"Fantastic. Alright then, we will see you then, then." I rolled my eyes at how stupid I sounded. How many times did a person need to say then.

I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke, and he actually chuckled. "Great then. I appreciate the call, Ms. VanBuren. I look forward to working with you."

When I hung up, heat traveled up to my face, and I didn"t know what caused it. Was this some form of intimidation? I didn"t f.u.c.king think so. Roxane VanBuren didn"t get intimidated.

After my eight o"clock meeting with the procurement department, I went back to my office. My morning had turned to s.h.i.t quicker than I thought it could. Contracts were sent back undeliverable, and a few bidders for the expansion project didn"t meet the deadline to submit their costs. If something good was supposed to happen, then I was delivered news that the polar opposite had actually happened. I wanted a do-over, but I knew that wasn"t going to happen. As soon as I walked in and opened my email, Jane entered with a cheesy grin. Her bangs were ruffled on top of her head, like she had been running her fingers through them, and she looked a little fl.u.s.tered. I tilted my head and looked at her with a half smile.

"Mr. Williams is here," she said.

"Of course, he is. Are you blushing, Jane?" I almost laughed, and did when she started fanning herself. Old people.

"He is such a good-looking young man. And his manners . . . makes an old hen feel special. If I were twenty, okay twenty-five years younger-"

I lifted my hand to stop her. "Just . . . send him in." I didn"t have time to listen to her cackle over how good looking or how well-spoken he was. My father and Pops were already in love with him, and soon, the whole office would be. Everyone but me.

A few minutes later, a knock echoed from the door, and it opened and clicked closed. I continued writing an email to the CFO, as Parker stood at the entrance. He wore a black suit with a skinny black tie. His hair was in a styled mess, and his eyes seemed to stand out against his suit. When I looked up at him, he watched me bite my lip as I worked. I opened my mouth, closed it, and then swallowed.

After I found my voice, which had temporarily disappeared, I spoke. "Have a seat, Mr. Williams," I said. He did so without hesitation, and I finished typing my email. Once I pressed send, I scooted my chair directly in front of him.

"This is a very nice office you have, Ms. VanBuren. Nice view of the city."

I swiveled in my chair and looked out. "It keeps me humble." I turned and looked at him, and he was staring up at the glimmer of the plane in the distance. It looked like a tiny bullet moving through the sky. I opened a drawer and pulled out Parker"s file. In the front was his resume, letter of recommendation, and the notes everyone took at the interview. Behind that were the doc.u.ments that needed his signatures to continue the hiring process.

"This is a form to grant us the right to run a background check, credit check, and also your forms for the IRS." When I pushed the papers forward, I happened to knock over a huge cup of water. It ran across my desk and spilled in Parker"s lap. He immediately stood. I grabbed a few napkins from my coffee run this morning, and went around to try to stop the water from dripping off the side of my desk. When I turned and looked at him, I noticed his entire crotch was wet like he had p.i.s.sed himself. I closed my eyes and opened them, hoping this was all a bad dream, but no, Parker stood there very annoyed with his current condition.

"I am so sorry," I said, and handed him a single brown napkin. He looked down at it, then back at me with pursed lips. Just as I went to apologize again, my father burst into my office and Parker immediately turned around and shook his hand. Pops was standing behind dad laughing at the water on Parker"s crotch.

"Now, son, Rox ain"t that bad. No need to be frightened of her." And that was when I officially wanted to die of embarra.s.sment.

"No disrespect, sir, but I am surely not afraid of her. Apparently she needs a sippy cup so accidents like this don"t happen," Parker said with a sarcastic laugh behind it.

My father laughed even harder, and Pops roared. When I glanced at Parker, he wasn"t smiling at all. I actually think I managed to p.i.s.s him off.

"A sippy cup," Pops said. "That"s a d.a.m.n cla.s.sic, Parker."

I stormed out of my office, and I could still hear them laughing in the distance. Honestly, I didn"t mind jokes, and I didn"t even mind jokes at my expense, but I had a feeling that Parker wasn"t joking when he made that remark. No, I wouldn"t have been happy if I"d had a thirty-two-ounce cup of water spilled on my crotch, but I would have understood it was an accident, and not been a complete a.s.s about it.

