At least, that’s what she told herself.
Nicole folded up her three-page essay and put it at the very bottom of her purse, then went to the bathroom for a quick shower. She dressed in another skirt, this one baby blue, with a white sleeveless blouse that had a low-cut neckline. She also wore a necklace that she hoped would draw Red’s eye to her cleavage, letting him know that both his gaze and his hands were welcome there if he saw fit.
She was wet again, which seemed to be a permanent situation since meeting Red Jameson. Last night when she’d undressed, her panties had been soaked and the scent of her sex had been so strong she’d had an uneasy moment where she wondered if Red had actually smelled her in his office.
Now, after just getting dressed for the day, she was already getting wet again. It was like a disease, an affliction. She wanted to touch herself, wanted that orgasm, but she also wanted to savor this wanting him.
And so she went to work, hoping and waiting for him to call her to his office. Nicole sat down at her desk, wondering if his request would take the form of a phone call, an email—would he possibly even swing by her desk?
The morning dragged on. Nobody gave her any work to do, so she continued to page through the stupid binder and read useless company policies. She laughed a little when she came to the sexual harassment policy. How easy it would be for her to turn Red’s overtures into a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
But she had no real thought of doing that. She wanted his touch far more than any amount of money
By the time eleven-thirty rolled around, she was anxious and bored. She thought to herself that perhaps he might be in the cafeteria again, so she walked to Remi’s office and knocked on the outside of the doorframe.
The door was ajar, and Remi was peering through her funky glasses at her computer. Then she saw Nicole and a look of surprise crossed her face. “Oh. Hi there.”
“Are you going to lunch?”
Remi thought for a moment. “I lost track of time. I guess I should go.”
“Cool.”
She took off her glasses and laid them on her desk. “Aren’t you the punctual one?”
“Not really. Just hungry.”
Remi smiled. “Sure. And besides, you never know who you might run into at this hour.”
Nicole ignored that comment. Inside, she was burning with humiliation that her actions had been so transparent, but outwardly she just smiled in return and the two of them went to the cafeteria.
There were a few more people waiting in line than yesterday, but the room was still mostly empty. Plenty of tables to choose from. Remi and Nicole sat once again by the window overlooking midtown.
Remi had pasta like yesterday, while Nicole had a simple garden salad.
“That’s all you’re having?” Remi asked, shoveling a large portion of ziti into her mouth and chewing.
“Not very hungry,” Nicole said.
“Hmmm.” Remi looked at her with concern. “You seem stressed, and nobody’s even given you anything to do yet.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
“I’ve got work for you.” Remi took a long swallow of water. “When we’re done, I want you to go to the research library on the third floor and look for images of dancing cowboys.”
“Dancing cowboys?”
Remi nodded. “Don’t ask why, it’s this horrible magazine spread I’m working on. But it’s what I need and since you’ve apparently got nothing to do but look like a scared little rabbit…” she shrugged.
Nicole nodded and tried to look enthused. After all, it was the first real task she’d been given. “I’m going to find the best dancing cowboy you’ve ever seen.”
“Just find one decent image,” she said, “and I’ll be happy.”
They continued eating, with Remi mostly talking about this new client that was making her life miserable. She also mentioned Edward a lot, there seemed to be some friction between the two of them.
Nicole didn’t care. She wanted to care and normally she would have. Her friends had always told her she was a great listener. But all she could do was wonder when Red would contact her and tell her to bring the essay to him.
When Remi was finished eating, Nicole tried to think of an excuse to stick around the cafeteria without the older woman seeing right through it. “I need to go to the bathroom,” Nicole said.
“I’ll come with,” Remi said.
She was like glue. Nicole seethed inwardly.
Finally they went back down together and Nicole stopped at her cubicle to check her email and office phone for voicemails. Nothing. As of now she only had a total of two work emails, one of which was an automated welcome email, another of which was Glen emailing her to ask if she would bring him a copy of her signed nondisclosure agreement.
Her spirits sank further.
She knew Red Jameson was a very busy man, a CEO of an enormous corporation. But still, she wanted just the tiniest reassurance that would had happened between them yesterday was real.
She was starting to think maybe she’d imagined the entire thing.