Page 44 of Empowered
Chapter 10
Avoiding Lucas was easy enough over the next two days. The more a woman wanted to be around a man, the easier it was to avoid him.
Because it wasn’t out of fear, discomfort, or boredom. Sarah avoided Lucas as a game. She ignored his texts. Only said the customary greetings and business-related words for two days. Spared him no extra glances… except for when she wanted to remind him that she did, indeed, find him attractive.
A small smile when she leaned over the conference table in front of him. A brush against his shoulder when they happened to be in the same crowded elevator. Her jacket and the top two buttons of her blouse left open when she sat across from him during a morning meeting. A hastily scribbled note shoved into his hand that said nothing outrageous, in case HR was watching.
“Roses are red, violets are blue. What the hell do I do with you?”
Of course, Lucas continued to text her.
“What do you want, Angel? I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Not just in the city. Around the world. I have a home in Copenhagen. Or would you like to visit family in London? Italy is lovely this time of year. Or we can go to a sandy beach as an excuse for a bikini.”
She looked up from her phone as he entered the room, pocketing his own phone. Lucas flashed her a haughty grin before heading to Mr. Monroe’s corner office.
“Send me one response confirming that you’re coming by my place. That’s all I ask.”
Sarah waited a few minutes, taking the time to finish up one of her tasks and firing off an inter-office message to another department before getting back to Lucas.“I’m not opposed.”
He burst from the corner office doors with triumph on his face.
“No taking care of yourself tonight, Angel. I will do it all for you. But let’s start with wine and dinner at seven. I’ll forward you my address and tell my on-site bodyguard to give us some privacy tonight. No promises after ten, though. I think he likes watching me sleep.”
Was she supposed to laugh at that? Because she did, thoroughly.
“Someone’s in a giddy mood,” Alisha said, sitting down across from Sarah. Alice Monroe shortly joined them, feet slipping out of her flats as she leaned over Alisha’s desk and pointed to what she wanted transcribed by the end of the day. “Anything to do with that secret admirer of yours?”
Alice looked up. “Secret admirer? Here I thought I knew everything.”
“Oh, yeah, Sarah’s got some guy sending her flowers every other day, but she won’t say anything about him.”
For the first time that Thursday, Sarah scowled in someone’s direction. “It’s not like that, I can assure you.”
“Than what is it like?”
“Let’s let Ms. Clayborn live her life and do her job, hm?” Alice tucked a large binder beneath her arm. “Besides, if there are any unsavory characters trying to bother her, she knows who to contact about it.”
“I sure do, ma’am.”
Alice left. Alisha shot her coworker a disapproving look.
“What?”
“What do you meanwhat?Geez.”
Sarah sent one last text to Lucas before safely pocketing her personal phone.“If I open my legs for you again, Mr. Blackbourne, you better deliver what I want.”
She could practically hear him groaning in anticipation from the other room.
Seven gave her enough time after work to jet home and change into something more date appropriate than her plain pantsuit. Tight jeans, a flirty white blouse, minimal – but dark – makeup, and strappy heels as opposed to the little boots she usually wore. Nigel wasn’t home from his own job yet, so she left him a note where he was sure to see it.“Going out with some people. Don’t wait up.”
A light winter coat covered her up before she went out and caught a cab from the sidewalk. She gave the driver the address Lucas had sent her. A waterfront property, of course.
She expected a nice, executive apartment procured the moment Lucas knew he was heading back to America for work. What she didn’t expect was a penthouse suite with the perfect view of the starlit-river meandering through the city’s core. Not that she got to see much of the view before heading upstairs. Sarah had worn sunglasses and wrapped a black scarf around her head as soon as she got in the cab. She was taking no chances.
“My God,” Lucas said the moment he opened his door. “You actually came.”
Sarah removed the glasses and scarf so he could confirm he wasn’t imagining things. “Like what you see?”
