Romance Warfare: a Tigress' Guide to NOT Secure a Mate(6)

Something stirred inside. Damn, how could he have forgotten how beautiful she was? Eva was perfect, her cherry hair in curls over her shoulders, her black wrap dress hugging her curvy body. She’d always been gorgeous, even as a teenager when others were awkward, but now, a woman, with a woman’s curvaceous, luscious body? She was incredible.

She cleared her throat and he looked away, uncomfortable now that he had been caught staring.

“Is there something I can help you with, Adam?”

“No. I mean, I just wanted to…talk,” he said.

“Talk?”

“Yes, is that okay?”

“About work you mean?”

“Sure, we can talk about work.”

“Okay.” She was staring at him, waiting for him to talk. When he didn’t she started to fidget, shifting in her chair, looking like she’s ready to stand up and leave.

Say something, Adam berated himself, before she leaves.

“So, how’s work?” he finally get out.

“Ah, work is…fine?” She sounded confused by his question. “Adam, what’s this about? Why did you call me in here?”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You don’t, we don’t…I mean, you work for me and I hardly have any contact with you, unless you count email.”

Eva didn’t answer him. She stood and walked to the door, her hand on the knob. She looked as if she was still thinking about something. She turned and looked at him and her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Adam, please don’t, okay? Just, let me work. Let me do my job. Let’s not relive the past. We’re just going to keep it professional. Okay?” Then she glided out the door. She must have been running because he could hear her heels clicking like machine-gun fire down the marble hall.

Adam cursed himself. There had to be a cosmic conspiracy regarding old flames. Why must the one he wanted most be the one who was unattainable?

***

Eva snatched her things and ran down the hall, punching at the elevator button, willing the doors to open before her tears started falling. She wouldn’t let Adam see her cry. She wouldn’t let Adam know that the past three days of working for him had been the hardest in her life. Her pride wouldn’t let her do that. She punched at the buttons again, desperate to get out of the building. When the chime pinged, the door hadn’t even opened completely before she was sliding between them and slapping at the lobby button.

As the elevator carried her smoothly down fifty flights, she fought back her tears. She usually wasn’t this whiny, crying at the drop of the hat. But coming here was a big mistake. She hadn’t anticipated that her feelings for Adam were as still intensely alive as they were years ago. She should have walked out when she found out she was working for Adam. She needed the job, yes, and the pay was too good to turn down, but she wasn’t sure she could do this for the long term. Not if it meant having to see Adam every day.

Through the lobby and out into the street, Eva kept her tears at bay. A quick subway ride deposited her near her apartment. She quivered with emotion as she shoved her key into the lock. She dropped her bag and keys on the table near the door and called out to see if her sister, Bella, was home. When there was no answer, she grabbed a bottle of wine and headed into the bathroom, flipping on the taps and filling the room with steam and the scent of vanilla bubbles.

She slipped into the bath, a glass of wine dangling from her fingers, when she heard the front door open and her little sister yelled her name. “Bathroom,” she called back and slid further into the bubbles.

Bella, a cute and bubbly redhead, popped into the bathroom and flipped the toilet lid closed, dropping onto it before taking in the scene in front of her. “Uh oh,” she said, “bubbles and Bordeaux. What’s going on, sis? New job not going well?”

Eva took a deep sip of her wine and popped a few bubbles before answering her sister. “Well, it’s not a bad job, it’s not hard…”

“But…” Bella prompted her.

“My boss is the but.”

Bella cackled and grabbed the wine bottle off the floor, taking a big swig straight from the bottle. “Okay, tell me why your new boss is an ass.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Close enough.”

“Okay.” Eva took a deep breath. “Here’s the thing. My new boss…is Adam Frost.”

Bella spewed red wine across the bathroom. “What do you mean ‘Adam Frost is your boss?’”

“Well, when I was looking for a job and couldn’t find one, I called mom and dad…and I guess they called the alpha. Next thing I know, Frost Industries is calling me up, telling me there’s an opening as an administrative assistant and it’s mine if I want it. Of course, I had to take it. And I didn’t know then that I was going to be working for Adam. It’s a huge corporation…I never for a minute imagined I’d ever even see him, much less be working directly under him every day.” Eva paused for a breath and sank beneath the bubbles, popping back up and rubbing the water off of her face.

“So.” Bella blew out a long breath. “What are you going to do?”

Leaning forward, Eva grabbed the wine bottle from where it dangled from Bella’s fingers. She tipped it back and poured the sweet, red liquid down her throat, finishing the last drops in the bottle. “Well, I guess, I’m going to do my job. I’m going to go in every day and treat him like he’s a stranger. Like he’s nobody.”