Chapter 22
Adalyn
The next few weeks of work passed in pretty much the same fashion as the first two. I didn’t see much of Ian after that night. The night of the movie. Of the almost kisses. Of the long, focused gazes into each other’s eyes. You know…that night.
He was giving me space. He had understood what I was asking of him loud and clear, without me having to voice it, and I would be eternally grateful to him for that. Ian had been more than respectful since the day I’d met him, so why did I feel so disappointed from him giving me what I wanted?
It was what I wanted, wasn’t it? Yes, it’s what I wanted. What I needed. For the first time in my life I was enjoying my job, giving it my all and actually succeeding. I couldn’t jeopardize that just to satisfy my sexual urges. Even without my job being a complication, there was also the matter of him being Stacy’s friend. No matter how I played out the situation in my head, sleeping with Ian would ultimately be a mistake.
Especially considering the fact that my feelings were bordering on becoming more than just sexual.
He was so devastatingly sexy that when I was near him it was like my brain was completely clouded in a lust induced haze. But every so often, when the fog would lift and I could truly see the man before me, my heart would soften just a little bit more. Ian was gradually working his way into my life in ways I hadn’t let anyone be a part of for a very long time. It was terrifying, but I couldn’t deny how much I also desperately wanted that with him.
I wanted him to see me, to know me, to understand me. It was all more than I could dare to hope for, so as much as I wished I could have an intimate relationship with Ian, I had to accept it would never happen. It couldn’t happen. I didn’t have a choice.
Unfortunately, no matter how many times I told myself that, practically keeping it on loop in my head 24/7, it couldn’t prevent all the things I shouldn’t feel from rising up whenever he was near.
Tonight, especially, would be extraordinarily difficult.
Our company was hosting a large charity event. Ian had founded the charity, and it was to raise awareness to school bullying. Obviously, an issue near to his heart. His involvement in the organization was touching, as he didn’t just donate money but also his time. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he sat patiently at a table full of children, probably middle school aged. It was so bizarre seeing him in a tux, sitting so casually with a group of kids, listening intently as they rambled on excitedly. It was endearing, and I felt myself wanting to swoon.
Ugh, I’ve got it bad.
At that moment, Carrie entered my line of vision, glaring at me like I was something she had drug in on the bottom of her shoe. I’d been doing a fantastic job of avoiding her at work. The place was large enough and with no one having set work hours, running into her didn’t happen often. When it did happen, she would just stare at me and grumble under her breath. Usually my entering a room was her cue to exit. Not tonight, apparently.
“What, Carrie? What do you want?” My feet were killing me in these ridiculously high stilettos, and I’d been in my gown for so long that I was desperately yearning for a pair of sweatpants. I’d grown so accustomed to dressing casually every day at work that having to dress this way tonight was even more uncomfortable than usual. Although, I had to admit that I looked pretty fantastic in my dress. The long, purple silk of my gown clung to my body in all the right places and the delicate beading that spanned the dress in a beautiful design sparkled under the lights. I felt a little bit like a princess.
“Quit staring at my brother.”
That got my attention. “What?” I snapped at her. “First of all, I’m not staring at your brother. Second of all, maybe you should mind your own damn business.”
She snorted at the same time as rolling her eyes. Is she seriously my age? She behaves more like she belongs over at that table with the rest of the kids.
“Deny it all you want, Adalyn, but I’m not blind. You’re fooling yourself if you think anything will ever happen between the two of you.”
“I’m not thinking anything of the sort, not that it’s any of your business. And I’m pretty sure your brother is a grown ass man and can handle himself. Tell me, Carrie, how would Ian feel about you coming over here and spitting your hatefulness in my face on his behalf?”
Her face fell and the arms she’d had crossed over her chest fell slack to her sides. Her eyes widened just a fraction, then narrowed, returning to stone.
“Just stay away, Adalyn. I mean it.”
Then she was gone. Good riddance. Even if I was thinking of trying to date Ian, his crazy sister would be enough to talk me out of it. But I wasn’t thinking of dating him. Not at all. Nope.
Ugh, screw it, I needed a glass of wine. I hadn’t driven, so what was the harm, right? Pretending to not have feelings for Ian was really wearing me down. I just needed a brief reprieve. As I approached the bar, Ian slid in next to me, sitting on a vacant stool.
