No Kissing Allowed (No Kissing Allowed #1)(9)

Brody opened his mouth, but it was Aidan who spoke. “This isn’t a classroom. I don’t want a textbook definition of what’s good. I want originality. I want inspiration. Your job isn’t to recite to me what you learned over the last four years. It’s to use your brain to come up with something new.” He turned away from me and never glanced my way again. His voice wasn’t hateful, but there was no care in his words. Straight and to the point—exactly how he should treat anyone else in that room.

So why did I feel like he should treat me differently? He shouldn’t, couldn’t. That would be the definition of inappropriate. Regardless of what happened between us, Aidan ran my division. He was just doing his job. Unlike me.

I wanted to sink into my chair. Originality. Right. My first meeting at my first job, and I had failed.

…

I didn’t speak again for the rest of the meeting. I listened, I observed, but I never spoke, wishing I had just kept to my original plan. Gayle came over to me once it was over. “Don’t let them rattle you. Everyone shoots off textbook definitions on their first day. It’s all we know. Aidan just…” She shook her head, her gaze locking on Aidan’s office across the room. He was already inside, walking around, his cell to his ear. The wall facing us was all glass, even the door. His title and name were etched into the door, visible only if you stood right in front of it. He had blinds ready to close off the rest of us from his world, but Gayle said he rarely used them.

“Aidan’s hard,” she continued, her tone kind. “But it’s because he’s good. He just wants you to be that good, too. Shake it off, okay? I have some calls to make. Think you could do some research for me?” She passed me a list, all pertaining to Blast and Gatorade. I nodded to her, and she showed me to my cube before setting off for her office.

I started up my email so I would see if Gayle sent something my way, and immediately locked in on an email in my in-box. But it wasn’t from Gayle—it was from Aidan.

Clicking the email, I cycled through possible scenarios. I hated the unknown. I had to work out every side of a situation, so I would know how to handle it. So I could avoid failure. Getting hired at Sanderson-Lowe had proved to me that all my hard work had paid off. And now, in one drunken moment of weakness, it could all slip away.

My attention fell on the email, my heart speeding up as I read the words:

Can you come to my office please?

And there it was, the big I’m sorry, you’re fired. Or you’ll have to transfer to a different department. But surely he couldn’t fire me. We hadn’t known. Just like he’d said, it could happen to anyone. And I didn’t want to move to a different department. I adored Gayle already and knew she and I would work well together. One mistake shouldn’t change anything.

I wouldn’t let it.

Our floor sat quiet except for the clicking of computer keys and the occasional phone conversation, making the walk to Aidan’s office feel almost painful. A nice older lady smiled up at me from the desk outside his office.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m here to see A—Mr. Truitt.”

“Of course.” She reached for her phone to let him know, just as he glanced up from his desk and called for me to come on in.

Closing the door behind me, I glanced around, trying to reconcile UT Guy with Aidan. There was a University of Tennessee diploma on the right-hand wall, and just below it an MBA from Columbia. Most would put the advanced degree above the undergrad, especially considering it was Ivy League, but then something told me Aidan wasn’t like most people.

“Have a seat,” he said.

I sat in one of the yellow chairs in front of his desk. Clearly, whoever decorated Sanderson-Lowe’s floor had a thing for yellow.

Aidan leaned forward, his forearms resting on his desk, and as I looked up and into his eyes I wondered if I would have kissed this version of him. Would I have laughed like I did? Would I have asked him back to my apartment? Likely not.

He seemed to read my mind. “I like to relax when I’m not here, shake off the business week. So you’ll usually find me in jeans and that UT hat. I’ve had it for years and I…” He trailed off. “Sorry. Anyway, I’m sure you realize how complicated this is?”

I nodded.

“I asked for your number before, but that’s not really appropriate now.” He grinned, the smile almost boyish. God, he was handsome. Not just hot or sexy. He was handsome. Rough, yet polished. It was a beautiful combination.

“Right…” My turn to trail off.

“As a rule, I don’t date women at the office.” He laughed. “Actually, I don’t date at all.”

My eyes flashed up, anger sparking inside me. Let it go. Just let it go. But I was never one to let anything go. “A little presumptuous, don’t you think? I never asked you for a date. I never asked for your number. And I didn’t offer you mine.”

He smiled again, a real, full smile, and for a second, my anger slipped, my heartbeat speeding up. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or not, but I wanted to tell him to put that weapon away if he wanted me to get any work done. Silence grew between us, tension and attraction igniting. My body warmed under his stare, and I wondered if he was thinking about Saturday night, if it had been as good for him as it had been for me. Then cursing myself for even thinking about it, I pushed to standing.