Brazen

VICTORIA

It had been a few hours since the coffee incident, and all was well, even though it seemed like it shouldn’t be.

There was a whisper around the office that Mr. Belrose didn’t let his assistants mess up and keep their jobs that easily.

Anyone else and he would have axed them already, but by some miracle, here I still am.

To be fair, though, I’d done everything else correctly. Not to pat myself on the back, but I hadn’t really given him any other reason to fire me.

Still, it was nerve-racking to be focused on returning calls one moment and the next finding him staring right at me through his window.

He’d done it enough times by this point that his attempts to play his gaze off as pondering had become almost funny.

Very smooth. I would giggle every time.

I wonder if he’s thinking of last Friday. I wonder if he knows it was me, especially after seeing my bra. I mean, I’m dressed differently today.

I’d tied my hair back into a braid as opposed to the wildly loose and unbrushed waves I’d had last time.

I wondered if he recognized my eyes or my skin. Maybe if he touched me, he’d remember…

“Ready?” I looked up to find Drake resting a hand on my desk. He turned his head and nodded at Mr. Belrose, whose confusion was apparent as he looked from me to Drake.

“What?” I blinked at him.

“Lunch. We’ve got an hour. Come on.” He started walking before I could even get up. Before I left, I peered back at Mr. Belrose to find his eyes trained on me.

Those mesmerizing green eyes.

***

“So why is Henry eye-fucking you?” Drake asked as he chewed on his massive burger.

His tray of food was filled to the top, and I found it funny that with all that junk food, he was only drinking a bottle of water and some orange juice.

“What are you talking about?”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” He puts up a peace sign.

“Two. How many am I holding up?” I flip him off.

“Hey, hey”—he chuckled between words—“I’m just checking your vision. Everyone in the office noticed him staring at you. Was he doing that all morning?”

“I think so,” I started to smile as I continued. “And every time I caught him, he would play it off like he was staring at something else.”

Drake burst into laughter. “Wow, real smooth there, Henry.”

“I know, right?” I joined in.

“So why are you working here? What’s your end goal?” He took another giant bite of burger, stuffing fries in as he chewed.

“Well, I just wanted to get into publishing because I love books,” I answered honestly, but he stared at me with suspicion in his eyes.

“I can’t tell if you’re being sincere or sarcastic.”

“Why would I be sarcastic?”

“Because nobody cares about books anymore. People buy books just to fill their shelves, not their minds.”

“Everyone our age spends time online reading mindless posts that evoke loud-exhale-laugh.” As he finished his burger, he gulped down his orange juice and raised an eyebrow at my food, which was untouched.

“Are you gonna eat, or…?”

I rolled my eyes and scarfed down my club sandwich. “I think people still care about books,” I said with a mouthful of food.

“That’s what you think, but it seems that print publishing is dying. Why do you think they sell so many of those revamped classics with the fancy covers and the golden edges?”

“Um”—I took a moment to finish chewing—“aesthetics?”

“More like pathetic. We’re all like the last on the deck before the Titanic sinks.”

“I’m confused,” I started as I wiped my mouth and pushed my tray aside. “Are you trying to welcome me here or telling me to get a new job elsewhere?”

“I’m just making conversation.” He shrugged. “So why is Henry acting weird around you?”

“I…don’t know.”

“Right. You’re really bad at lying. You know that?”

“Shut up.” I stood up, holding my tray.

“Whoa, where you goin’?” He sat up.

“Back to work?”

“You have like half an hour left, though.” He showed me his Rolex, which seemed a bit expensive for a man with his job.

Wait, what is his job?

“What do you even do here?”

He shrugged. “Apparently a lot less than you do. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Or not,” I suggested with sass in my tone.

“I’m getting your number by the end of the day.” He leaned back into his seat with a smug smile on his lips. I wanted to slap him, but his confidence was somehow amusing.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a little annoying?”

“Yeah, but they eventually love me.” His grin made me smile as I walked away.

When I finally got back to my desk upstairs, I only sat for a moment before I was called in by the boss man.

I wasn’t sure if it was because of the giant secret I was keeping or the fact that he was an intimidatingly attractive man, but I was shy around him, too shy.

Timid is never a word I would use for myself.

I spent years dealing with assholes because of the odd jobs that Rob would send me on, and my tongue had grown sharp while my mind eliminated any traces of a filter for my thoughts.

And yet, I couldn’t let myself speak too much around this man. Maybe it was just my nerves, especially on the first day of my first real job. I really hoped it was that.

“Yes, Mr. Belrose?”

“Victoria.” His voice was deep, and it sent a rush down to the pit of my stomach. “Please, have a seat.”

I took slow steps toward the chair facing him. He had his hands together on the desk, covering what view I had earlier under that glass surface.

“Now, I’m only going to say this once.” He sounded stern as he stood up and went around to my side. He leaned back against the edge of the desk, hands supporting him as he faced me.

“There’s something you’re keeping from me. This is your chance to tell the truth.”

“Excuse me?”

My heart was pounding, not only because of what he was saying but because I recognized his goddamn scent, and it triggered an automatic flashback to every touch, every kiss.

And every fucking thrust he gave me the last time we were this close. His eyes pierced through me, and I found myself frozen in place as I met those green wonders.

“I know you’re hiding something from me.”