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“Yeah,” she admits in a sad tone.
I wonder what happened. I get the feeling that if I ask though, she’s only going to clam up more.
“So, I’ve been researching dogs,” I tell her, and her face lights up.
I’ve always wanted a dog, but I’ve never gotten one because I was always too busy. When Pia told me that they were her favorite animal too, I decided that now was the time to get serious about adopting one.
“Did you find one that you want to get already?” She asks me, leaning closer in her chair.
“No, I’m still narrowing it down. I’d love to get your thoughts on some, though.”
“Sure, I’m always down to look at dogs,” she says with a laugh.
We spend the rest of her lunch break scrolling through the local animal shelter’s adoption page. Pia coos over all of them, and I know it will be hard to get her to narrow it down to just one or two.
“I should get back to work. Thank you again for lunch,” she says as she pushes to her feet and starts to throw away her trash.
“It was my pleasure. We’ll have to get pizza tomorrow,” I tell her, and she smiles.
“I’d like that,” she says quietly.
She heads back out to her desk, and I throw our trash out and sit back behind mine. As I try to get back to work though, I find that I’m still just as distracted by her as before lunch.
Every time she moves, my eyes are drawn to her. Whenever she answers the phone or someone from the office comes to welcome her to the team, I find myself straining to hear what she says.
I’m addicted to her, and I only see it getting worse the more time we spend together. For some reason, though, I don’t care. I’m fully prepared to make Pia the center of my world. It’s where she belongs, after all.
FIVE
Pia
I madeit to Friday without anyone questioning what I was doing at York Technology or throwing myself at my boss! That feels like a huge accomplishment, especially because Levi showed up to work today in this suit that perfectly highlighted his green eyes. He looked even more handsome than usual, and it was hard to stay focused on work when he was walking around looking so good.
It’s after five, so I log out and push my chair in, making sure that I have everything in my purse before I make my way to the elevator. The rest of the office finished up a project this week, so Levi sent them all home at noon. He had offered to let me go home, too, but I wanted to get caught up on some emails. Besides, I kind of love it when it’s just the two of us in the office.
Things have been going well here. I’ve mastered the phone lines, and I’m getting pretty good at organizing his calendar and inbox.
He’s been feeding me lunch every day, and I’m starting to crave those hours. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s just because he’s paying for our lunch, and it’s helping me save money, but I know it’s more than that. I love having his attention on me. I love getting to know him, and I get all tingly inside when he laughs at my jokes or takes an interest in me.
I’ve had to be careful, though. He keeps asking me questions about what I did before I came to work for him, and it’s hard to answer. I don’t want to say anything that wasn’t on Nichole’s resume. The more time that’s passed though, the more I think that he isn’t checking the resume and is just curious about me.
I turn to say goodbye to Levi, but he’s on the phone still with Adrien, the man I met at my interview, so I just smile and wave at him through the glass walls of his office.
I grab my things and head towards the elevator. It comes fast, probably because everyone else who works in this building is already headed home.
I wonder what Lila is doing? Maybe I should make us some soup and grilled cheese. That always cheers her up. She’s been losing so much weight recently, and I hate to see her looking even more frail or pale than she does now. I should text her and check in before I get on the bus.
I grab my phone from my purse as the elevator doors start to close when suddenly, a hand shoots in between and pushes the doors open.
I stare wide-eyed as Levi steps onto the elevator. He’s facing me, never once looking at the panel filled with numbers, and I swallow hard.
I’ve never seen him look so focused or determined before. His green eyes are dark and locked on me as he swallows and takes a step closer to me. His suit jacket must still be in his office, and my eyes roam over him. The white of his button-up shirt stands out against his black dress pants. The material drapes over his muscled form, making him look like a statue of a Greek god.
“Pia,” he says, and his voice comes out low and gravelly.
“Did I forget something?” I ask.
My desire disappears in the blink of an eye when I realize he might have rushed on here because he realized I’m not who he meant to hire.
