A couple men smile, Levi included. Others are sizing me up. I’m pissed. Like most men in the corporate world, they think they can walk all over me, and that just won’t be happening.
“Let me get one thing straight before we continue with the mountain of business before us. I will not be disrespected, talked down to, or trampled in my boardroom.” My voice elevates as I continue my tirade. “I am not your wife, or your side piece of ass. I am your boss. If you do not like what I have to say, or the way I do business, please, get up and get the fuck out now. It will save me the trouble of firing your ass down the line.” I slam my fist on the table, “If you haven’t heard about the way I do business yet, I suggest you all start asking around.”
No one says a word. They stare. Levi sits in his chair with a smug grin on his face, soaking it all in.
“Now, shall we continue?”
Behind the safe walls of my office, I curse this entire trip to London. Of fucking course Levi would have so eagerly volunteered himself for the trip. Of. Fucking. Course.
My phone vibrates across my desk as I continue running over files I just received from London. I can’t believe what a mess their branch of the company has become. Had I known this before the buyout, I would have never fucking bought this headache. Revenge or not, it’s not fucking worth it.
Looking down at the display on my phone, I see an unfamiliar number, so I ignore it.
“Olivia,” I buzz through the intercom. Her reply is quick.
“I need lunch, now. Um, get me chicken tacos from Chipotle. Sour Cream, cheese… the usual. With a Dr. Pepper.” I cut the line before she has an opportunity to reply. I know I shouldn’t take my frustrations out on her, but after watching her all gooey in Daniel’s radar this morning, something bitter has snapped in me. Shit, that was even before the nightmare business trip I am being forced into.
A soft rap on the door pulls me from my thoughts. I invite in whomever is on the other side, since Olivia is off getting my lunch. The heavy door slowly creeps open and there stands Levi. He closes the door, then makes himself at home in the chair on the other side of my desk. He looks at me with regret and apology in his eyes. I still feel bad about the way I treated him the other night. It has eaten at me for days.
“Listen, Seven. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be the one going on this trip, but before you came to Alexander Mobile, I was the one doing all the traveling.” He watches my reaction, as he runs his fingers through his messy hair. Something I’ve noticed he does when he’s nervous. “All the other board members have wives, and families. Then there’s me. I don’t have anything or anybody. By default, the trips always fall into my lap.” He doesn’t have anything or anybody? Sadness creeps through me, and I take pity on him. I take pity on no one, and yet here I am, slowly opening for a man I want to do nothing but run from.
“It’s okay, Levi. It is just a business trip. I expect we’ll be about a week. Give or take, depending on how quickly this can get straightened out. I have already started working on what I can from here. Olivia, my assistant, will get you all the travel details. It will give us an opportunity to see how well we work together, since it appears we are going to be spending a lot of time together.” I smile at him. A genuine smile, something I rarely give colleagues, or men. A warm sensation burns through my chest and stomach as I continue to work on the file I have open on my laptop.
“Seven, I just… I didn’t want you to think I set this up somehow.” He’s worried, understandably so.
“Levi, I don’t think that at all. You clearly didn’t sabotage the supply in London. We work together; this is going to happen. We can’t let what happened make things weird.” I shake my head. I just don’t even know where to go in this situation anymore. This is the first time in my life that I have truly been at a total loss. I look up to catch his eyes grazing over my body. He is hungry, and it isn’t for lunch.
“Levi?” I ask him, looking up with heavily lidded eyes, trying to put out the fire rushing through my body, fueled by only him. I know if he doesn’t leave soon, I am not going to be able to resist him. I will beg him to take me, right here on my desk.
“Yes?” He smiles at me, a beautiful toothy grin, and I can feel my panties becoming damp.
“I think you should go. I have a business call here at a quarter to seven, if you are going to still be in the office.”
I can see the disappointment in his gaze, but all I’m trying to do is save us both a lot of fucking trouble. We just can’t keep going on this way, because we’ll only end up hurt. I can already tell he is in over his head, and despite my cool facade, he’s wearing me down. Little-by-little, my walls that I have worked so hard building over the past five years are crumbling for Levi.
He leaves, and I pick up my cell phone, finally remembering the waiting text. The number is still unfamiliar to me, but I can tell it is a local New York City cell number.
I can’t help but chuckle as my body responds to the words, clearly from Levi, who just left. It is probably a good thing I didn’t read that before he waltzed into my office, all sex on a stick and shit. Should I reply? Should I play into this little game we have going on here? A very fucking dangerous game for both of us.
I just can’t help it, because whether or not I want to admit it, I think I just met my fucking match.
By the time everyone leaves the office for the day, I have interviews lined up to replace the president of operations in London. This kind of gross incompetence won’t be tolerated, period. He’ll get his walking papers as soon as I set foot on English soil.
I have fifteen minutes before my conference call, and still no sign of Levi, which is probably better off anyway.
I shot Star a text, letting her know about the plans for the next couple days, and giving her free reign of my penthouse.
Ideally, I like to check in with her before I leave, and in the wake of the Evan breakup, it’s even more important for me to make sure she’s handling it. In a lot of ways, Star is just like me. We both hide our emotions extremely well. As shattered as I was when Daniel left me, I never let anyone see. Not even Star, even though she could see right through the tough as nails persona I put on.
On cue, my phone comes to life with the conference call I’d patiently been waiting for. Still no sign of Levi; I’m sure he will steer clear of me as much as he can, at least until we hop on a plane to London and are forced to work one-on-one for days. Something I am both dreading, and looking forward to, because you know, I am mentally fucked up.
The Tokyo conference call drags on, and on, and on some fucking more. I continue looking at the clock, watching the minutes tick on by, completely bored out of my mind. My participation is limited, and my need to play Candy Crush on my cell phone grows. Somewhere around level one hundred and twenty three, my office door cracks open, and Levi saunters in. His appearance is tired, his jawline covered in a blanket of stubble, his tie pulled free, and the three top buttons of his expensive dress shirt left open. If I wasn’t shocked by him actually joining me, I may have found myself drooling all over my desk.
I quickly mute my end of the line.