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“Thank you.”
Her shining smile swept away the last bit of my headache, and I beckoned her to come around to my side of the desk. “I’m not going to bite you,” I said when she hesitated. Was there a flash of disappointment on her face? Now I was thinking about biting her. Or really, nibbling. I’d start at her jaw and work my way down her neck…
Great. Not thirty seconds in the room alone with the woman and I was getting hard. What was it about her? Pamela had been sending me her nudes all day and she had a fantastic body, but not even a twitch. Violet leaned over my shoulder to look at my computer screen, her soft breath warm near my ear, and I was ready to go.
I forced myself to concentrate and showed her the two campaigns, then asked her which one she liked best.
“Rather, which one would make you consider buying the body wash,” I asked. They were both basically the same picture but with a few different details. I wondered if she’d even notice.
“The blue one,” she said right away.
I raised my eyebrows and nodded. That had been my first instinct too. “Why?” I asked.
She took in a deep breath and moved closer, pointing. “This one with the red and yellow details is really fun and it makes me happy to look at it, but it doesn’t make me want to take a bath. The blue one is more calm and relaxing and the bath just looks way more inviting. I can almost hear soft music playing in that picture. The red picture seems kind of loud.”
“You get all that from the towels and accessories being different colors?” I was impressed.
“The flowers in the blue one are more chill, too,” she said, pointing again. Her shoulder brushed against mine, but she didn’t seem to notice, too intent on the picture. I certainly noticed, her proximity setting me on fire. “Those pale pink roses versus the bird of paradise in the red pic.” She paused and thought for a second. “I think it’s the fact that the bath is full. If the model were about to get in the shower, I’d maybe choose the red one, because getting a shower is usually more invigorating than taking a bath.”
I was silent for a long time. Everything she said made sense. This was exactly the kind of feedback I wished my artistic teams would give, but maybe the key was to pull ideas from regular consumers more often. My pride didn’t want me to praise her, when I’d already given her good feedback about the chore I made her do earlier.
Oh, to hell with my pride. “You’re fantastic,” I said. Maybe that was taking it too far in the opposite direction from the ogre I’d been the last two weeks, but I meant it. I admired her spark and her capability, and now I learned she clearly had an understanding of artistic design. “I’ll approve the blue one to go to the advertisers.”
I stood up and turned and, since she had been standing just behind my chair, we were only a few inches apart. If I moved my hand the slightest bit, I would have been touching her. I wanted to touch her. I expected her to jump away, but she met my eyes and boldly smiled up at me after the compliment. Then she bit her lower lip and frowned.
“Not just from my opinion, I hope.”
I shook my head. “I was leaning toward that one, too. You sealed the deal. You really seem to have a good eye for detail.”
Her cheeks turned a charming pink and she leaned toward me. “I better get back to answering emails.”
She stayed right where she was. Another second, and I would have leaned down to kiss her. She must have recognized the glimmer of desire in my eyes because she snapped to attention and scurried toward the door. I didn’t want revenge anymore. I only wanted her.
“Oh, Violet?”
She turned back and looked at me expectantly. “Yes?”
“I’m cutting carbs for a while, so you can lay off the coffee delivery.”
Her shoulders lowered and she breathed a sigh of relief. I knew it was making her miserable. Now we were both free of that torture.
“You can still drink black coffee on low carb,” she said. “Would you like me to bring you that instead?”
It seemed innocent enough, but I suspected this was her way of getting the final say in this particular fight. “That sounds perfect,” I said, happy enough to let her have it. For now. “The cafeteria downstairs is fine.”
Her absolutely gorgeous smile told me I made the right decision.
Chapter 8 - Violet
I double checked my notes and pointed out a discrepancy to Eli. He nodded absently and changed it on his screen with a mumbled thanks. Without looking up from his work, he reached into the bakery box and took the last donut, then nudged the box across his desk toward me. With a hidden smile, I pretended to be shocked it was empty and he looked up, blinking like an owl.
“Sorry, here, take it.” He pushed the jelly-filled over to me.
“Only to keep you on your low carb diet,” I said. I couldn’t resist the tiny jab despite us being in some kind of undeclared truce.
It had been near heaven the last few days, not having to go out of my way for his torture drinks. And he had suddenly started being nice to me, or at least human. Which was dangerous in its own way, because he was still devastatingly attractive to me. I was getting more and more confident at the job, and best of all, I loved it.
My calendar app pinged to let me know it was time for Eli’s first morning appointment, and I was almost disappointed that I wouldn’t be needed in there with him. I mean, them. To take notes and learn, not to watch how animated his eyes got when he pitched an idea he especially liked, or the way his tailored jackets hugged his broad shoulders. When it was just us and we really got going on work, he’d shrug out of it and swing it over the back of his chair, then roll up his sleeves. I never knew how sexy forearms could be until I noticed Eli’s. When he scrawled notes, or pointed at something, the muscles rippled. I was far gone, way far gone. It was maddening, because I knew he wasn’t even trying, like I was. I had to go shopping for more low-cut camisoles to keep up my mini revenge campaign. I refused to admit it was because I liked watching his eyes settle on my body, even though I’d get swoony thinking about him touching me in all the places he looked.
