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A few seconds had passed by the time I realized she was actually addressing me. So much for seducing Charlie Davis. She was successfully seducing me without even lifting a finger or realizing what she was doing. When I thought about it… she had been seducing me from day one.
I cleared my throat and looked at Charlie. ‘You have things in hand. I’ll be back in a minute.’
All professional and lovely and beautiful, she nodded to me with a warm smile and turned her focus back on Laurel, whereas I was still sitting and staring at her like a lovesick boy.
‘William?’ Gayle tried again.
I quickly stood up and followed Gayle out.
* * *
It was an hour later when I found Charlie in the crowded kitchen. She was standing at the edge of a group, listening to someone giving their account of what sounded like an important meeting, while sipping on water. She always stood on the edge of life for one reason or another when she deserved to be at the very centre of it.
I stopped right behind her and spoke into her ear. ‘Why am I missing you so much today?’
She stiffened for a moment, but then her body relaxed just as quickly.
‘Maybe a flower pot or something fell on your head?’ she whispered back over her shoulder with an amused tone.
I smiled, but she couldn’t see. ‘You want cheese, right? Here you go. Maybe you kissed the hell out of me and I don’t know my up from my down anymore.’
As cheesy as it sounded, it was also very true.
There was a pause and then suddenly she burst into laughter, causing everyone to turn around and stare at us. I gave them all a small head nod, with my most stern look, reached in front of Charlie and grabbed a water bottle and fled the scene while Charlie was apologizing about a text message she had gotten.
The entire day became a cat-and-mouse chase across the office and I was enjoying the hell out of it. She had stopped avoiding me, but we were so busy that we couldn’t stand still next to each other. I staked out her office for a good portion of the day and as soon as she left her room, I sneaked in and left a note. Managed to get in four notes in total.
They read:
I need to kiss you again.
I can’t stop thinking about you.
What did you do to me? I can’t keep my eyes off of you, I can barely work.
Happy looks so beautiful on you.
And she was happy, I could tell. She was looking for me with her eyes just as much as I was looking for her. And at the end of the day I don’t know which one of us was more charged and on edge. When I realized she wasn’t joking about skipping lunch, I went out and bought her French fries and left them in her room with no note.
‘You’re my inevitable, Charlie. I’m just as into you as you’re into these French fries.’
When we had another conference call with the CEO of the airline company as a team, I waited until she entered the room and held her chair, then quickly sat right next to her. Before the call ended, when I got up to get myself coffee, I brought her a fresh one as well under the scrutinizing gaze of Rick and Stan. I ignored them all. When the meeting ended and each one of us exited the small meeting room, I held the door open for everyone, and when Charlie was the last one to leave, I made sure to place my hand on the small of her back to guide her out. It lasted only for two or three seconds and by the time she looked at me with a blush spreading across her cheeks, I was nodding at her and leaving also.
The whole day passed with more fleeting touches. And there was a whisper here and a whisper there without being too obvious about it.
She was sitting in front of her laptop in the shared working space and Trisha had just got up and left when I stopped by her side. Crouching down, I looked at the screen right over her shoulder. Her fingers stopped moving on the keyboard and she held her breath.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked quietly.
‘Finishing up the last press release for Michael Ashton. Would you like to read it?’ Her voice was just as quiet and soft.
‘I need to,’ I responded. ‘But maybe not today. It seems I’m not able to focus on anything.’
Someone walked past from the other side of the desk and both Charlie and I stared at him; the guy didn’t even glance our way.
She turned her head just slightly and met my eyes. ‘Thank you for my lunch,’ she whispered, and I had to physically hold myself back from cupping her face and giving her a soft kiss that matched her tone.
