chapter thirteen

MELANIE

"I just want to smack his head against a fucking wall, Em," I sighed. "You know, I almost wish I wasn't working here so I could give him a piece of my mind. I feel like a kick in the groin could be a good start."

"Down, girl," Emily laughed from the other end. She still had a few days left before she would be back. I was anticipating her arrival like it was a holiday. I hadn't realized just how much I missed her.

"That bad huh?" She asked.

"Em, I swear you should meet this bitch in person. You'd understand exactly what I'm talking about."

"Hm, when I do. But that doesn't change the fact that he's one hell of a hottie."

I cocked an eyebrow. I'm not saying he wasn't the kind of gorgeous I would want to bend me over on a desk and fuck me senseless, because he was. Oh, he really was. And his body? Just thinking about it made me swallow.

"He's not that special," I lied. Well, technically it wasn't a lie. He was an arrogant bastard. He just had quite a lot of sex appeal that was all.

"Whatever you say, princess," She laughed in a singsong voice.

"Anyways if I wanted to fuck—"

I nearly dropped my phone as the devil walked into the elevator. Oh shit. I had completely forgotten I was using the private elevator. In surprise, I had hung up on Emily. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at his upturned nose at my presence, I rested my back against the wall and hoped the ride would be over soon.

"Who said you could use this elevator?" He turned to me, looking me over as though my presence had tainted the elevator.

"Who said you could be such a dick?" I fired back. As I watched him watch me I couldn't help but wonder. Did he really think he was that special? I almost scoffed at the thought.

He whipped around and I could see the shock on his face. Why was he always so surprised when obviously he deserved everything I said to him? I almost tore at my hair from the frustration.

"How dare you talk to me like that?"

I glared at him, resisting the urge to burst into laughter. He actually sounded genuinely surprised. How much of a spoiled brat was he?

"That's how you talk to people who forget their place and start to think they're some sort of demigod," I replied matter-of-factly.

To my surprise, instead of lashing out again, he moved closer to me. My breath caught in my throat as the scent of his cologne filled my nostrils. He stood so close that our lips were just a few inches apart. Too close. I felt myself weaken at his forest green glare, but still, I matched his stare, refusing to back down.

"If you keep testing my patience I'll give you exactly what you're looking for." I had a feeling he was referring to something else. His voice had graduated to a sexy growl and for one millisecond I hoped he would take one more step closer.

I felt my heart rate quicken as his gaze went from my lips down to my chest. "Who would've guessed, you're a pervert too? Can't say I'm surprised," I muttered, although my nipples had begun to harden from his intense glare.

I almost cursed out loud when he pulled away and I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. I cursed myself internally. Why was I letting this cocky bastard have such an effect on me? Was I that sex-starved? I decided that it had to be the stress because there was no other logical reason for it.

"Let's see just how bold you will be when you're jobless on the streets."

I felt my jaw clench. This bastard could make me go from a drooling mess to a firecracker in a space of ten seconds. "As I said before, Mr. Smith, I have no intention of losing my job. Especially not because of you."

He gave a loud laugh. "We'll see about that."

I shut my eyes tightly. Lord give me strength to put up with this bastard. I needed to remind myself daily of the reasons why I could not afford to lose my job. I had just moved Daddy to a different hospital a few days ago. I couldn't lose my job now.

I opened my eyes to my boss giving me a weird stare. Rolling his eyes, he looked away. Finally, the ride was over. We both charged to the door at the same time, causing us to bump into each other.

"What the hell! I was here first!" He yelled.

I regarded him curiously. "How old are you, five?"

I could see the embarrassment flash on his face. "What the fuck is—"

Before he could finish, I had launched myself out of the elevator and towards the exit. Fucking man child. I let out a sharp hiss.

I sucked in a deep breath once I was outside. What I needed was a good night rest. And maybe a drink. Or two. Today had been crazy. From my workload to the incident in the elevator. My body was playing games with me. I contemplated on telling Emily about it but I was convinced she wouldn't let me hear the last of it.

As I began to stroll down, a car honk disrupted my thoughts. I turned to dish out curses on the driver but froze when I saw Ryan seated at the wheel.

"Bad day?" He asked, laughing. He was driving at snail speed to be able to match my stride.

I laughed, attempting to smoothen out my hair. "That obvious huh?"

As usual when I made comments like this, Ryan chuckled. "Get in, I'll give you a ride."

I took a few moments to consider it. I wasn't sure if I could call Ryan my friend. We were just colleagues at work and I hadn't really known him for long. But I could really use the ride. Was it a good idea to get into a vehicle with an acquaintance this late at night? Definitely not. But I pulled at the door handle and plopped down in the passenger seat, almost moaning from how plush the seat felt. Fuck, I hadn't realized I was this tired.

I looked up to see Ryan staring at me, a blush creeping onto his face and for a few seconds, I was confused as to why. I longed to choke myself to death when I realized that I must have moaned out loud.

This was going to be a long ride.