Chosen Heart (10 page)

But avoiding doesn’t necessarily
mean that the women don’t appreciate the eye candy that Alex is, and more than
one has given a full run down of his finest attributes, making me blush. 
Little do they know that I’m very acquainted with his finer features and I must
say that the depth of his appeal goes way beyond his perfect appearance.

Of course, his sex appeal also
gives the rumormongers different stories to conger up.  During one of my
short twenty minute meetings, I was told about Alex’s fetish with stilettos,
fishnet stockings, and apparently his many sexual conquests around the company,
including Autumn.  I, of course, know this rumor to be false considering
how Autumn sheepishly admitted her unsuccessful attempts at getting him between
her thighs.  Offices are breading grounds for gossip and this scandalous
group is no different.

With my desk being in the middle
of the hustle and bustle of the office, my mind is unable to focus on the
figures staring back at me.  Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, but I’m
ready to pound my head against my computer screen in hopes of making any sense
of the numerical puzzle.  With my fingers pressed against my temple, my
elbows resting on my desk, I’m startled by the voice right behind me.

Swiveling my chair, I’m met with
the quirky smile of Joseph, one of the few who deliberately stayed out of the
gossip while the rest were too eager to chat.  “Elyssa, are you okay?” he
chuckles before offering his help.  Maybe Joseph is exactly what I need;
my own personal savior.  He’s a seasoned Sales Associate and should be
able to explain how to decipher some of the numbers from last year.

“I don’t quite understand
these.”  Pointing towards my computer screen, Joseph leans over, giving me
his undivided attention.  Several times I caught him glancing down at the
curves of my breasts.  Normally I would be irritated, but he seems
innocent enough.  Besides, he’s helping me.

“It’s like a story…” Joseph is
all too excited as he points towards the columns and unravels the mystery for
me.  But just as he starts to tackle the spreadsheet, I notice Arianna and
Alex out of the corner of my eye chatting closely; a pang of envy ripples
through my body.

Showing off her curves in her
mauve dress suit and matching blazer, she stands with her back towards me in
her four inch heels.  Shoes off she’s shorter than I am, but we have the
same petite build.

Her diamond tear drop earrings
sparkle against the light coming in from the adjacent windows, glowing next to
her natural red hair pulled into a French twist.  But, I can’t help but
notice the most exquisite piece of jewelry in view, a beautiful silver watch on
her left wrist.  Hitting the diamonds, the sun reflects a small rainbow,
as she circles the intricate knotted band with her fingers.  I bet her
watch costs what I make in a year.  I sigh.  I’m not jealous of her
ability to buy nice things for herself, I could really care less about money,
but I do envy the choices that money makes available.

Noticing my prying eyes, Arianna
turns, and with a wink and a smile she continues her conversation with
Alex.  Her small gesture doesn’t go unnoticed and he motions for them to
continue their conversation in his office.  Before shutting his door, he
turns to give me a panty dropping smile, but is caught when his brows furrow as
his eyes meet Joseph’s curious glance.

For the next twenty minutes,
Joseph guides me through the figures from 2011 and 2012.  I finally feel
confident enough to accomplish the assignment, and thank him profusely for all
of his help.  “You are the best Joseph.  I owe you one.”

Arianna and Alex stroll out of
his office just as I stand to throw my arms around Joseph.  “You have no
idea how much you saved my ass.”  Stopping in front of the meeting room,
Alex’s attention is locked in my direction, his mouth hanging in shock. 
Touching his shoulder, Arianna whispers something in his ear, and then walks
away.

Not realizing the time, I’m glad
I have Janice to keep me on my toes, and on time for our meeting. 
Grabbing my notebook and a pen, I head off towards the conference room with
Janice by my side.

Janice pulls me to the middle of
the table, occupying the two seats next to Alex.  With only five in
attendance including both Janice and I, Alex starts the meeting discussing the
sales figures for the week.  His tone is very short and to the point,
almost agitated.  Even though I’m proud to say I’ve kept myself in the
loop, the numbers are staggering compared to my last job.

