Page 185 of Steeling Her
“Provided Eleonora is alright,” he reminds me and I nod, understanding that if he wants to change it, he can. I have no problem with it. All he has to do is call up the clinic and we can sort that out for him.
I see him out and wave him goodbye, making sure he gets into the car easily. As soon as he drives off, I’m back in my office to check who I have next. I’m booked out until lunchtime, then I have a break after lunch too.
Lunchtime came around fast, and my stomach was dying for a good meal. I was in need of one. It did nothing but growl the entire time.
As I made my way into the kitchen to heat up what I made the night before in the microwave, there were a lot of people coming in to do the same.
Someone switches on the TV for some background noise. Music blares throughout the kitchen because of a commercial and a few of the women stopped to look at it.
“Dear Lord, did you see that sexy new Chargers quarterback? That man is too fine for his own good,” Candice comments and I snap my head around to see Nick’s face, but when the beat kicks in, it zooms out to his naked torso with multiple women’s hands and arms draped over his body. I guess he’s sponsored by Armani now. Judging by how this is a cologne commercial, I can tell that he is.
He’s still got it. There’s not one thing about him that has changed. It’s hard to make out his body with the arms covering him and wanting a piece of him. I feel a sting in my heart when I stare at him. That jawline is still razor sharp as it contrasts the black background. The woman draped over him, wanting a part of him, is not surprising but I can’t help but feel peeved just seeing it. That smirk etched finely on his face makes him look so sexy, he has the women in the office panting and picking their underwear off the floor.
I could feel my stomach tighten just by looking at him. His eyes connect with mine through the TV and I try not to gasp. Then I remind myself that he’s looking at other women and making them feel this way, too, and that I’m also not single.
I’m taken. I have no right to feel this way.
“Um, excuse me for interrupting, guys and gals. Carter, you have someone here to see you.” I spin around on my heel, begrudgingly tearing my eyes away from my gorgeous ex-boyfriend to meet none other than my gorgeous ex-boyfriend standing in the doorway of our canteen. His eyes flick to the screen behind me and he sends us a tight smile, knowing that the girls are admiring him as we speak. Once he realizes that he’s on the screen, he looks away and tried to find me.
“Oh my God! That’s you!” Clare, the newest hire in the company, squeals in disbelief. She’s having a fangirl moment with him, and I can’t fault her for that because the entire canteen is immobile as soon as he walks in, including me.
“Uh, yeah. Carter, can I speak with you for a second?” He gestures his head out the door and I follow him. I know I have to answer a lot of questions. As we walk down the hallway with Dallas behind us, I’m looking at my feet moving at a quick pace. Dallas excuses herself when she hears her phone calling for her. She’s always on the go and barely has time for lunch, so she usually eats in her office. Unless it’s Friday, then she and Jody go out for lunch.
“Come back for seconds, Nick?” a voice seductively asks him from the office opposite mine just as we are about to go in.
Jody is standing there with her bag ready to leave for lunch but then she drops it on the floor and starts flirting with Nick with lust in her eyes.They know each other? How?
“Shit,” he curses beside me. I turn my attention towards him to look for an explanation. He’s staring back at me, and I can’t tear my eyes away from those beautiful hunter-green eyes of his. There’s a guilt-stricken look filling them and I couldn’t help but wonder what is happening.
“You two know each other?” I ask him. He squeezes his eyes instantly and runs his hand down his face, inhaling severely; a tell-tale sign that he doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Yeah, we slept together on the flight back here. It was a bumpy one, right, Nick?” She strides confidently across the hallway to us and I nearly step in front of Nick to stop her from touching him, but I have no right. We’re not together anymore. He’s a free man, he can do what he wants. And he already did.
“Stop. Talking. Julie.” He gets her name wrong. I don’t know if it was on purpose to annoy her or he legitimately doesn’t remember her name, because she’s fuming right now.
“It’s Jody, you asshole. And how do you two know each other anyway!” She stands directly in front of him, flicking her eyes to me. She trails her eyes on my figure in a condescending manner to make me feel small. I could see the fire brewing behind her dark eyes, and I that pray Nick didn’t tell her.
“That’s none of—” I try to say but Nick shut us both up.
“We dated in college,” Nick interrupts me. I sigh and move back away from her.They slept together?
I have no right to feel like this. Yet, why do I feel so . . . jealous?
I can’t help my emotions. No matter how hard I try to deny it, I’m still stupidly crazy about him. However, he’s clearly not crazy about me.
Jody laughs loudly in my office, gaining a few onlookers’ attention. People poke their heads out of the canteen to watch an episode of “90210” unfold before their very eyes.
“Yeah, right!” She continues to laugh while I shrink to the size of an ant. Nobody ever believes that Nick and I dated in college. I knew we were an unlikely couple, but we were still a couple. It hurts whenever someone laughs about the fact that we were once an item.
They all laugh at why he would choose me.
Then she stops instantly. Her face drops as she thinks of something, and I furrow my brows at her, wondering what is going through her head. She stares at me for the longest time and then flicks her attention back to Nick. Then back to me, then to Nick, then back to me. Something is piecing together in her mind, and I’m not sure what it is. Does she want another round with him?
What she does next shocks me and our manager, who came out of her office just in time. Her heels catch my attention but the loud smack occupies my hearing. Jody screeches loudly and slaps Nick across the face, causing me to gasp and cover my mouth.
“Jody!” our manager yells and stomps back down to us.
“That’s the Carter! THAT’S HER! Are you fucking serious!” she screeches. Now I’m completely lost. She steps into my space, intimidating me intensely, so I step back a little to get some air.