“Is there something about my presence that leads you to drinking?” Ian teased, nudging my arm with his.
If only he knew just how true that was.
“I just don’t do well in these situations, the dressing up and stuff atmosphere. It’s not really my scene,” I shrugged as I took a sip of the wine the bartender had just handed me.
“Yeah, me either. I was actually thinking of heading out and grabbing a bite to eat. The food here was disgusting and I’m starving.” Ian scrunched up his nose and made a face over the food. He was so cute like this, I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped my lips. A real giggle. I was officially pathetic.
“That actually sounds great. Can we swing by the office first though? I’ve got a change of clothes there and I’m dying to get out of these shoes.” Ian stood and placed his hand on the small of my back. I pretended to not notice the flutters it was causing in my stomach. I didn’t miss, however, the glare coming from Carrie as we headed towards the door. So I winked. I couldn’t help myself, she just got under my skin.
To my surprise, Ian had driven himself. I had expected him to ride in a limo or some extravagant town car. In the least, I thought he would be driving an Aston Martin or some other ridiculously expensive car. Instead, he was driving an old trans am. It was in great condition, but it wasn’t at all what I would picture Ian driving. I had to admit that he looked sexy in his tux driving a vintage car though.
The ride to the office and up the elevators to our floor was filled with comfortable small talk and laughter. Ian was so easy to talk to and was such a great listener. The more time we spent together, the more difficult it became to deny the feelings I was having towards him. The sexual attraction had always been there, but those feelings were never hard for me to ignore. The constant urge to hold his hand, reach out and touch his face or just lean into his body with my head on his chest…those feelings were impossible to ignore. They were so foreign that I didn’t even know how to begin fighting them.
When the elevators opened to our floor, Ian and I were still laughing over a story he was telling about the time he hacked into the school’s database and got the answers to a test, when we heard muffled sounds coming from down the hall. It wouldn’t be unusual for someone to be working at this time of night, even on a weekend, but the sounds definitely did not sound normal.
We cautiously made our way down the hall, and as we heard the whispers and muffled sounds, I became increasingly nervous. Were there intruders in the building? A million different scenarios started running through my head and I instinctively reached for Ian’s hand. All of a sudden the muffled sounds became clearer and we heard someone shriek out a loud cry. Before I could even process what just happened, Ian was already running. Full on sprinting towards the source of the commotion.
I took off after him and turned the corner just in time to see Ian pull Martin, one of our team members, off of Lily, one of our developers. Ian grabbed Martin by the neck with one hand and slammed him down on the ground. Lily cried out, pulling my attention from Martin struggling to get out of Ian’s grip, and I ran over to her. I hugged her tightly, trying to soothe her, and led her towards the door. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Ian land a punch directly to Martin’s jaw, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth.
Lily and I walked out to the break room and she sat on a couch while I made her a cup of tea. I knew too well what was happening in there. Her shirt was torn, her face streaked with the constant flow of tears, and her right eye was already red and starting to swell. The only consolation to all of this is that she was still clothed, so maybe he hadn’t hurt her. At least, not in that way.
Lily was still sobbing uncontrollably when the police arrived. As the officers escorted Martin out of the building, a paramedic approached Lily, checking her for injuries. I offered several times to ride with her to the hospital, but Lily had insisted she would be fine and that her sister was meeting her there. I didn’t want her to feel alone, but the humiliation of what I’d witnessed was obvious on her face and I didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable. She had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and I resolved that I would give Lily a few days, but then I was going to try to talk to her about what happened. I was confident I could help her.
Ian approached me as the last of all the emergency personnel exited our office and I sighed in exhaustion. It had been two hours since we arrived to find Lily and Martin, and despite my exhaustion and hunger from still not having had dinner, I was so incredibly grateful we had gotten here in time to prevent Martin from hurting Lily any more than he already had.
Looking over at Ian, you could see the exhaustion in his body as well, but in his eyes was anger. The way he had leapt into action with no second thought, instinctively protecting Lily - it was messing with my head. He ran a hand through his hair, his shirt half untucked and his clothes wrinkled from the struggle. He looked disheveled and perfect. He gave me a tight smile when he saw me staring at him, and every reason I’d been telling myself to stay away from Ian just disappeared. So I wrapped my hands around his neck and roughly pulled his lips to mine.