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1
Derrick
“Augustine, come into my office.”
I let go of the intercom button and tried to relieve myself of the feelings that stirred up inside of me. Augustine had been my assistant for almost six months, yet I still got mighty nervous around her. It was hard, to be so focused on a woman that I couldn’t have. She was my employee, I was her boss, I shouldn’t have been looking at her like that, but I didn’t think that I could change anything.
“Will be right there.”
I closed my eyes to the soft lilt in her voice. I didn’t know what it was about Augustine, but she was the sort of woman that made me feel better when she was around. I was on edge and nervous, yet still better off in her presence.
When she got into my office, my eyes swept over her dark brown eyes and hair. It was flipped back into some kind of ponytail, but it moved just as much as if the hair was down. Her red lips were generous and the smile that she sent my way kept me stalled and wondering what was next. I could feel the desire coming out of me. It only came out when I was around Augustine. I couldn’t help it.
She was wearing a sun dress, always these light and colorful patterns that turned my thoughts dark. Her body was lean, yet curved in her hips. Augustine was built to be admired and I wasn’t the only one that couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She was a spell that every man fell for.
“What happened to the Dalton report?”
She smiled and then it faltered for a moment. “I thought you wanted it next week?”
I agreed that I did, but I also said that she could always turn it in sooner.
“Actually, I can’t. I have a few figures that I am waiting on. They haven’t come out yet, so we will just have to wait a few more days. Everything will be fine.”
She was probably telling the truth. I couldn’t think straight, my eyes lost in the top of her dress. I didn’t dare look at the bottom hem and the long, perfect legs that I knew were there. I had worked with her long enough, studied her form long enough, that I thought I would always be able to tell where she was just by her body.
Augustine cleared her throat, and I looked back to her face. “Right, okay.”
It was then, when her hands were on her hips, that I saw the extra glitter coming from her hand. It was the sort of sparkle that came when a gem was hit by the sun. I felt my stomach lurch with the view, and I hoped that I was wrong. That couldn’t be what I thought it was, could it?
Augustine saw me staring and she put her hand behind her back. She was obviously trying to keep me from seeing it, which I could have pretended at any time. That wasn’t what I wanted though. Instead, I asked her what she was doing with a ring on that particular finger, a diamond ring no less.
“Please tell me that it doesn’t mean what I think it means.”
Augustine just nodded and I think for a minute she was debating if she was going to tell me or not. That was the engagement ring finger, which meant that she was engaged. I didn’t know who she was dating, I’d met one guy when he came to pick her up one time when Augustine’s car was broke down. He had tattoos, a bad boy look, but likely drove a motorcycle or something like that. I didn’t like the guy, probably because he was so different than me. I wasn’t running around with leather jackets and face tattoos. How could Augustine consider a life with a guy like that?
“I don’t think we should talk about it.”
I pressed my lips together and dropped it. I guess I wasn’t supposed to care. I did, obviously, but I wasn’t supposed to. I tried hard not to let it get to me, the idea that she was engaged, but I couldn’t help it. Augustine stood there awkwardly, and I finally had to ask straight up. “Are you engaged?”
When she agreed that she was, I didn’t know what to say. I thanked her for her help and dismissed her. I wanted her to leave my office and let me get some air without her sucking it all up. I didn’t know what I expected. I watched her, wanted her, but never made my needs known. How could I when I was her boss?
Now it was too late, and I felt sick to my stomach. That feeling forced me to take lunch early, and when I barked out some orders before I left, my tone wasn’t the same. It bothered Augustine, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I didn’t know if I wanted to or not. I was pissed and I wanted her to know it. She was making a mistake. Couldn’t she see that?
When I got outside of the building, I breathed in deep and cursed my luck. I had waited too long and now the woman that I wanted was no longer going to be mine. I thought that she would be. I thought that we had something growing between us, but I was wrong. I was wrong about all of it, apparently.
I went to the gym before I grabbed some food. I wasn’t really hungry, but I had so much energy to get out. I was thinking about Augustine as I lifted heavy reps until it burned. I wanted her and I was used to getting what I wanted. I had made a living taking what I wanted, so what was keeping me from taking Augustine? A ring wasn’t going to do it, was it? There had to be something more. I only wanted her if she wanted me, and Augustine was no closer than when she started. I knew I was going to have to be patient, but sometimes it was impossible. This was one of those times and by the presence of a ring on her finger, I needed to move fast.
2
Augustine
Ileft his office as quickly as I could. He got that annoyed tone, which I heard on a daily basis, but it usually wasn’t pointed at me. I didn’t like when it was. I didn’t know what to say when he started asking me about the ring. I had forgotten to take it off and I admonished myself the whole way back to my desk.
When I got there, the phone was ringing, and I had to take a few messages before anything else happened. I knew that there was something that I wanted to say to Derrick, but he wouldn’t understand. How could a man like him understand anything? He had never had to likely do anything that he didn’t want. He was in a position where he could tell people to leave a room and they would. I sighed. There was no point in worrying about it.
I tried to send a couple of calls his way, but he was gone. I checked with the front desk, and they said that he had left the building. I didn’t know what he was so worked up about, but at least I didn’t have to worry about him skulking around and coming down on me for something else. I finished the report that he had asked about, even though I had a bit of time before he had said he’d wanted it. I didn’t leave for lunch until it was done, and I went to put it on his desk.
Derrick was back, he must have snuck in, and I paused when our eyes locked. “What is it, Augustine? I didn’t call you.”