Jane was standing in the break room wiping down the counter when she glanced over at me grabbing two rolls of paper towels. "What"s that for?" she asked curiously, knowing that Parker had just walked into my office.

"My water is now on his crotch," I whispered. "And Dad and Pops are in there eating up the whole situation."

She patted me on the back. "He makes you nervous, too, doesn"t he?" she said.

"What? No. No way. I"m a known klutz."

"Uh-huh," she said, not convinced.

"Jane. I swear on your thirty-year-anniversary party, and every type of wine that was ever invented, that it wasn"t because he makes me nervous," I whispered more loudly.

She lifted an eyebrow at me, then walked toward the door. "Whatever you say, honey. Whatever you say." Then she left me to wallow in my annoyance.

On the way back to my office, I walked with angry steps. My dad and Pops had moved Parker over to the small conference table on the other side of the room. Several papers were spread out in front of him, and Dad explained all the finer details of the forms, but Parker already knew them; he was a lawyer, for crying out loud.

The papers that were scattered across my desk were completely soaked, and some had signatures that I needed, which were basically unreadable now. Black ink had dripped down the papers and smeared. Could this day get any worse? I tried to soak up all the water on the floor, in the chair, and on my desk. My trashcan was full of paper towels. I pulled a few from the roll and walked over to the conference table, then handed them to Parker and sat down. He didn"t touch them or even acknowledge they were there.

Alright then. Fine.

Parker finished signing the papers, then slid them over to my dad, who then slid them over to me.

I looked through them. "I"ll need a copy of your driver"s license," I said to him.

He stood to pull out his wallet, and I glanced down to see how wet his crotch was. He made eye contact with me, and lifted both eyebrows as he handed me his driver"s license. His straight white teeth grazed the corner of his lip, tempting to tug at it. I quickly turned my head away from him as the heat rushed to my face.

I guess the answer was yes, the day could get worse, and that was unfortunate, considering it was only ten.

"On your insurance paperwork, you left your beneficiary blank." I slid the paper back toward him, not making eye contact.

He wrote Kathy Hamphry, and then slid it back to me. My father and grandfather excused themselves from our meeting, and left us sitting next to each other at the table.

"Is she a relative or partner?" I asked. My heart raced as he turned his head and looked at me.

"Relative," he said. "It"s my mother. I don"t have a significant other, as of now."

"Right. Well, if that changes, you can always update your information."

He stared at me intensely as I looked over the rest of his paperwork. I could feel his eyes on me and, while it didn"t make me nervous, exactly, it made me feel . . . something. Intimidation?

"Everything looks great, Mr. Williams. I"ll just add my signature to the bottom, then I"ll bring these to Human Resources and they will finish processing everything today. Would you like to look at your office now?"

He tilted his head, smiled, then looked down at his crotch, and back at me. That moment seemed to last forever. "I don"t think that"s necessary, Ms. VanBuren. I"d actually like to get out of these wet clothes."

"Oh, sure. Of course. As I see you out, we will pa.s.s it. But no need to linger." I forced a smile, stood, and scooted my chair under the table. I reached my hand out and gave him a firm handshake.

"I really am sorry about that," I said again, wanting him to accept my apology.

"I know," he said, then I turned on my heels and led the way. What a rude response. As we walked the main hall, I could see different women making eye contact with him, and he smiled, but kept walking. On the way to the elevator, we pa.s.sed Jane, and she grinned widely. "See you tomorrow, Parker." His name lingered on her lips.

"Yes, ma"am," he replied, then winked. If I didn"t know better, by the way he treated Jane, I would say he was a cougar hunter. I smiled at the thought. When we stepped inside the elevator, he looked over at me, and I was grinning like a big idiot.

"What is it?" he said.

"I"m sorry?" I looked at him while wiping the smile from my face.

"You were smiling like I did something amusing. What is it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him as the elevator doors opened on the bottom floor. "Have a good day, Mr. Williams," I said as he exited the elevator.

