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COREY: TODAY
(Present Day)
San Francisco, California
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“ARE YOU OKAY, MR. WALTERS?” My secretary set a new cup of coffee on my desk early one morning.
“I’m fine, Tillie.” I picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp, letting the liquid scald my throat. “Why are you asking?”
“Well, for one,” she said, “That’s your fifth cup of coffee this morning.”
“Okay, and? I drink multiple cups of coffee every day.”
“We’ve only been here for thirty minutes.” She crossed her arms. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll break your record of fifteen cups from yesterday.”
“It’s been a hectic week. That’s all.”
“Has it really?” She raised her eyebrow. “Everything has seemed pretty normal to me.”
I handed her a file. “Could you make sure the A-team knows about the next meeting at my house? Tell them it’ll be laid back and casual.”
“This is also the fourth week in a row that you’ve arrived here at eight in the morning,” she said, ignoring my desire to change the subject. “You’ve never arrived here that early or this consistently before, so has something changed recently?”
“Am I committing a crime by changing my habits?”
“No, but as your secretary and executive assistant, it’s my job to be concerned.” She tapped her lip. “Should I assume that you’re going to stay until ten o’clock at night again as well?”
Seeing as though that’s when my new, sexy roommate goes to bed, yes.“Depends on if I get done with the Harding files.”
“Those have been done for months.”
“I meant the Carter files.”
“You signed off on those two weeks ago.”
“Who works for who here?” I looked at her. “I know what the hell I’m doing.”
“Okay.” She shrugged and headed toward the door. “Well, just in case you’re interested, you should also know that I’ve taken the liberty of making you a psychiatrist’s appointment for next week.”
“Why do you think I need a psychiatrist’s appointment, Tillie?”
“Because for the past few weeks, you’ve excused yourself to your private suite to take random showers after every meeting for no reason at all.” She looked genuinely concerned. “I figured that you’re using that as a coping mechanism for something you’re dealing with outside of the office.”
If only you knew.“Thank you, Tillie.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Walters.” She left my office, and I leaned back in my chair.
It’d only been a few weeks since Hayley moved in, and I was ready for her to move out. The sexual tension between us increased to dizzying levels with each passing day, and it was so thick and palpable whenever we were in the same room that I was convinced anyone around us could notice. No matter what I did to get her off my mind, images of her face and sounds of her raspy laughter seeped into my morning coffee, my dreams, and every waking thought.
I’d even texted her friend Kelly myself and asked when the hell she was finally coming to San Francisco. Her response? LOL! Is this Corey? Can you send me a pic so I can get a visual of who she’s been telling me about?
I had yet to text her back.
Shaking my head, I opened my laptop and tried to find something that could distract me for a few hours. I opened my inbox and spotted an email from my lead engineer, Andrea.
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