Page 10 of Out of the Shadows
COSMO
“It would be very rude to let this go to waste.”
I pick up another donut, bite into it, and thick, rich, creamy custard oozes out. It’s an unadulterated sugar rush and I can’t help groaning in ecstasy. The donut’s gone in seconds leaving me to suck the custard from my fingers.
“That looks thoroughly filthy.” Fiona sniggers.
“Don’t know what you mean.” I give her an exaggerated wink as I bury my fingers, one at a time, in my mouth, groaning as I pull, long and slow, each digit from my mouth with a wet smack of my lips.
Closing my eyes, I let my body slide down into my seat, writhing a little as I groan some more, licking my lips between each finger. “Nothing like licking your hand clean, Fi… Oh God,” I moan, getting into role with perhaps more enthusiasm than I should when I’m at work. But, these are seriously good donuts and very definitely orgasm worthy.
With one final wet smack of my lips I open my eyes — and look up into Daniel’s face.
Fuck.
“When you’ve finished whatever it is you’re doing, perhaps you would care to take a look at the email I sent you yesterday? I’ve not had a response and I’ve asked questions I’d like answers to. If you’re not too busy of course.”
“I’ve not seen anything…” I push myself up to sitting. My hands are sticky, heat’s throbbing in my face, and there’s a dusting of icing sugar down the front of my suit. I attempt to brush it off, but only succeed in rubbing it in.
“Then I suggest you take another look.”
It’s what I do, my fingers sticky on the keypads. And there it is, the email he sent to me yesterday morning and two days after I’d crashed into his office with my initial report. I’d worked hard on the revised version, putting the meat on the bones, as he put it, and worked late into the night not in the office but at home.
“There.”
He steps in closer to the desk and leans forward, pointing a long and elegant forefinger at his unread message in my inbox. His cologne, fresh and tangy, prompts memories just as clean and sharp. Daniel breezing through the office, his bright smile lighting up his face as he perched at my desk or leant over my shoulder to see what I was doing, adding the moment to my little fantasy cache called Daniel. But that was then and this is now, and a lot has happened since. I jerk my chair away.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how I missed the email. I’ll set up alerts so in future I don’t miss anything from you.”
I should have done it already, and I feel stupid for not doing so. Just as I feel stupid with icing sugar staining my suit, and opening my eyes to find him peering down at me as I writhed around in my chair.
Bloody hell…
He doesn’t answer but instead turns his attention to Fiona, and I already feel forgotten.
I can’t hear what they’re talking about but she’s practically preening. I shift my chair so they’re out of my eye line and open up the email, hitting the key hard. I quickly scan through it, and the attached electronic copy of my report. His comments are short and to the point, asking for more detail here, or clarification there, and he wants it by…. 8.00am on Monday morning. Fuck, it’s Friday afternoon… There’s a directors meeting and he wants to take my paper to it.
I throw another glance his and Fiona’s way. They’re over by her desk and they’re both looking at something on her computer screen. They’re standing close. Very close. Close enough for her to breathe in his cologne. I grab for the cold remains of my coffee, and almost send the mug crashing to the floor. Jesus, could I look like more of a fool than I already feel?
I re-read the document. There’s not as much to do as I first thought and the tight muscles in my neck and shoulders loosen a little.
Fiona laughs and I look up. I can’t help it. They’re no longer looking at her computer screen but facing each other, just inches apart. She’s smiling and twirling long blonde strands around her finger, and Daniel’s returning her smile. I shove my chair back from my desk with more force than I mean to, and crash into a low cabinet behind me. Tariq throws me a curious glance before his eyes drift back to his screen, but Daniel and Fiona don’t take any notice. In fact I wonder whether they notice anything else other than each other.
I hurry out of the office, telling myself I need to clean up, when what I really want is to not be forced to witness Daniel and Fiona together. The office door closes with a bang behind me, but I don’t look back to see if they’ve even noticed I’ve left.
