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Grumbling a curse under her breath, Ashley quickly found her folders and the portfolio with her notes on their client’s merger. She dumped out her coffee on the way to the conference room; it had started making her almost nauseous this morning. Too much acid from stressing, probably. She grabbed a bottle of water instead.
It wasn’t until after she had completed her day and reached home that she saw the tiny mark on her personal calendar that warned her when her menses should have started—three days ago. Her stomach sank as she counted days, desperately hoping it was only stress messing with her cycle.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing; driving to the nearest pharmacy, she bought a pregnancy test and hurried home. The minutes she had to wait before the device would have a result felt like years, and Ashley paced up and down the hall the entire time. If it was positive, what then? It wasn’t like she could call him; she didn’t have any contact information other than the main Heliodoro number. She doubted they would connect just anyone to their CEO. What was more, she distinctly recalled him using a condom, and she was on birth control. How all of that could have failed, she didn’t know. Ashley had no idea how she was going to manage her job, let alone contacting her one-night stand to tell him. He wouldn’t even want to know, most likely.
The timer on her phone beeped at her. She rushed back into the bathroom and peered at the result window on the test stick.Oh god.Her stomach flip-flopped and she barely made it to the toilet before she threw up.
Chapter 7 - Rafael
Rafael approached the reception desk in the lobby of the building Ashley’s law firm was in. It had taken him a week of second-guessing himself before he called Next-Gen Apptec, only to learn that she wasn’t actually an employee, but part of a firm on retainer. That had created another couple days of hesitating and changing his mind back and forth, but if he wasn’t in breach of contract talking with her, he had to try. Memories were driving him crazy, much to his friends’ continued amusement.
He had considered calling her, but it would be far too easy for her to get embarrassed and hang up on him.
Raf gave the woman at the desk his most charming smile, glad to see her cheeks flush. That would make this easier. "I’m looking for Ms. Ashley Seaver fromGardner, Foster, & Morales. Can you direct me to her office?"
The woman’s glow faded a little when he inquired about a woman, but she didn’t hesitate to tap into her computer. "Their receptionist is on the eighth floor," she told him, still typing. Her eyes flicked up to him, noting he was still watching her closely, and she batted her eyes at him; he had to wonder if that actually worked on anyone. He still smiled in response. Preening a little, the woman glanced at her screen. "Ms. Seaver is listed on the ninth floor, 906. You might want to check when you get up there, they don’t always update the list in our system when they move people around."
"Thank you for your help," he told her, smiling again.
She leaned forward on her elbows, giving him a glimpse of more cleavage. "You’re welcome." The words were practically purred. If he hadn’t been so fixated on Ashley, he might have found her attractive.
But Raf was set on finding the woman who haunted his dreams. He took the elevator to the ninth floor, looking around when he got there. Making a guess, he turned left into an area of cubicles, spotting 903 beside a door along the far wall, but from there hallways branched out and he didn’t know which way to go. Figuring he could just follow the room numbers, he approached a woman in the corridor around the perimeter of the room who stopped to glance at him appreciatively; he offered her the same smile he’d given the receptionist below. "I’m looking for Ashley Seaver, am I in the right place?"
Curiosity flickered across her face before she returned his smile. "You are. I assume she doesn’t know you’re coming, if she didn’t give you directions?"
He chuckled at her gentle nudge for more information. "You’d be correct. This way, is it?"
The woman’s smile quirked up on one side before she turned. "Yes, follow me." She navigated the hallways with ease, finally pointing at another side office around another bull pen. "She’s on a conference call, but she should be finished shortly. You may as well wait in her office."
"Thank you." Rafael entered the office and let the door fall closed again, looking around with interest. Everything was organized neatly, even the pens on her desk and the stacks of sticky notes. He could only hope that someone with such perfectionist tendencies wouldn’t mind the surprise of his presence. Though he wanted to pace, he made himself take one of the chairs opposite her desk.Relax. Sheesh.
He was caught up in a daydream of Ashley throwing herself into his arms upon her return when he heard the voice of the same woman who had shown him in. She was likely on the far side of the room, but his draconic hearing was far sharper than a human’s. "You have a super sexy visitor in your office, Ash. Day-um girl. If you don’t want him…" He heard Ashley’s laughter join the woman’s, not entirely sure how he knew it was her—still, his body filled with a jittery energy as soon as he heard it.I want to hear that laugh every day.The thought shocked him just as much as his obsession with finding her did.
Raf jumped to his feet when the door handle turned. "Good morning," she said before the door was even fully open. Ashley entered, her skirt and blouse slightly less formal than what she’d worn to his office, but the pink and purple suited her, making her lips pop. She took two steps into the room, and then their eyes met; both froze.
Rafael found it hard to breathe while her startled brown eyes held his. She was clearly shocked, but her expression morphed through several different emotions. The last one was irritation, but her face smoothed out to neutrality quickly enough to mask it.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was quiet, but that didn’t disguise the fact that it trembled. Could she be as affected by his presence as he was by hers?
He glanced over her shoulder to make sure the office door was closed. As much as he wanted her, he didn’t want to get her in trouble for personal business at the office. "Ashley," he murmured, unable to keep her name from his lips. He drank her in, his heart swelling once more from the lead lump it had shrunk to in her absence. "I had to see you again."
Something flickered in her eyes at that admission, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. She did move around her desk and set down a slim navy portfolio she was carrying, though, and she didn’t throw him out. That had to be a good sign.
"I’m sorry if I’m out of line coming to your office." Raf wanted to reach out and touch her, but she looked skittish enough she might bolt if he did. "I didn’t have your number, and frankly I wanted to see you. Can I take you out for coffee or something? I don’t want to get you in trouble if you’re not supposed to have guests." He wasn’t usually this hesitant, and it was starting to irritate him, but he was too desperate for her company to want to say or do anything that might make her reject him.
Her eyes fell to the folder on her desk, breaking the spell she’d held him under, even when she looked up again. "I don’t know, Raf, this isn’t exactly—"
"Please," he begged, interrupting her. "Ashley, I can’t stop thinking about the connection we had. If you didn’t feel it too, tell me, and I’ll leave you alone." When she didn’t immediately speak up, he continued, then was surprised by his own words. "I was upset you’d left that morning."
Her eyes widened just enough for him to notice, and she broke eye contact again, looking down, sideways, and pretty much any direction but at him. It wasn’t like the confident woman he’d so admired in his conference room, nor the little bit wild version he’d taken home.
He fumbled for something else to say to convince her. "I’d like to take you out to dinner, if you’ll allow me the honor. I want to know you, Ashley, and I’m hoping you might feel the same."
That brought her wide eyes back to his, and this time it felt like she was the one trapped in their intense gaze. "I’d like that." The way her eyes widened and then narrowed, almost wincing, made it seem like she wasn’t so sure she’d said the right thing.
His heart sank at her uncertainty. She didn’t have the same need for their connection as he did. "Can I take you for coffee next door to work out a plan? I’m sure you’re busy." He didn’t want to just set a time and leave; he felt so much better just being in the same room it was hard to consider departure.
Chapter 8 - Ashley
