Page 58 of Melted by a Man

Currently, I could feel the exhaustion in my body and my inability to keep track of basic conversations in the office. Meetings felt more monotonous than usual.

I had even missed a few glances from Jacqueline a moment too late, making me internally kick myself. What if she had been giving me an inviting look and I missed it? I didn’t want to miss any unspoken signals from her in case she offered them. But I was starting to find it difficult to manage my focus between taking meetings and preparing reports for managers, instead of remembering how divine it felt to be inside of Jacqueline.

I was a simple man, after all.

Jacqueline and I had kept our distance. It was as if we were back to how we were before. Except less hostile. I would never describe Jacqueline as a woman filled with sunshine and roses. Instead, Jacqueline was reserved. Quiet. Willing to share a laugh with her louder coworkers, like Signe and Mary, but never willing to be the center of attention herself.

I would pass by her in the hallway, unable to help myself as I noted every detail I could. How when she wore jeans into the office, they complemented the soft curves of her hips and arse. How they flared near her feet, showing off her sneakers. Her work blouse was appropriately buttoned, but she would tuck a small section in the front of her jeans. This made the shirts look less oversized.

She definitely preferred her hair up, I realized. Either in a bun or a pony-tail. She hardly ever wore it down, unlike how I first met her.

“Leo—” Currently, everyone was sitting together in the largest conference room while Brandon went over what he claimed to be an exciting announcement.

We had already had an all-hands meeting a few weeks ago. That is what Sun Steer called a quarterly meeting where the entire company got together and went over the numbers regarding how well we were doing. What goals we met, what goals we didn’t, things like that.

So for Brandon to call another all-hands meeting a few weeks later, everyone seemed to be on edge. There was a nervous energy in the room up until Brandon walked to the front, getting things started with an excited look in his eye.

As soon as he started speaking, everyone realized it was good news.

Boson Motors had finished building what we hoped to be the very first machines powered by Sun Steer Technologies. Tractors, combines, and ATVs were getting polished and ready to upload the software everyone had been busting their arse to build.

Relaxing a bit helped, but my brain wasn’t cooperating with me today.

I struggled to stay focused during the meeting. Perhaps it was because of my ADHD, or perhaps it was because I was sitting next to a certain brunette who I had recently shagged on her desk.

Who’s to say, really?

Thankfully, when Brandon mentioned my name and I jerked my head forward, it was obvious he was simply mentioning me. Not addressing me. I relaxed a little in my seat, my legs stretched out underneath the long conference table as I fought the urge to move my hands.

I eyed Mary across the table from me, who looked very bored and unfocused in the meeting. Whereas I was struggling to stay focused, Mary looked like she didn’t even bother to pretend to. She could have been sleeping with her eyes open for all I knew.

But I was in upper management.

I needed to set an example, and look excited about this update, instead of also wishing this meeting was just an email.

I shoved my hands in my pockets, but my fingers still tapped. The movement was restricted, and it didn’t satisfy the need I had to ground myself with repetitive movement.

Suddenly, Zaid’s name was mentioned followed by a soft round of applause.

I clapped too, smiling at the former CTO when he looked bashful from the attention, ducking his head a little as he faced the conference table in his seat.

I tried to look back up again, but my eyes kept wandering against my will. It wasn’t like I actively tried to think about something else, sometimes my brain just took over. All I kept thinking wasJacqueline is sitting next to me in jeans.Jacqueline is sitting next to me in jeans. Jacqueline is sitting next to me, smelling like vanilla and roses, in jeans. Jeans that were just as distracting as those bloody pencil skirts she loved to wear.

I scraped a hand down my face, struggling to sit still.

Fidgeting helped ground me, and I couldn’t find a single pen or anything on this massive table. Working at a tech company, pens and paper were rare. Everything got done on computers or iPads or phones. Nothing needed to be written down traditionally. I only kept a package of pens at my desks specifically for me to fidget with.

But did I remember to bring one to this meeting? No.

I didn’t think excusing myself just to grab a pen to twirl in my fingers seemed appropriate or respectable, so I sat here and suffered instead.

I released a sigh, annoyed with myself for again losing focus when I felt a gentle tap on my thigh.

The thigh closest to Jacqueline.

I froze, wondering if I imagined the contact. We were in a meeting, surrounded by dozens and dozens of employees who weren’t working from home today. Would she really be so bold as to touch me?

Tap, tap.

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