Then, as if I’d conjured him with my lustful musings, he came around the corner, tall and confident, and walking with a lithe grace that was both feral and beautiful all at once.
As he strode straight toward me, I imagined him to be Richard Gere in his Navy duds, and he was coming to scoop me up and carry me off, and we would live happily ever after in his bed for the rest of eternity.
Only, he hadn’t noticed me. He wasn’t giving me the look. Although his expression was warm and endearing, that gaze was not focused on me. Nope. Those thick-lashed beauties were aimed at Victoria.
Of course.
Mean for mean.
He strode to her side, placed a hand at her back, and bent low, his gaze flickering to me, then back to her before dropping a slow, chaste kiss to her lips.
“Cole,” Martin said, pushing to stand. “You made it.”
Cole. My dream man had a name.
The men exchanged a quick embrace.
Martin placed his hand on my shoulder, like he had the right, his fingers grazing the skin beneath my collar. “Cole. This is Natalie, my beautiful date for the evening.”
Cole stood taller. Met my eyes with little-to-no interest, then offered his hand. “Pleasure.”
Then Ellis chimed, “Funny thing, bud. Apparently, Natalie, Lacey, and Victoria went to school together.”
“That so?” he asked his bride-to-be while settling into the empty chair and claiming her hand on top of the table.
Martin’s fingers dusted my collarbone, lingering past the point of comfortable, souring the wine in my stomach.
Envy had no place in that room, and I hated myself for wanting to jump across the table and stab Victoria with my fork.
Victoria was the reason he hadn’t kissed me back that day. Victoria was the reason he shared a table with me. Victoria was the reason I wanted to slink away into a dark corner and cry for a thousand years.
I’d be damned before I ever let her know she’d shaken me again. My body trembled with the vile poison filling my soul. Swallowing the bitter taste on my tongue, I turned my attention to my date where it belonged.
As far as I was concerned, Cole and Victoria no longer existed.
My office door opened with an ominous, slow creak.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Gabriella, my coworker, apologized from behind a bouquet of flowers that seemed to float off the ground, so large I could barely see her black heels, tan legs, and wobbly ankles beneath. The scene would’ve been funny if not so creepy.
“What the actual fuck?” said Morgan, my favorite, and might I add, gorgeous and feisty client, her head tilting at an odd angle. She owned a chain of “bikini” coffee stands and had recently decided to expand into other business ventures.
The imposing display started to topple. Morgan and I shot forward, arms out, hands grasping, trying to find purchase, something solid to steady the tumbling flow of sunflowers, mums, gold poms, and orange roses.
We only made the situation worse, startling poor Gabriella. She screamed. I cussed. Morgan laughed. The bouquet fell to the floor, a morbid, though sweet smelling, pile of pick-up sticks.
Dropping to a squat, I rubbed my aching temples. “What am I going to do about him?” I studied the hodgepodge selection.
“File a restraining order.” Gabriella pulled a rose out of the pile and brought the petals to her nose.
Morgan grabbed my elbow and helped me stand, giving me a motherly glare. “Ditto. Do it now. Don’t wait another second. He needs to stop.”
“Yeah.” I nodded like a maniac, gnawing my thumbnail. “Didn’t want to, but he’s leaving me no choice.”
Digging for my phone, I heard, “Nats! Baby! Fuck. Let go of me. Goddammit!”
Glass shattered. Grunts, smacks, and profanities followed.
My face heated. Head pounded. I peeked my head out the door, but Timothy, our astute head of security, ordered me to stay in my office. Like a cliché movie scene come to life, four—yes, four—men dragged Holden out the front entrance.
“Nats! I love you. Give me another chance. Please,” echoed through the building and most likely down the block in every direction.
“Oh, honey.” Gabriella pulled me into a tight embrace that I savored for a good thirty seconds before letting go to clean up the mess on my floor.
I could no longer tame the shake in my hands. Besides giving me gray hairs thirty years too early, that psycho was going to get me fired.
“You sure you don’t need a few days off? I’ve got air miles I’ll never use. Take a mini vacay. Get away from that nutjob for a while.”
“What? And give up all this attention?” I joked, feeling not one lick of humor. “I can’t. I have a date tomorrow.”
“With that ginger hottie you told me about?” Morgan asked, gathering her coat and briefcase.
“Yes,” I mumbled. I should have felt tingles at the thought of my date with Martin. Instead, I rubbed my temples.
Janet, my boss, came through the door, her suit impeccable, her smile sincere. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry about the disruption.”
“We’ll meet with HR tomorrow. Talk about steps we can take to keep him from coming back. Take the rest of the afternoon off.”
“I’m fine.” I waved her off. “Besides, I’ve got two more meetings today.” Holden was not going to ruin my day, or my numbers for the month.
Janet studied me before nodding. “Okay. If you’re sure.” With an approving smile, she headed down the hall.
I made quick work of the mess, swallowed a cocktail of pain relievers with lukewarm coffee, then collected my scattered nerves and landed two new clients for the bank, wooing them with numbers far more alluring than our competitors.
The pink-haired barista slid the Pumpkin Spice Latte across the counter with a pretty smile and a syrupy sweet, “Enjoy.”
I shoved five bills into the tip jar because I liked her hair, and the world needed generous tippers.
I also felt extra spectacular because my last date with Martin had
