Page 15 of You & I, Rewritten

“And you’re going to make us late if you don’t start getting readynow.”

Sighing as loud as humanly possible, I dramatically stomp back to my room, wincing in pain with every movement of my body.Never. Drinking. Again.I mentally chant this lie repeatedly as I cut my morning routine to just under twenty minutes. Despite dragging my feet all morning and the fact that my head feels like it’sliterallygoing to explode, we still get to work early.

I keep thinking about last night and how foolish I probably appeared to Graham. Even though he met the entire situation with kindness and understanding and used it as a moment for professional mentorship, I still feel like I failed. Looking at his office, I notice he hasn’t made it into work yet, so I decide to use the next couple of free minutes to leave him a little note of appreciation for last night. After debating what to write for what feels like an eternity, I settle for simple. Can’t go wrong with straight and to the point, right?

Before placing the note on Graham’s desk, my eyes wander over the framed art and personal photographs, books, and memorabilia he’s decided to display in his office. For being so Type-A, he’s sure got a lot of stuff! I spy a photograph of a very handsome Graham at his college graduation standing side-by-side with Mitch whose face radiates pride and love for his son.There are ticket stubs to the premier of Wonder Woman—a closeted comic book nerd?Sexy—and a signed Los Angeles Lakers basketball.Who is this guy?I head over to Graham’s desk, admiring the neat lines of his handwriting on his calendar when the sound of the opening door startles me.Shit…shit…SHIT!

“What are you doing?” Graham’s inquisitive voice pierces through the silent office, causing me to drop my note. I look up to see Graham standing against his now closed door, arms crossed and an amused look on his face. At least he doesn’tseemmad?

“I…I was just…I’m so sorry.” I bend down to pick up my dropped note—THUMP, smacking my head on the edge of Graham’s desk in the process. My ears are suddenly ringing and my vision’s blurred and for the briefest of moments, two very concerned and confused looking Grahams are heading directly toward me.

“Ughhh, oh my god. I’m fine…This is fine.” I grab my head, trying not to shout at the top of my lungs, but before I can die of embarrassment, Graham’s immediately by my side, his strong hands on my arms guiding me to his desk chair.

Beyond a bruised ego and a little dizziness, I seem to be okay.

“And what do we have here?” Picking up my note from the floor while keeping one hand firmly on my shoulder, a smile forms across that handsome face of his after reading it.

“Is this our thing now?” he asks, sliding the note into the pocket of his dress pants.

“I should probably get back to my desk…” I stammer out, standing to make my escape as quickly as possible.

Graham keeps his hand on my shoulder, clearly sensing, and probably feeling, the unsteadiness of my movements. There it is again…that same spark of electricity I felt last night. The heat radiating from his touch only amplifies the pull I feel toward him and sends a very untimely dose of desire throughout my entire body. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more.

Searching Graham’s expression for some sort of guidance on what is going on, I can’t tell if what I am seeing is concern, kindness, or even pity. Could it possibly be lust? The seconds slow as I stare deep into his eyes and I find myself wanting to know everything there is to know about what makes this competent, poised, and intense man who now has me sweating, tick.

“Thank you, again…for last night, and I guess for right now?” I mumble as I turn to leave, giving Graham one last glance over before stepping out his office.

I watch as Graham’s full lips part and I hear him take a deep inhale. “It was my pleasure.” I might still be disoriented from the desk’s assault on my head, but I swear his gaze has now shifted from my eyes to my lips—the subtle move leaving me more dazed and confused than any head injury could render me. Forcing myself to abandon whatever staring contest this has now become before I’m left standing there with my mouth agape, I exit his office and head back down the hall toward my desk. I’m physically unable to ignore the prickling sensation that he’s following my every movement.What. The. Hell.

I’m going to save time by not pretending that the next several hours won’t be spent overanalyzing every second of that interaction. So, while my brain takes a sharp nose-dive into flirty Graham territory, I’m blissfully unaware that Klair is standing right behind me. When she decides to finally announces her presence, I all but jump out of my skin. I just mightactuallyhave a concussion.

“Alright, who’s got you sitting over here drooling?”

I can feel myself turning red from her public audacity and the truth behind her words. “Okay, I was initially joking, my sweet little cubicle bestie, but now I think I need a real answer…Did you meet someone? Was it last night at the event? Oh my gosh, is it Josh from H.R.?” I could practically hear her wheels turning.

Totally embarrassed by one, her assumption that I wouldeverbe into Josh and two, her inquisition into my nonexistent dating life, I know that she’s not going to let this go until I give her all the details.

“Can youpleasekeep it down,” I hissed, looking around to see who else is paying attention to her oh-so-professional outburst. “I amdefinitelynot into Josh.”

I lay it all out there. The elevator ride and the moment in the parking garage where I had invited him to dinner, how he seemed interested at first, but then shot me down. About him pulling me aside last night at the Gala and the kindness he showed me. About the electricity I feel every time we touch. And then the stare. Klair is hanging on my every word and the more I divulge, the bigger her smile gets.

“Wait…our Graham?” Klair asks after literally picking her jaw up off the office floor. “Graham Austin? The same work-obsessed Graham who silences an entire meeting with a single questioning eyebrow raise?”

“The very same.”

“You do realize how rare this is, right?” she asks, leaning back in her chair. “In my four years of working with him, I’ve barely seen Graham haveanysort of interaction that isn’t work-related. Like I wouldn’t be surprised if that man slept in his office. And forget dating! I’ve never seen him show a single ounce of interest in anyone. Like. Ever.”

As she goes on, I can’t contain the smile forming at the thought of Graham being somewhat interested in me. I know that I’m a catch and even consider myself semi-attractive, but compared to Graham, I feel completely plain. And that’s just visually…I don’t even want to start comparing myself to him professionally.

Still, I can’t stop myself from getting caught up in the visual of the two of us together in that quiet corner last night, so seemingly comfortable with one another. I can still feel his strong and sure grip on my arm, and I know that if I’m being honest with myself, I definitely want to feel it again. But does he? Klair seems to think so. He certainly has an effect on me. For someone who has always been naturally uncoordinated and in constant battle with his long limbs, I feel myself turning into an even bigger klutz around him—which is less than ideal. At our team huddle earlier, he mentioned that he would be accompanying his father out of town for a few days and while the thought ofnotseeing Graham leaves me feeling off—we’ll address that much later because,yikes—it’ll be nice to clear my head, develop a plan and figure out a way to calm the hell down whenever he’s around.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Graham has only been gonefor less than two business days but his absence is felt in every moment of my day in the office. The more I immerse myself with this team, the more I realize just how big of a role Graham plays in every aspect of it. From overseeing the branding and marketing to crafting perfectly timed schedules, launches, and press releases, Graham is single-handedly doing the work of multiple departments. Perfectly, I might add. And the more I see his drive and work ethic, the more inspired and intrigued I am to get to know therealhim.

For the life of me, I can’t get his deep burning gaze out of my mind. I’m not ashamed enough to admit that I’ve been fantasizing about how intoxicating it felt to have his strong and sure hands on me. Klair literally just kicked me during our last meeting regarding who knows what while shaking her head, as if she was privy to the endless loop playing in my head of a shirtless Graham. I can almost hear her sneerGet it together, William.

I force my attention back toanythingpertaining to books and publishing or even forming coherent, safe-for-work sentences, and pray that the final hours of my day fly by. It’s Klair’s birthday after all, and despite these confusing feelings I have about Graham not being here, I am so excited to celebrate with Klair and spoil her in person for the first time in years! Because when it comes to Klair, I’ve learned to expect nothing but the unexpected.

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