Zoey
After Easton left to go to the gym Sunday, leaving me behind in his bed, I felt weirded out and ended up leaving shortly after him. Something about being in his empty penthouse made me feel like I was invading his privacy.
I’m so damn in love with him and there isn’t a damn thing I can do to stop it without pushing him completely away. And that is something I will not do.
I haven’t seen him since Sunday, and although I’ve talked to him on the phone, I miss him. This morning I woke up invigorated. Giddy to see him. It feels like this weekend we peeled back a layer and our relationship…is it a relationship? Anyway, our relationship is budding into something, something great.
I threw on a black and white striped skirt with a peach blouse and put extra pep in my hair by adding waves. Seeing his mouth gape and him struggle to keep his hands off me is titillating. I like knowing I’m teasing him, both physically and mentally. Driving him insane in all the right ways.
He’s in his office with the door shut when I step off the elevator. Weird. He’s normally never here this early and he didn’t say anything about it when I spoke with him yesterday. I place my purse under my desk, wake up my computer, and turn the phones on before starting toward his office. Except the chime of the elevator steals my steps.
Recognition sinks into my heart. Penelope Elliots, in the flesh, sashays toward my desk, gliding with finesse in all her beauty and confidence as if she owns the place herself. She’s dressed to impress—skin-tight blouse leaving her shoulders bare and uncovered. A black pencil skirt snug against her lithe hips. Even her black heels demand attention.
I bite a smile. “Good morning. How may I help you?”
Her smile is polished, perfected, and modelesque. Perfect white teeth are outlined by bright red smooth and quintessential lips. “I have an appointment with Easton Langley. I’m Penelope Elliots.”
I blink, surprised at how sweet her voice sounds. My pulse is crazy stupid in my chest. Politely, I smile. “Yes, ma’am. Right this way.”
My fingers are trembling as I tap on the door and push it open. “Sir, Ms. Elliots is here to see you.” My tone is prevailing professionalism.
He doesn’t look at me when he exhales. His shoulders sag as he drops his head. “Send her in,” he says, his voice passionless and treading on icy cold.
She nods at me as she passes by and as I pull the door shut, leaving the two ex-lovers in the same room. I’m left with the visual of her gorgeous blond hair, braided and cascading between her shoulder blades. And Easton is the background with a smug grin.
Minutes tick by and as I try my damnedest to stay busy with work, I subconsciously bounce my knee…completely unfocused. Minutes turn into thirty and I want to throw up. My thoughts race everywhere, insecurities sending up red flares. My imagination is in high gear. Have they ever had sex on his desk like he wants to with me? Are they talking about it, reliving the memories?
Bile churns in my stomach.
Thirty minutes turn into an hour. I all but jump out of my seat when I hear the click from the door. I want to burst into tears and beg him not to leave me. I want to yell and stomp my foot, demanding him not to go back to someone who doesn’t respect him, or love him like I will…I do.
I do none of that. Instead, I push all my insecurities aside and gather my professionalism, pulling it deep from within.
As she walks out in front of him, his eyes are locked on to mine. He stands beside me, his hands in his pockets, his expression indulgent.
Penelope turns. “Thanks again for meeting with me. It was nice to see you again, Easton.” She shifts her attention to me. “Have a great day, Zoey.” My name fills the room as if she’s privy to our relationship, and it makes my heart slap my chest.
The doors on the elevator close her in and it descends. “She called late last night and asked to meet,” Easton tells me.
I swallow and blink up to him with a smile that hurts. “She knows you’re the best in the business. That’s got to feel pretty good.”
He smirks. “Strokes my ego, yes.” He bends and kisses my cheek. “But not nearly as much as it feels to tell someone outside of Zach and Max that I’m dating you.” Oh, his eyes are loaded with mischief.
“Wh—You told her?” I squeak.
A simple nod with a megawatt smile is all he gives me before retreating to his office.
Except I’m on his heels.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt to his back. When he turns, I drop my view to my feet, ashamed of myself. “The whole time, I…” I trail off, petrified to admit it to his face.
He moves me against him. “When your cheeks don’t give you away, your honesty does. It’s a beautiful trait.” He kisses my forehead. “I know you well enough to know you got into your own mind. If the tables were reversed, I would probably look like an asshole.” He smiles. “It’s the very reason why I rejected her invitation to meet elsewhere.”
“Did you get the job?” I ask his neck, still ashamed to look up to him.
“I declined it.”
My eyes bulge and I flick my view to him. “Easton, don’t refuse work because of me and my stupid insecurities. I’ll be—”
“It wasn’t because of you,” he interrupts. “We don’t have the man power to meet her absurd demands. Besides, I didn’t want to.” He drops a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”
“For?”
He moves back behind his desk and regards me with…adoration. Love. Something that makes my stomach feel fuzzy. “For being you,” he says.
A gentle, yet searing warmth stretches my entire body. It’s overwhelming, but I feel complete with him.