Continuing to drone on about more
numbers and more spreadsheets, Alex is uneasy, fidgeting with the papers in
front of him.  He even catches himself tapping his pen against the wooden
table before clearing his throat and straightening in his seat.  I glance
over at Janice to see if she notices his odd behavior, and she must, because
she simply shrugs and continues to take notes.

As the meeting progresses, his
demeanor is cold and distant.  Making eye contact with everyone except me,
I’m starting to feel like the odd man out. 
Did I do something?
 
Finally turning to look at me, Alex’s gaze shows nothing of the man I spent the
evening with on Friday.

“Ms. Hart, where are we with the
sales projections for next quarter?” 
The project Maggie just gave me
on Friday? 
Looking around the room, I’m sent into panic mode. 

“I-I thought they weren’t due
until next Monday, Mr. James,” I stutter looking to Janice.  Her eyes meet
mine and convey nothing but the sheer pity she feels for me in this
moment.  When Maggie assigned me the projections, she didn’t give me any sense
of urgency. 
Shit!  I’m not incompetent!

“Is that how you operate, working
an issue at the last minute?  I’m glad we know that now before we give you
something more important to work on,” he bellows, chastising me.  I lower
my head, cowering like a dog just kicked by their owner, but not before I
notice the sneer on Autumn’s lips as she sits up, listening attentively. 

“I apologize, Mr. James. 
I’ve been working on it all day, I promise to have it done by Friday.” 
With my head hung low, I offer another apology, hoping to end the
conversation.  My hopes are crushed as he continues.

“Didn’t seem like you were
working on it a moment ago, Ms. Hart.”  My head shoots up in surprise as
my eyes meet his.  There is nothing but irritation on his face, and his icy
blue eyes are indifferent, staring in my direction along with the rest of the
room.  “Just make sure you have it done by Friday.  I don’t expect to
have this conversation again.”

