Chapter 9

EVERETT

The noises are coming from the door. Someone opening and closing it over and over wakes me up at once. I sit up, yawning and running my fingers around my face.

"Hey!" Caiti talks. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry about it if I did. I didn't mean to make such a ruckus coming in through the door."

I stretch my arms behind my back as I sit upright, resting my neck on our waterfall backrest of the couch. I run my fingers on the cushioned seat and then the pleated arm, hoping the friction against my palms would awaken me completely.

"Hey," I say, licking my lips. Then I fix my wavy hair behind my ear, wiping the spit from the corner of my mouth. "Where did you go? I waited for you so long that I fell asleep here on the couch."

"Oh, Evie!" She sits down right next to me as I'm still waking up and then side-hugs me. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I know I didn't, but you know what I am like, right?" I stretch some more against the backrest. "My mind goes to places without wanting it to go there. I like to worry about you and the people I love. And you're no exception when it comes down to me feeling anxious if something happened to you." Then I strike her on the arm harder than I anticipated the action to be. "Why didn't you text me last night? You promised me that you would if you stayed out all night. It's not like you to not text me your whereabouts." Then recognition dawns on my face. "Unless you were bringing ass to get ass."

She laughs when she hears that as she sits next to me.

"Of course, I was getting ass. Why would I be out all night?" Then she rubs the sore spot on her arm. "You spank me as a guy does."

I clear my throat, situating my stare on her face.

"So, where did you meet this guy? What is he like in bed? And did he drive you home in the least this morning?"

"Yes, yes, and yes to all the above questions." She gets up from the cushion. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm wiped out, and I'd like to shower and get a nap before my classes start at noon. I hope we can catch up later."

"Yeah, what time is it?"

"It's still six a.m."

"Gosh, that's so early." This time, I hit Caiti with the back of a cushion. And she manages to dodge it. "Why do you hate sleep?"

"I just wanted to come home, that's all."

She drops eye contact as she shrugs her shoulders on the way to her room.

***

As I walk in the door, I stumble in my high heels, and my skirt latches itself onto a giant cactus-like plant art installment that some excellent interior designer must have thought would be a great idea to place near the entryway. I don't know why I decided to dress casual and summery for work, but I guess seeing everyone dress casually over the weekends for the last month has moved me to conform to the peer pressure of workplace politics.

Apart from that, I thought pairing a white shirt with a flowy skirt made a cute outfit. And it is my favourite cherry blossom pink skirt that I own. The second thought that came to me was I could even wear this outfit to my date tonight. And I know for sure that I won't get a chance to go home and change since I am confident Kyra must have some pending work for me again sitting at my table. My brain always wants to kill two birds with one stone.

"Why are you blocking the way?" Someone's rough voice moves me to the core. "Can't you move? Some people need to get to work here."

I pivot on my feet to see just one man standing behind me. Just one man, but a significant asshole. The CEO of this office building. It's the Waylon freaking Thorne himself, glaring down at my back. 

"My skirt is caught in one of the cactus's arms." I point to the spiky needles coming out of one of its branches. "That's why I can not move. I don't have any spare change of clothes on me."

He comes closer to inspect the cactus plant.

"That's not even a real plant." He scoffs. Then he carelessly pins his fingers against one of the needles and bright red dot forms on his index fingers. "But those needles are made of metal." He picks out his pocket square and wipes his finger with it. "All right, stay there as you are, and I'll help you get out from the clutch of the cactus needles." He rubs his nose. "Who placed this monstrous thing in the lobby, anyway?"

I exhale a breath.

"I have no idea who did that." I twist a little bit and have a pin scrape against my knee. A small line of blood forms the mouth of the wound. It pains badly. "Gosh! It hurts."

"I told you not to move." He comes closer to me. So close that his breath fans down my neck and back, giving rise to a series of goosebumps erupting all over my body. My nipples pebble when his warm palm is on my back as he removes the fabric from one needle and then the next. I try to pivot again, but he stretches his hand on my back again to stop the movement. I nod as a splatter of red runs down my knee. I worry if he will notice all this blood. "Don't move, Ms Fischer." He breathes down my neck. "I'm trying to help you here."

"Okay," I whisper, lowering my voice down. "I'm here." 

I don't know why I say that.

Where would I go when I'm sandwiched between a handsome man and a monstrous art installation?

The kind that's making me spill blood?

He moves his hand from my upper back to my lower back as he squats to get the fabric out of the lower part of the art installation. When he finishes, he speaks again.

"Now, slowly move away. If you feel your like outfit is still hooked around the metallic pins, let me know so I can remove it for you."

I follow his directions, keeping my head down. I slowly step to my side when he bends down to move one last needle from my skirt.

"Okay, that works." I give him my brightest smile. "Thank you for helping me out with this."

He points to my knee.

"You're bleeding."

My gaze follows my thighs till it stops on my knee, and I put a hand on the scrape.

"Oh, yeah, I will go and take care of it."

He nods.

"When you get back, call the maintenance and have them remove this eyesore from the front of the hallway." Then his fingers line his chin. "After you're done taking care of all those things," he gestures to the art installation fake plant and my knee, "come see me in my office." He blows out a breath. "I might have some work for you."

I nod.

"I'll see you in a bit."

Then he walks toward the elevators on the right side of the lobby. And I make my way to the stairs, which people in this building rarely take, so I can check if there are any rips or holes in my skirt before heading to the washroom on the next floor.

***

WAYLON

"How's your knee?" I ask her as soon as my eyes fall on her silhouette incoming through the door. "Are you feeling well enough to take a walk down the block?"

She matches my gaze, nodding her beautiful head.

"It's all good. Thank you for asking." As soon as she stands near me, she answers. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"I don't want to know what you think, Ms Fischer." I exhale. "Can you do it or not?"

She licks her lips slowly, and I observe how plump and juicy they are in the bright morning light.

"Yeah, I can take a walk around the block." She fixes her hair behind her ear. "Where do I need to go? Is there a meeting or something I need to attend?"

"No." I wonder how she's going to respond to this. "I need you to go and pick up my credit card from one of the bars down the block." I stare at her. "It's two blocks down south from our office if I need to be accurate. When you reach The Love Shack--that's the name of the bar--you'll find a woman named Andie on the counter, who also happens to be the owner." I scratch my chin. "Ask her for my card and get it here. That's all you have to do."

Her eyes grow wide when she hears that.

"Why can't someone else go?" She wipes the sweat beading on her forehead with the back of her hand. "I don't even drink." Then she chuckles embarrassedly. "Is this about a new client or something?"

"Again, nobody cares if you drink or not, Ms Fischer." I put my gaze sternly on her face. "It's called a personal favour. Something like I did for you out in the lobby. I can't send anyone else because all the departments are working hard here. And I can't lose anyone to do trivial things today."

"We are not working hard?" She challenges me. "Is my department engaged in trivial things, Mr Thorne?"

"I never said that." I run a hand over my face. "I need you to go and retrieve the card and get it back to me ASAP. Believe me, Ms Fischer, I have other things to accomplish." Then I offer her another steely glance. "Now, don't come back until you get that important card for me."

"But I--"

"Didn't I ask you to leave, Ms Fischer?"

She returns the steely expression with a thin smile.

"I heard you, Mr Thorne." She nods her head again, pivoting on her feet for the door. "I'll do you your personal favour. I shall be back."