in a suit, I just know that beneath his crisp white shirts his body is so tanned and toned it would make a girl’s fingers itch to touch it. And his face… oh, his face. Movie-star handsome, and with a pair of warm brown eyes that have creases at the corners because he’s always smiling.
But I’m not interested. Yes, he might be god-like and have featured in my dreams every night since I started work at the firm, and his sex appeal might be like strong cologne, making women turn and inhale when he walks past, and he might be filthy rich, with an emphasis on the filthy, judging from what I’ve heard in the lunch room, and… wait, where was I? Oh yes, I’m not interested. For a hundred reasons that I remind myself of every night when I lay in bed panting and sticky in the darkness from yet another Harrison-induced fantasy.
Recently, my life has been turned upside down and inside out, and I’m not looking for a man right now. I have plans, and none of them involve staying here and dating, even if the guy happens to be a descendent of Apollo. I’m working hard and saving my money, and I’m going to leave this crappy city behind and travel the world until the memory of everything that’s happened here has become a distant blur.
Besides which, I’ve met Harrison’s type before. Men who look that good are mostly arrogant, self-obsessed, and convinced every woman they meet is going to fall ass over tit for them. Annoyingly, they’re usually right, and because of that they go through women like ordinary men go through socks. They use them and discard them, and as much as it pains me to admit that being ‘used’ by a guy like him in a sexy way might feature in some of my fantasies, there’s no way I’d ever hand my heart to this sort of man.
Until today, I was convinced that Harrison Grant wouldn’t have looked at me twice. I’ve been working at the company for three months, for Christ’s sake, and I don’t think he’s even been aware I’ve existed. And then today I walked into the conference room to find his eyes fixed on me, making me feel as if he can see through my new suit to my lacy underwear.
“Are you okay?” The question is whispered by Colette Holmes, the marketing assistant who started here just before me. The two of us are at the back of the room, waiting to hand out a series of documents to the attendees. “You look kind of… dazed.”
I flick a glance across to Harrison. He’s still watching me. “His eyes are like lasers.” He’s supposed to be paying attention to the presentation on the screen. I have a feeling he hasn’t looked at it once.
Colette follows my gaze, then smirks. “His tongue is practically flopping on the floor.”
I turn away and fuss with the pile of folders on the table. My face burns, and I suspect I’ve turned scarlet. “Will you stop? Harrison Grant would never be interested in me, and anyway, I don’t date, remember?” Colette has already tried to pair me off with half a dozen of her friends, to no avail, as, since the event I have affectionately termed Armageddon, I refuse to set foot out of my apartment in the evenings.
She sticks out her tongue. “I’m determined to get you fixed up with someone, and if it can be one of Sebastian’s friends, that’d be great. We can double date!” She grins. Colette lives with one of the other directors of Hearktech. Apparently, Sebastian had never dated anyone at the office until she turned up, but they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Although she now works full time at the firm, they’re careful to make sure their relationship remains understated at work. But I’ve seen him come up behind her when he thinks nobody’s looking, and I love the way he nuzzles her neck, whispers in her ear, and makes her giggle and blush.
The thought of a man like Harrison Grant doing that to me gives me tingles all over. The last thing I need is a panic attack, so I do what I’ve always done, and list culinary ingredients in my head, one for each letter of the alphabet. Allspice, basil, chicory, dill...
“Why on earth are you reciting herbs?”
I hadn’t realized I was doing it aloud. What is wrong with me? Why am I always such an idiot?
“I’m not interested in Harrison,” I state, collecting up the folders as the speaker draws to a close. “And he would never be interested in me anyway.”
“He looks interested. He looks very interested. He looks as if he’s thinking about covering you in melted chocolate and licking it all off.”
“Colette!” I whisper furiously.
“Well, he is. Don’t tell me he doesn’t make your mouth water. I’ve seen the way you watch him when you think nobody’s looking.”
“Of course I think he’s hot—he’s practically an oil painting. If you look up ‘stud’ in the dictionary, it just has a photo of him. But that’s irrelevant. I’m not even going to talk about this. Men are so far off my radar, he’s not even a blip. That’s the end of the matter.”
“Blah, blah,” Colette says. “You have a little bit of drool right there…” She touches the corner of her mouth.
Ignoring her, I walk toward the conference table with the folders and start laying them in front of the guests. The last thing I need is a man in my life, and I’m not going to give him a second more of my thoughts.