He turned and looked at me, really looked at me, as I leaned against the wall of the elevator with my arms crossed. The only thing that stopped our gaze was the elevator doors closing. On the ride up, I realized that he was very in-tune with the small details, just like my father. Not only was he overconfident at times, he was quite observant, too. I mentally made a Parker list and started placing personality traits that were his. He seemed to be an enigma, of sorts, but I was determined to crack his sh.e.l.l. My father, Pops, and Jane, might really like him, but I wasn"t sold yet. There was something about him, though, that I couldn"t quite place. I would figure that out as well.

Two hours later, Dad invited me to lunch.

"Ch.e.l.lo"s." He peeked his head into my office, then closed the door. Everyone knew that I couldn"t deny an invite to Ch.e.l.lo"s. That place had everything from salads to pastries to coffee. Since it was only a couple blocks from the office, I walked. No need to wrestle someone for a parking spot downtown.

My mind couldn"t stop thinking about Parker"s wet crotch, the way he looked at me in the elevator, and how he walked away without responding. What bothered me the most was why I even cared. I think it was because of how much I put into first impressions. The first and second weren"t looking good in my favor, and the same rang true for him.

I arrived early, which was great, because I got to choose where we sat. When the weather was beautiful, I always headed to the patio. I sat, ordered water, and waited. Ten minutes later, a familiar face trailed down the sidewalk in blue jeans and a polo.

"You"ve got to be f.u.c.king kidding me," I whispered, then exhaled as Parker requested a table, on the patio, and walked right past me. Instantly, I pulled out my phone for a distraction, then glanced at the menu.

A chair scooted beside me, and when I looked over, I was greeted with blue eyes and a smile. "Ms. VanBuren, good afternoon."

Before I could even open my mouth to reply, I saw Jake storming up to the table, angry, another reason we could never be together. He was too jealous. "Rox, who is this?"

"Jake. You need to watch your tone, and it"s none of your d.a.m.n business," I said.

"Who the h.e.l.l is this? Another guy that you met online? Is this why you wouldn"t-"

"Go back to work. Leave. I don"t have time for this right now. I really don"t," I said, more p.i.s.sed than embarra.s.sed.

Parker stood and crossed his arms, while Jake stared him down. "You heard the lady. She said to leave." He didn"t raise his voice, but he was firm with his direction.

Jake stood, staring up at Parker, trying to intimidate him, and then hustled off. When Parker sat, I couldn"t make eye contact with him. My heart thumped in my chest, so hard that I thought it might explode. The tone and protectiveness he displayed shocked me. Why wouldn"t he have just sat there and let Jake be a complete a.s.s? My body tensed. Embarra.s.sed, with no words, I looked over at him, and he laughed. He laughed so hard that it threw me off guard.

"What"s so funny?" I asked, relaxing.

"You are something else," he said. "Each time we"ve been together, something has happened. It"s like the universe is telling me to run away from you or something. I hate to break it to you, Ms. VanBuren"-his voice dropped to a low whisper-"but I"m not going anywhere."

At first I didn"t know how to react to the intensity of his gaze. "It does seem like that, doesn"t it?" I sucked in a deep breath. "Sorry, it"s been a really s.h.i.tty day," I said.

"If you feel a certain way, you"re ent.i.tled to it. No need to hide your feelings or wear a mask, because most people can see through them, Roxane. He had no right to cause a scene like that," he muttered. And shock and recognition flooded through me the more I listened to him talk.

But.

But it couldn"t be.

The eyes. The hair. The pouty lips. The smile. The whisper. The laugh.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts with shaky hands.

Please don"t be him. Please don"t be him. I pressed Bartender in my contacts, and watched his phone light up and blink my number. I looked down at it, and my mouth dropped open. My heart raced faster now, more violent, and if it weren"t for my father pulling up a chair, I quite possibly could have had a heart attack right there.

"What"s wrong, pumpkin? You look like you"ve seen a ghost," he said.

"It"s nothing," I said, then looked at Parker, who was f.u.c.king grinning.

