________

BRYAN

 

Nothing had changed in the office the next day but everything was different for me.  It was just before 8:00 and I walked in with a different confidence than I’d had the previous day.  Sebastian Blocke was all I could think about and my life had literally been changed in one day.  He had a hold on me like no one ever had and I could not wait to see him that day.  I walked into my office and there on my desk, as promised, was the key to the penthouse.

 

Sebastian told me he would be in later in the day because he had something to take care of early in the morning.  I decided to take a walk down to Eva’s office to see if she wanted to go check out the penthouse with me because I was really anxious to get started, and it would be a great distraction from constantly thinking about Sebastian.  He was consuming every millimeter of my mind and I had to force myself to get into work mode.  As I strode through the office, my creative juices began to flow as I observed everyone hard at work.  Walking past everyone was the reminder I needed to remember I was actually employed at Blocke Designs.  I could not let my feelings for Sebastian cloud my brain and distract me from doing what I had wanted to do for so long.  That job was my dream job and I was not going to screw it up.

 

I knocked lightly on Eva’s door, hoping I was not interrupting her, and she told me to come in.  As soon as I walked in I could see her style in every corner of her office.  Her vision for design was impeccable and her office was gorgeous.  She smiled at me and gave me the quick once over.

 

“Good morning, sunshine!”  She came over to give me a kiss on each cheek and then she pulled back a bit and looked me, her finger circling in the air toward me.

 

“Something is different.”

 

I could feel my cheeks turning bright red and prayed she could not tell I had been with Sebastian.  We had decided we were going to keep that between us and the last thing I needed was for the entire firm to be gossiping about me, especially since I was new.  It was not the first impression I wanted to make.  I wanted people to see my design talent and know that I had earned my position the right way.  If word got out that I was sleeping with the boss I was worried that I would never gain the respect of my colleagues.

 

“No, not really.”  I tried to look as innocent as possible.

 

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me.  “Yes, really.  I know what’s going on, sweetie.”

 

My cheeks felt even hotter and my mouth suddenly went dry.  Damn it.  “You do?”

 

“Of course!  Sebastian emailed me to let me know about the penthouse.  Congratulations!  It is a great first project.”

 

I slowly exhaled as relief washed over me and didn’t realize I had been holding my breath for as long as I was.

 

“Yes!  Thank you!  That is exactly why I am stopping by.  Sebastian wants us to go up there today.  Can you go now?”

 

She glanced at her watch and a really weird look fell over her face and I couldn’t put my finger on what was going on.  Was she not interested in helping me with the project?  I only asked her because Sebastian told me to.

 

“Um, now is not a good time.  How about we go up around 2:00?”

 

I was a little bit bummed that I had to wait so long but it was fine.  I was going to need Eva’s help so whenever she was available was good with me.  I flashed her a smile before I headed back to my office.

 

“That sounds perfect.”

 

I sat at my desk and quickly scanned my calendar for the day.  I didn’t have anything until 9:30 so I decided I was going to take a quick sneak peak at the penthouse.  I was too impatient to wait until 2:00 and I was only going to look around for five minutes, so I figured there would be no harm in taking a quick glance before Eva and I took the detailed tour. I grabbed the key and rode the elevator to PH, giddy with excitement as I slipped the key in the lock.

 

When I opened the door I literally froze in place.  There at the kitchen counter was Sebastian dressed in nothing but a towel sipping a cup of coffee as he looked out the window at the breathtaking view.  He turned toward the door and the look of excitement I expected to see on his face when he saw me was not there.  Instead there was a look of panic quickly followed by annoyance.  Why is he looking at me like that? I tried to brush off the awkward feeling that was consuming me and I put on my best smile.  I wanted him to see that I was happy to see him.  Since he wasn’t saying anything I decided to speak first.

 

“Hey, this is a nice surprise.  You did say that you stay here when you’re too tired to go home.  I guess I wore you out last night, huh?”  My tone was teasing but he was not smiling.

 

The look on his face did not change.  There was no sign of him being happy to see me; not at all.  If anything, he looked like he wanted me to leave.

 

“Bryan, what are you doing here?”  His tone was firm and less than friendly.

 

I closed the door and started to walk over to him when something stopped me in my tracks.

 

“Babe, who are you talking to?”  The soft male voice floated into the room.

 

Babe?  It all happened in slow motion.  The tall, gorgeous blonde emerged from what was probably the bedroom in a pair of boxers.  His eyes slowly scanned me as he casually draped his left arm over Sebastian’s shoulder.  I felt sick to my stomach as I looked at Sebastian’s cold eyes and realized what I had just walked in on.  Somehow I found my voice and a little bit of courage as I looked at the blonde.

 

“Who are you?”  I asked with trepidation.

 

He raised an eyebrow and a nasty smirk touched the corner of his mouth.

 

“I’m Sebastian’s fiancé.  Who are you?”

 

Sebastian’s voice boomed throughout the room as he took a step away from him, his eyes filled with fire.  “Jason!”

 

Jason was clearly startled by his outburst and so was I.  I could feel the tears welling up and the last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of the two of them, so I had to get out of there.  I fumbled at the door and dropped the key.  I decided to just leave it and was almost out the door when Sebastian grabbed my hand.

 

“Bryan, let me explain.”

 

I turned sad eyes to him and shook my head.

 

“I’m such a fool.”

 

I slowly pulled my hand away and walked out of the apartment.  The elevator was still there so I quickly got in right before the doors closed in Sebastian’s face.  The tears fell gently down my cheeks as it hit me that the man I had just spent a beautiful night with was engaged to someone else.  I never wanted to see Sebastian Blocke again.