“I have a worksheet,” I blurted, hating how I was starting to soften and lose my hard edge. “It will help me better understand everything you need.” He glanced at his watch and I took the opportunity to step back far enough that I couldn’t smell him anymore. “I just need to grab my tablet.”
His expression flattened with his familiar frown. “I hate to do this to you, but I am late for another meeting. Can you email it to me?”
I nodded to cover my inability to form coherent sentences. “Y-yes. That’s fine. Is it just for Lilou? I can tweak it to your specifications if I know which website I’m working with.”
“All of them,” he said casually, like it wasn’t about to cost him thousands and thousands of dollars. “The four restaurants and the EFB master website. Do you need links? My assistant can email them later today.”
“I’ll find them,” I assured him. “That’s part of my process. I need to evaluate how easy it is to search your sites and use them.”
“Well, you’re already familiar with Lilou.” His words had a playful bite to them and his eyes danced with that same surprising mischief. “You’ll want to find your way to the social sites as well?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll look for your email later today.”
“Sounds good.”
He stuck out his hand once more and I tentatively reached for it. “Thank you for agreeing to work with me, Molly.”
Holding his steady gaze, I felt the first authentic burst of confidence bloom inside me. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, Ezra. I’m not going to go easy on you.”
He leaned in, surrounding me with his delicious scent. “That is exactly why I want you.”
My mouth went dry at his words, dropping open with surprise. Thankfully, Ezra had already turned around and headed for the door. Tucker Junior just happened to be there.
Henry held the door open for Ezra. They chatted in the doorway and I overheard Henry offer to show Ezra out. For some reason, I was relieved when Ezra declined.
It wasn’t that I thought Ezra would take his business elsewhere should Junior decide to get handsy in the elevator, but everything about Henry made me prickly and I found myself wanting to spare Ezra from all that potential awkwardness.
“Look at you, superstar,” Henry crooned when Ezra finally walked away. “Two major clients this month. Someone’s on her way to the top.”
He’d blocked me in, resting his hip against the table Ezra and I had never sat down at. “Coincidence,” I told him.
“Maybe it’s hard work,” he countered, giving me a look that made me feel sweaty. “Or maybe your boss just likes to look at you.” This time he winked.
I laughed nervously, trying to play it off. “Speaking of hard work…” I shuffled closer to the wall. “I should get back to it.”
His expression turned predatory. My shoulder brushed the wall as I tried to skirt around the room, officially nervous around Henry. “That’s a good girl,” he murmured as I walked by him.
Just after I’d passed him, he stood up. There was a moment when we were too close and something brushed over my butt. My heart started pounding and adrenaline kicked in. I walked quickly back to my desk, not breathing the entire time. But it wasn’t until I was at my desk that I finally let myself admit that he’d touched my butt.
Henry had patted me on the butt.
The space where we were had been small though. It could have been an accident.
I stared blankly at my computer screen for the next twenty minutes trying to decide what to do. But that didn’t lead to any answers. I had no precedent for this, no prior experience with an inappropriate boss or coworker.
I didn’t see Henry again for the rest of the day. He stayed in his office, and I stayed at my desk or escaped to the bathroom whenever I spotted him walking around.
By the end of the day, I’d convinced myself that I was making more of this than it was. I was uncomfortable around Henry, but he hadn’t really done anything overt. He’d put his hand on my shoulder. And maybe, accidentally bumped my butt. He was always polite. Always nice. He’d picked me to be on Black Soul out of an office of more experienced designers.
I would just work harder to keep my distance. I wouldn’t get caught in conference rooms with him or put myself in potentially compromising positions. And I would make my intentions clear. I didn’t want him touching me. I would definitely tell him that next time.
Definitely.
And in the meantime, I would throw all of my energy into Black Soul and EFB Enterprises. I would be the best damn social media strategist in the city. Nay, the state! And I would design the crap out of my logos and promo pics.
Ezra Baptiste would be grateful he hired me, but that would be it. I could finish his project and then finally be done with him. Plus, his company would look amazing in my portfolio. Okay, it wasn’t ideal to work for Vera’s fiancé’s best friend. But, I would turn this into a positive opportunity.
Black Soul would be great too. Sure, my part was much smaller in that project, but I would still be able to put all the final work in my portfolio and use it to build the foundation of a stable, lifelong career.
This was all going to work out. It would be fine.
I would be fine.
And starting next month, I would stop lying to myself.
Chapter Twelve
My phone buzzed with an incoming email and I resisted the urge to check it during the middle of spin class. I could wait to open it. I didn’t need to know what it said just this second.
Really, it would be fine.
It could wait.
I could wait.
The sender could wait until after I’d sweated off the three pounds of pasta I’d gained this week from my favorite Italian takeout spot to hear back from me.
I couldn’t help the small smile of anticipation that lifted the corners of my mouth though or the way I suddenly didn’t notice the pain from pushing up the hill climb at 5:45 a.m. Resisting the urge to pick up my phone, I opted for my water bottle instead. But even after a big, refreshing gulp, I still didn’t manage to lose the smile.
“Why do you look happy?” Vera panted next to me, her legs moving approximately one thousand miles per hour. “You should be miserable right now. At the very least you should be contemplating puking. No smiling.”
“I think I see Jesus,” I wheezed said serenely. “I’ve pedaled myself to death. He’s coming to get me.”
Vann chuckled on my other side. “This is only the warm up.”
“Stop showing off, Vann.” My smile disappeared. “We get it. You’re a super cyclist. The bike seat up your ass isn’t bothering you at all. Stop bragging.” To Vera, I said, “Why did you invite him again?”
“Hey!” Vann protested.
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t invite him. I tried very hard to keep this a secret from him. But when he heard we were doing something bicycle related, he invited himself.”
“I’m here to motivate you,” he said seriously. “This is good for you girls. You both are in serious need of some cardio.”