Holt's Holding (2 page)

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize Julie had a flat mate”, he
spoke smoothly, not bothering to hide the fact that he was amused.

Oh, shit an English accent to add to my already needy
attraction. I had to admit that was one of my bigger weaknesses’…ok
I’m
jealous she landed herself an English
hottee
.

Shit! I was attracted to him.
 
He spoke all of one sentence, and I was about
undone.
 
The moisture between my legs was
substantial.
 
Holy
Shit!
 

Shaking myself out of this ridiculous hold, I broke my
stare.

Ok, pull it together; I have a towel, not naked. I repeated
several times to myself.
 
He’s
just a man, nothing more.
 
Just a freaking man.

Finding my voice and shutting whatever this was down, I
pulled a final breath and spoke.
 
“I’m
assuming you made the pot. Thank you.”
 
Thank god,
I’ve
learned to hide my
emotions.
 
Trying not to look him in the
eyes, I failed.
 
Frozen once more, I had
to pull my shit together.

Why, I
wasn’t
sure, but whenever
my eyes fell into his I felt trapped and unable to speak.
 
This
wasn’t
good.
 
I’ve
never experienced this type hold or attraction to anyone.
 

Ever…

Oh, thank god for small favors.
 
The loud and extremely intrusive sound of my
cell phone started screaming at me, breaking this ridiculous hold.
 
Shaking my head, I turned and made a dash to
my room.

My phone on the nightstand; the ringer was screaming
louder.
 
It was my boss, and I knew he
was calling to bark more orders to me.
 
Rolling my eyes, I picked up the cell phone and answered.

“Good Morning Mr. Leiber.” I answered while turning back to
at my door.

He was still staring at me.
 
His eyes on me like a hunter sizing up its prey
;
had my arousal peaked once more.
 
In that
moment, I realized I wanted to be his prey, and my growing need was dictating
my actions.

Shit, this needed to stop.
 
I had no idea what in the world Mr. Leiber was telling me, it was clear
I needed to pay attention.
 
Mr. Leiber
only called me when it was vital.

I walked to the door, meeting his eyes; the arrogance
within his grin had me suddenly wanting to play his game.
 
A wicked grin took hold of my blank face,
arrogance.
 
I knew that game well.
 
Laughing silently, I slammed the door
shut.
 
Wow, what in the world is going on
with me today?

I needed to get dressed.
 
Multitasking, I listened to Mr. Leiber’s comments and orders, while
pulling my lingerie from the dresser drawers. Off to the closet, picking out a
classic black sheath.
 
I quickly threw it
to the bed.
  
While trying to put on my
stockings, and listening to my boss.

With a few more submissive “yes sir’s” He finally hung up.
 
Finally, dressed and looking a bit more human
I gathered my things.
 
I was not the
submissive type in the least, yet I knew how to play the role and well.
 
I did it very well when it came to playing
the role of Mr. Leiber’s assistant.

Stepping back to the kitchen, I realized Julie’s guest was
no longer around.
 
The cologne now
watered in the air.

Shit, I never even introduced myself.
 
Actually, nor did he?

Hmm.

Whatever, I
didn’t
have time
thinking about exchanging pleasantries or playing host to her one-night stands.
Walking over to the counter I reached for my cup.

Odd, the lid fastened.
 
I knew I
hadn’t
put the cover on the cup.

Biting my lip, I could only assume that the one niter must
have.
 
Jesus
!!
 
I needed him out of my head.
 
I was actually impressed that he was
somewhat, thoughtful?
 
Please,
I’m
not some stupid woman, easily manipulated by random
gestures.
 

Grabbing my cup, I walked out the front door locking
it.
 
This one niter was clearly just that
as I got the impression, that he was not the commitment type.
 
Hell, he came home with her, yet he looked at
me as if he were stripping me down.

Men, such pigs.
 
It’s
a wonder why I
treat them the way I do.
 
Better to beat
them at their own game vs. them doing it to me.
 
Yes, I was a bit cold when it came to men, perhaps even jaded.
 
You would think that some man hurt me and
caused me to be this way, however, that was not my story.
 
I
wasn’t
heartless,
well I hoped I wasn’t.
 
I had the
privilege to learn the opposite of myself.
 
I learned my worth.
 
Possibly in a cruel fashion, but I learned, and I was grateful for
the lesson.

Thinking of Julie, shit.
 
She was nothing like me.
 
She wore
her heart on sleeve, though, she thought otherwise.
 
At least Julie had the luxury of sleeping in
this morning, and not having to witness the truth of her one
night-stand
.
 
What an ass.
 
But then again, he was a man, so by default he would be.

Julie and I had met by chance thru a mutual friend a year
ago.
 
Chris a friend from college had
introduced us, knowing we were both looking for a roommate. Chris, was an x
boyfriend, well he was something.
 
He and
I were friends with some benefits.
 