The meeting is over shortly after
his criticism and I couldn’t be more thankful to get out of there.  I
don’t know what crawled up his ass, but I can see what everyone was saying
about his lack of soft skills.  I slink back to my desk confused, trying
to untangle his lost temperament. 
What did he think he was
accomplishing by talking to me like that?
  If I wasn’t more level
headed, I would march right into his office and give him a piece of my
mind. 

~~~~~

Deciding to take the stairs in an
effort to subdue the day’s irritations, I’m panting by the time I reach the
fourth floor of the parking structure.  Endorphins are suppose to make you
happy, which is why I’ve always been keen on working out, or at least going for
a run when I have pent up stress.  Unfortunately, the short trip up didn’t
do anything for my mood.  Peering into my small purse for a glimpse of my
shiny metal key chain, I hope that I can put whatever happened today behind
me. 

No such luck.

It’s not until I take the last
steps to my car that I notice him standing along the wall with his hands
resting inside his pockets.  Frustrated by the fact I can never escape
him, and worse, that I don’t want to, I can’t hide my irritation or the flicker
of anger in my face.  But, even with all of that, I still take him in…all
of him; from beautiful head to masculine toe.  That is, until he starts
talking.

“What the fuck were you doing
today?”  Closely examining my reaction, he positions himself between me
and my car.  Obviously seeing my confusion, he resumes his rant, punishing
me
again
for something I’m unaware of.  “Is that how you behave at
work? Just throwing your arms around any guy that gives you attention?”

Stay calm, Ely, stay calm! 
“The way you talked to me
earlier…I didn’t know we were friendly enough to be asking such personal
questions, Mr. James.  Or are we just making small talk again?”

“Were you trying to make me
jealous?” Glaring at me, he removes his hands from his pockets and folds them
over his chest, waiting for an answer. 
God this man is frustrating!

“Oh, we know each other now, do
we?”  I’m floored by his ridiculous question, especially after the way he
treated me.  Not once has he even mention Friday or shown an ounce of
emotion towards me.  Not once.

“Just answer the fucking
question.”

Anger is bubbling inside, and I’m
afraid to open my mouth.  I may say how I’m really feeling, and that won’t
get us anywhere.  “If you really must know, Mr. James, I was getting input
on the sales projections for next quarter.  You know, the very same one
you reprimanded me about?” 

Clearly frustrated, I reach my car
and toss my purse into the passenger seat before turning around and slamming
the door.  “Besides, why does it matter who I talk to, at work of all
places?  Joseph was just being helpful, which is more than I can say for
some
people.”

“We aren’t at work anymore, stop
calling me Mr. James.  I thought we were past the formalities,
Elyssa.”  Comprehending my anger, his attempts at calming me down with the
crispness in his voice doesn’t work. 

“You didn’t answer my question,
Mr. James,” I respond sardonically.  I’m not giving up anything, until he
answers me.  “And, I will call you what I damn well feel like calling
you.” 

Shocked by my outburst, he
returns to his favorite stance; hands placed in his pocket.  Slightly
raising his voice in outrage, “You’re mad at me?!  What the hell did I
do?”

“What did you do?  Besides
practically ignoring me all day, you then felt it was okay to insult me during
the entire meeting.  And to top it all off, now you’re making accusations
about me and Joseph!”  Unable to control my irritation, I place my hands
on my hips.

Voice softening, I can see the
jealousy sweeping across his face.  “You should have come to me if you had
questions, not Joseph.”

“Did I know this?  The only
part of management who’s given any inclination of help is Maggie.  You’ve
given me nothing, nothing except uncertainty.”  There.  I said
it.  But just as I utter the words I’ve wanted to say all day, I consider
taking it back as the pain seeps into his eyes.  Oh well, can’t take it
back now. Might as well keep on going; see how much I can get out of him. 
“Regardless
Alex
, why do you even care about what Joseph and I were
doing?”

Staring at me through flitted
eyes, he ponders what he’s about to say.  Finally freeing his mind, he
answers me.  “I’m still trying to figure that out, Elyssa.  I have to
go.”  And with a hushed goodbye, he’s gone. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

It’s a little after eleven when I
get a call from Mr. Hodges, revealing that I have something at the security
desk.  Justifying how busy I am, he reluctantly agrees to bring it up to
me.  I’m confused as I set down the receiver. 
What would I be
receiving at work?
  Even more confusing is the spectacle going on at
the printer.  Alex stands, rifling through paperwork and peeking up
through his long lashes.  When our eyes finally meet, I can’t help my
ridiculous grin, and he returns it with his salacious, panty-twisting,
smile. 
If he keeps doing that, I may need to buy some new
underwear. 

Mr. Hodges strolls around the
corner and I’m floored as he reaches my desk carrying the most exquisite
bouquet of deep purple irises and intense red tulips.  I stare blankly,
before realizing my manners.  “Thank you, Mr. Hodges.  These are for
me?” 

“That is who they’re addressed
to, Ms. Hart.  You weren’t expecting them, I see.  Well, nice
surprise.  Hope they’re from someone special,” he states, walking away
hunched over, and smiling.

Silently, I hope that Cole hasn’t
been overzealous by sending me flowers.  I know I haven’t called him back,
but he needs to learn his lesson, and I’m not ready to give into him.  Not
yet. 

Opening the card, I’m baffled at
what is written:

“
I can’t be held responsible for what I do, when my
mind doesn’t comprehend my heart’s desire.
”

Looking up, I know exactly who
they’re from.  After scanning the room for only a second, our eyes meet,
and our energy is transferred, sending a jolt to my system.  Walking
towards me with a wicked smile on his gorgeous face, he successfully leaves me
breathless. 
Breathe, Ely, Breathe!
 

“I see that someone has sent you
flowers.  How very thoughtful…of
someone
.”  My mouths drops
open as he walks away.
  How very brazen.
  Well, he didn’t
actually put his name on it, so technically, no one will know.  But, I
feel like I’m going to combust, as my mouth turns up; I’m glowing.  No one
has sent me flowers like this; for no apparent reason.  Especially not
someone I barely know. 
What is he up to?