Chapter 15
Ian
I waited in the car while Adalyn ran into her apartment to get a change of clothes. The position I was actually looking to fill was secretarial, but now knowing how much Adalyn hates the mundane, I knew she wouldn’t be a good fit there.
Stacy had shown me some of Adalyn’s art and even let me listen to a few songs she had written. I knew she had talent and would be beneficial to my creative team. We didn’t need anyone else in that area right now, but I’d be damned if I was going to let her get away. I could come up with a way to integrate her into the team.
I was handling this all wrong. There were protocols that were to be followed when hiring someone for the creative team, but I knew if I started making Adalyn sign contracts before she even understood what we do then she would bolt. Handing her documents full of rules and stipulations before ever explaining anything did not sound like something that would go over well.
I found myself bouncing my leg up and down anxiously, tapping the steering wheel incessantly. It felt like she had been gone for an hour, but looking at the time on my phone it had only been five minutes. Just as I thought I was going to lose it if I had to sit there any longer, she emerged from the building carrying a small duffle bag.
“Buckle up, Sunshine¸” I said as she slid back into the passenger seat.
“I don’t think calling me annoying nicknames is entirely appropriate during an interview, Ian. Assuming this is still an interview after the bizarre turn of events.”
“Ian, I seriously hate this building,” Adalyn said to me with a look of disgust as we entered the main lobby.
“So, tell me then, what would you do to make it better?”
“Well, first thing I would do is remove everything in here and then replace it all.”
“Oh, well if that’s all I need to do then I’ll just get right on it.”
I liked this playful Adalyn. I felt like she was finally starting to be more comfortable around me. I could tell she was still guarding herself, but I was hoping that once she saw my main work space that maybe that would change. I had no way of knowing how she would react once we got up there, but my instincts told me she would like it. At least I hoped she would.
Stopping her just before the elevators, I gently pulled her to the side, out of the way.
“Before we go up there, let me explain a little bit about what we do here. We are creators. Not to be confused with inventors. We don’t invent entirely new products. We take existing products and make them better, expand on them or develop a similar product but with improvements. Companies come to us for re-branding and product makeovers. We specialize in entertainment, mostly in recreational types of products.”
“Okay…I don’t know if that explanation made it better or worse. I still have no idea what you do here, and what all of that would have to do with me needing a change of clothes.”
“You’re right, there really is no way of explaining it. Best I can do is show you. So, let’s head on up.”
We rode up to my main office on the fortieth floor in silence. Despite how large the elevator was, we both stood very close to each other, our shoulders almost touching. I could smell her sweet perfume and could hear her breathing, slightly faster than normal. When our hands brushed against each other her breathing picked up even more and I risked a glance at her. She noticed my movement and glanced up at me returning my smile.
I wanted so badly to twine my fingers through hers, pull her chest flush to my body and press my lips to hers. After our kiss at my apartment I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about tasting her again. I knew her working here would complicate things, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spend more time with her. I was finally making progress and if what she needed was more time to get to know me and trust me, then I would be patient.
When the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened I heard Adalyn let out a huge sigh. Had she been holding her breath that whole time? Was she as affected by me as I was by her?
I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her out into the room, and she tensed at the contact but relaxed after a few seconds. When she finally looked up and took in her surroundings I couldn’t help but laugh at the astonishment on her face.
“Holy shit, Ian. What is this place?”
“This is the game room.”
“You say that like it’s supposed to clear things up for me. I thought we were going to your office. This looks like an arcade,” she said in awe, spinning in circles and touching everything. She ran her fingers down a vintage pinball machine to the right of the room and then plopped down onto one of the bean bag chairs that were laying around sporadically throughout the room.
“Think of this as one of the employee break rooms.”
“Hold up. First of all, this is just one of the break rooms? Second of all, who has an entire game room as a break room?”
Extending my hand to her to help her stand, I took the duffle bag from her and slung it over my shoulder. “Come on, let me show you around. It will start to make more sense.”
The room was expansive, and several employees were taking advantage of it’s perks. There was a full kitchen to the left that was fully stocked with every kind of beverage and food you could imagine. In each corner of the room were different table top games; a pool table, a ping pong table, air hockey and even ski ball.
An employee walked over to ask me a question and in the ten seconds it took me to answer them, I had already lost Adalyn. I found her playing air hockey with Mitch, one of my developers. She was cracking up and trash talking him, laughing like they were old friends. How had she made a friend already?
I just stood back and watched until the game was over, and after they high fived Adalyn hopped her way back over to me. “Sorry, I heard him say he needed an opponent and I didn’t want to leave him hanging.”
This woman was an enigma to me. “It’s perfectly fine, I want you to be comfortable here. I think you’ll find that pretty much everyone here is laid back and easy to get along with. We encourage that type of environment. Stress in our line of work can be detrimental to our progress, so we do everything we can to keep the staff happy while they are here.”
I led her down a long corridor, waving and saying pleasantries with my staff as we went.
“I can see why you told me to get a change of clothes. Everyone here is wearing jeans and t-shirts. I look like an idiot in my skirt and heels.”
Stopping in front of her, I put her chin between my fingers. “You look beautiful, Adalyn,” I said with the most serious and sincere look I could manage. She blushed and looked down, and I cleared my throat remembering I was talking to a potential employee, not a date.
We approached the employee lounge. “This is our lounge area. It has showers, dressing rooms, lockers, free toiletries. Just about anything you need. Go ahead and go change, you’ll want more comfortable clothes for this next part. I’ll wait out here for you.”
A few moments later Adalyn emerged from the lounge wearing tight fitting yoga pants and a fitted pink t-shirt. Her clothes looked like they were painted on her, showing every curve of her perfect body, and I had to fight the stirring feelings that threatened at the sight of her.
I placed my hand on the small of her back again, and guided her to the end of the hall. When we reached the door to our destination I stopped to look at her again.
“One last thing, Adalyn. What you see behind these doors is highly confidential. You are the first employee to have been in this room prior to signing a non-disclosure and a non-compete clause. So I’m trusting that if you don’t take the job, you will keep everything you see beyond this door just between us. Do you understand?”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she swallowed heavily as she nodded in agreement. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.
Here goes nothin’.