Chris
is what I would call that
rarity,
he was the kind of
man whom had a heart.
 
His pursuits were
endearing, but fruitless in my opinion.
 
He looked for the wounded and wanted to fix people.
 
I suppose to some degree, he thought to fix
me.
 
We remained friends; I guess I was a
bit of a sap.
 
He got me on some level, I
suppose.
 
His introduction to Julie was
convenient.
 
They had been friends for a
long time, prior to me meeting him.
 
They
both came from similar backgrounds.
 
So
moving in together just fit.
 
Living with
her had been ideal, beyond her occasional one niter’s, as we, both had labeled
them. Julie was originally from New York and had moved to Maryland.

Julie was an aspiring photographic journalist, and came
from a highly politically connected family. Her father was the ambassador from
England and her mother an extremely prominent attorney in New York.

With that type of money at her disposal, I never understood
why she would want a roommate financially.

I
didn’t
believe she needed one,
but nonetheless here we were a year later.
 

Beyond the basics, she and I actually
didn’t
know each other, as well as we, should have. She respected my privacy, as I did
hers. Sure we hung out, had the same mutual friends, but that was more default
of the fact that we lived together. The personal stuff, she kept to herself.

I never found a problem with the lack of sharing of private
information.
 
I relished it.

I
didn’t
care to discuss my own
personal baggage with anyone.
 
And
I had to freight loads of it.

Honestly, I
don’t
think I ever
told anyone …well that is discussed it with anyone.
 
There was nothing out of the ordinary about
my upbringing.
 
I had loving parents and
a sister that I adored.
 
I grew up as
normal as anyone could have.
 
We were a
normal middle class family, ok maybe not normal or middle class, but I liked to
think we were.
  
Normalcy was something I
oddly like to strive for, knowing it was
an impossibility
.
 
My family’s name alone was
the reason
,
I changed my last name
.

My father ran his own company at one time, and we
lived
as any normal middle class family would be. There was
no extravagant spending on anything, no crazy vacations to exotic locales; it
was normal living.
 
My mother was a do-it
yourself kind of woman, and we
didn’t
have maids and
such.
 
In my opinion, we were normal
until my 18th birthday.

I had lost my entire family that night.
 
I was the only one whom survived.
 
That was seven years ago.

Our home had caught fire.
 
The report stated an electrical fire had started between the walls.
 
It ravaged the house so quickly from the
neighbor’s statement to the cops.

I had no memory of any of it.
 
I had woken in the hospital days later,
without one burn on me.

I had nothing after the fire.

I moved in with my grandmother almost immediately.
 
She was now my only family.
 
I had a few, distant cousins, but none of
whom I ever remembered.
 
I was perfectly
well with just having my grandmother.
 
She was all I needed.
 
I liked my
life just fine.
 
My life became one
lesson after another since that day.
 
I
found my true purpose in a storm of surprises, testing my very character.
 
However, I loved my life; I truly liked who I
was.
 
My job on the other hand…hate would
be a mild word to describe my current position.

Standing in the hall, I felt sorry for Julie.
 

Poor Julie, she and Chris were probably more alike than I
had realized.
 
In many ways, all her
attempts at
one night
stands were all a show to mask
the fact that she was the committed type.
 
She was desperately looking for the one.
 
Julie certainly
didn’t
have any luck when it
came to men.
 
She was trying too hard and
looking in the wrong places. Thinking of her one
night stand
,
more than likely, she was never going to see him again.

Nor would I…hopefully, I prayed to myself.

Taking in the scent, his cologne seemed to linger.
 
This was insane!
 
I needed to focus on something else.

“What is taking this elevator so long?”

I
didn’t
have time to wait.
 
It looks as if the stairs will have to
do.
 
Seven flights in heels.
 
Shit…

I ran down them as quickly as I could.
 
Desperate not to fall on my
face.
 
Finally, down to the garage
level I busted thru the heavy metal door.

This damn dress is so freaking tight!
 
I probably should have opted for a pair of
slacks this morning.

Making my way to my car, I was grateful for the fab
key.
 
That was the last
thing
,
I wanted to do
. Look for my car keys. I
threw my bags into the back seat of the car. Siting in the car, adjusting all
the mirrors and staring it, I took in a cleansing breath.
 
I thoroughly loved my Nissan Altima.
 
It had all the comforts of a luxury car without
the price tag.

Funny for a twenty five year old whom just came into the full
balance of a trust fund I could afford more.
 
I just
didn’t
see the purpose.
 
No, I felt no need for flashy items.
 
Moreover, I loved this car.
 
It had reminded me of my mother’s…down to the
color.
 
Black

The only advantage was that this one was new, and I loved
the backup camera.

One final check in the rear view mirror, then my eyes out
of habit, landed on the screen of the center console.
 
Letting off the brake, I slowly back the car
out of the parking spot, and out of the garage.
 
Like every morning, I knew my drive to Georgetown would be an endless
battle down I-95.