Page 58 of Hot in the City
They headed out of the boardroom, leaving papers and her box of files on the floor. “Don’t you want all my reports? That was a lot of work, you know.”
“I know. I’ll be back on Monday. In fact, I’ll probably be working here for some time.”
“Really?” She tipped her head to one side and blatantly checked him out, especially the rear view in his perfectly tailored suit pants as he closed and locked the boardroom door. He had a bag of empty takeaway containers and other rubbish in one hand.
He glanced at her, standing just outside the boardroom. “Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. This is a great business, it could just do with a bit more of a plan and some cash in the IT and marketing areas. It’ll be a fun project.” He adjusted the strap of his laptop case on his shoulder. He smiled again, so a sweet little dimple appeared on his right cheek.
Megan didn’t know what to make of this development. The work situation or the dimple. Both were making her stomach all fluttery. “We’re going to be working together? Unless you’re planning to fire me. I’m not sure if that’s your intention. I’d like to know up front if it is.”
He stared at her again, and she was aware of heat rising from her neck to her face. “I don’t want to fire you, Megan. I’m going to recommend you be promoted to Head of IT and Multimedia Solutions in an expanded team. I’ll be here for a while in a consulting capacity with the new executive team. We won’t be working together directly.” He cleared his throat. “So, I don’t think there’s a conflict if we want to see each other, outside of work.”
She nodded, several times, far too eagerly. “Good. I mean, the job sounds great. I do want to see you outside of work, too. Like, I really want to. Probably too much, if we’re being honest. I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a while.”
He laughed, a deep, throaty sound that had her making fists of her hands by her sides. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Just let me throw out this rubbish and I’ll meet you at the elevators.”
“Okay, I’m going to get my handbag.” She reached out and took his hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze. “See you in a minute.”
Lock down
Megan skidded around the corner to the lobby where the elevators were, holding her breath, waiting to see if Cruz was actually there, waiting for her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. Not yet.
She blew out a breath and decided to text Jean. It wouldn’t hurt for someone to know she was going to Cruz’s apartment. Jean would be excited about it, rather than thinking she was going off with a serial killer.
She grabbed her phone and tapped out a message:
Hey, guess what? Cruz and I are getting along great! Going over to his apartment now. See you Monday! Megs x
Her phone buzzed just a second later with a reply:
Knew it! About time you had a hot date. My dude Xander says hi. Have fun! Don’t do anything Jean wouldn’t do...hahaha
The photo Jean attached was of herself drinking a cocktail with a much younger man sitting in her lap, wearing a tank top and backwards baseball cap. He was long and lanky but looked very fit, like a basketball player. Megan smiled. Good for you, Jean. She sent back a heart eyes emoji and shoved her phone back in her bag.
She glanced up as Cruz entered the lobby, only holding his laptop bag. He shut the glass door behind him and sidled up to her, stopping a few centimetres from where she stood.
“Hi.”
“Hi!” Megan glanced down at her shoes, only to notice how close together their feet were. Her feet in silver sandals, his in shiny black loafers. Their feet looked fancy and super cute together, like their feet were a couple getting married or something.
I am losing it. My brains are toast!
With a sign, Megan shuffled forward to press the down arrow button for the lift. She almost choked when she registered Cruz right behind her, pressing a hand to her lower back.
They waited for the lift. And waited. Megan was enjoying the warmth of Cruz’s touch, especially the tingles that radiated out from where his hand slid a little lower to the base of her spine.
She glanced across to Cruz to find him frowning, then he met her gaze. He stepped forward and hit the button a couple of times, but there was no response. The little light at the top of the elevators showed that both cars were on the ground floor. A sudden crunching, grinding noise coming from the nearest lift had them looking at each other again with raised eyebrows.
“Huh. I guess we could take the stairs?” Megan asked, kind of joking. But really, she didn’t want to get in the lift when it was making that noise.
Cruz took her hand in his. “Yeah, good idea. I’m dying to get out of here. I have a bottle of wine at my place that we could open.”
“Let’s go.”
They entered the stairwell, Megan swiping her staff card in her wallet to allow them after-hours access. They were on the fourth floor, not too high, but there were still a lot of stairs to manage in heels. She stopped and leaned on the steel banister to remove her shoes, while Cruz let the door slowly close behind them.
Megan led the way down the stairs, keeping up conversation as they went. She got the feeling Cruz was intentionally letting her set the pace. He was a sweetheart.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to expand the product range beyond pyjamas?” Cruz asked, as they neared the bottom of the stairs.