"As I was saying, Ms. VanBuren, I"m not going anywhere anytime soon."

SINGLE: VOLUME 1 BY LYRA PARISH.

11.

I couldn"t remember what we discussed at lunch. After I realized Parker was the man who danced with me, and who stole my breath and the beats of my heart at the house party, I couldn"t think of anything else. I had many rules in life, many rules when it came to dating, and somehow the only rule that really mattered had been broken.

Never mix business with pleasure.

I wanted to be angry at Stacey for making me go, because if I wouldn"t have, well, I wouldn"t be in this situation. Parker would be an a.s.shole employee who was c.o.c.ky, and that was it. This changed things drastically. No one at work knew about my one-night stands, Internet dating, or even that I had attended a few lifestyle parties. Parker couldn"t say anything to anyone, not even hint at it, and if he told my father, the disappointment alone would kill him. I walked back to the office in a complete daze, not able to think about anything else. My entire day had been placed inside of a blender and shredded into little pieces. My thoughts wandered so much that my father told me to go home because there was obviously something wrong with me. My to-do list grew, but I only completed one task. When the clock ticked six o" clock, I finally left. As soon as I got inside the car, I called Stacey.

"How"s your day been?" I asked, trying to start the conversation with resolve.

"I"ve had better. My agent called and explained to me the importance of wearing sponsored clothing in public, because I"m seen as a trendsetter. Said that the scandal actually boosted my public image. I had to explain that I don"t want to wear some of the clothes they send me because they are horrible, and if people copied me, the fashion police would come and arrest me for being the creator of terrible fashion. I wouldn"t be caught dead in them. I swear, if I die and you let them bury me in unstylish clothes, I will come back to haunt you for eternity."

"Speaking of haunting, you"re never going to believe what I"m about to tell you."

"Intriguing," she said and waited.

"You"re brother saw me at Ch.e.l.lo"s and flipped his s.h.i.t on me today at lunch," I said.

"What? What the h.e.l.l? See, that"s the problem with working downtown. Everyone eventually runs into their crazy ex. And I"m texting him as soon as I get off this d.a.m.n phone. See, I told you. I knew this was going to happen. I knew one of you would be irrational," she said.

"We haven"t run into each other in a long while. Oh, and just wait, this story gets so much better. Remember the guy at the private party? The bartender at the club?"

"Oh, Mr. Blue-Eyed bartender?"

It took everything in my power not to flip out. "Well, I just f.u.c.king hired him. I can"t believe I didn"t recognize him sooner. His c.o.c.kiness threw me off completely, and he is different in a business setting, which I understand. I feel like a d.a.m.n idiot!"

"What? That"s ridiculous. He"s a bartender," she said.

"He is a f.u.c.king lawyer, who was doing his brother a favor. Who my father, grandfather, and I, just f.u.c.king hired. What if he says something to them? Or spreads rumors? He could f.u.c.king ruin me."

She laughed at me. "You"re so paranoid. That would be defamation of character. Surely, he isn"t that stupid. Plus, he would have to explain himself. I doubt he wants people to know he was there, too."

I buckled up and cranked the car, but I didn"t pull out of my parking spot. "What am I supposed to do?"

Her words were simple, but held so much power behind them. "Own it." Then she hung up.

Maybe I will.

My night was full of restlessness again. When I woke up, I actually felt exhausted and made coffee at home, which was something that rarely happened. I sat at the bar in my pajamas, sipping the liquid energy, and wishing it would work quicker. I opened my phone and checked my calendar. At eight, I would be sitting in a meeting with the law team, and he would be there, but I couldn"t worry about it any longer.

After I arrived at work, I checked my email, and had another cup of coffee before it was time for the meeting. Today, I wore a pencil-dress suit, my hair bobby pinned back, and red high heels. I was fierce, and I wouldn"t let some lawyer walk all over me, threaten me, or even intimidate me.

By the time I walked in, the room was half full. Several men and women greeted me, asked the same old questions, and then it was time to start. Parker entered and sat right across from me. His grey suit jacket was unb.u.t.toned, and I could see the vest of his three-piece suit.