The Randy Romance Novelist(58)
The elevator opened, greeting me to begin my descent down to the streets of New York. I pressed the ground level button and watched the doors close, just as Tasha stuck her hand in to stop the elevator. The doors opened back up and she walked in, brushing off her skirt and eyeing me.
“You could have held the elevator.”
“Didn’t know you were coming.”
Turning toward me, she gave me a suggestive look. “Oh, you always knew when I was coming.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, Tasha. Give it a rest. I’m happy, more than happy, I’m completely overjoyed by the fact that I am with Rosie. Nothing is going to change, so get that through your head.”
“You’re full of yourself. I was just joking, Henry. Are you bringing her tomorrow?”
Wishing the elevator would hurry the eff up, I answered impatiently. “Yes.”
“Wonderful, I can’t wait to catch up with her.”
There would be none of that. The last thing I needed was for Tasha to start talking to Rosie at the party. Not that I was hiding anything, because I wasn’t, I just didn’t trust Tasha. Knowing her, she would say some bullshit lie about us spending almost every night together working, when in fact, I didn’t even talk to the wench.
“I would prefer it if you didn’t talk to her . . . or me.”
“And why is that, Henry? Because you’re afraid she’ll see the way you look at me?”
“The way I look at you? And how would that be? Because all I see is a gold-digging slut-bag willing to flirt with anyone to get ahead. Don’t think I don’t see the way you talk to Eric and the male board members. Unfortunately for you, Tasha, this company was built on hard work ethic and innovative ideas, not how many times you can show your cleavage in one passing.”
That felt good. The bitch had been getting on my nerves ever since she stepped foot in the building.
She folded her arms over her chest, displaying her breasts once again; luckily for me, she didn’t affect me with her feminine wiles. “You really think you’ve won this account, don’t you?”
“Based on what I’ve heard about your campaign, uh . . . yeah.”
She laughed just as we hit the ground floor and the elevator doors opened. “You’re so na?ve, Henry. While you’ve been working in your little cubicle, staring at your annoyingly adorable picture of Rosie, and talking to douche bag Freddy, I’ve been hosting lunches with all the Legacy executives. It’s not always about the campaign, but about who will lead the campaign and who meshes well with the customer.” She pressed my chest with her nail and then took off. “See you tomorrow, Henry. Can’t wait for you to meet some of my friends over at Legacy.” She walked backward while she continued to talk. “Oh, and if you change your mind on our relationship, let me know, maybe I can convince the board to throw you a bone, and you can be my assistant.”
A devious smile was plastered on her face as she walked out of the building.
Mother Fucker!
I ran my hand over my face, feeling like the wind was just knocked out of me. I tried to tell myself not to let her get in my head, that she was just throwing me off my game—job well done.
She had nothing. Her campaign wasn’t nearly as clean cut and refined as mine. I had statistics to back up my presentation; I had proof in the pudding that my campaign was the clear-cut choice.
But there was that annoying voice in the back of my head, that voice of self-doubt that told me maybe I didn’t have it all figured out. Maybe the past month had been a waste of time, spending long nights at the office when I could have been wining and dining the clients.
Shit.
I never thought about a working relationship with them. I just assumed I was a likeable human who could get along with any client, a little self-absorbed, yes, but I hadn’t had any complaints yet.
Work weighed heavily on me as I faltered in the entryway of my office building. I looked over at the elevators and contemplated going back up to my cube to double-check everything. Even though the thought of going back up to my cube crossed my mind, I knew it was useless. Tomorrow was the reveal; there was nothing else I could do. The decision was in the board’s and Legacy’s hands now.
I just hoped I didn’t focus on the wrong thing this go around.
The walk home was lonely. I kept kicking myself in the ass for not thinking about meeting with the clients more. What the hell was I thinking?
Clearly, I wasn’t. I was off my game, and there was only one reason why: Rosie.
She changed me, she helped me relax, she allowed me to love so deeply, I got lost in the world we were living in. There was no doubt in my mind I had been distracted, especially by the sex.
Sex, f*ck did I miss it.
I missed getting lost in Rosie’s scent, in her touch, in the sexy little sound she made when she came.
I wasn’t ready to have sex with her until she saw a doctor, though. I didn’t want to chance anything. I just needed this whole campaign to be over so I could put my sole focus into my girl. One more f*cking day and then this would be all over.
***
“Drop it. I’m not kidding,” Rosie shouted, just as I walked in the apartment.
She was holding a rolling pin in one hand, making whacking gestures, and a colander in the other. She was wearing one of my T-shirts and her hair looked like it shook strands with an electrical outlet. Her bare feet bounced up and down on the hardwood floor while she made scooping motions with the colander.