Page 62 of Adrift

Darian: Why are you texting me? You should have knocked. I would have let you in.

Me: The receptionist at the front told me you were in meetings all day.

A few seconds pass before I get a response.

Darian: Did she? Interesting.

Darian: Just come in. Don’t worry about her.

Me: What if she yells at me again? I don’t think she likes me very much.

Darian: I just opened my office door and I’m waiting for you. Get your ass in here.

My smile broadens as I make my way back toward his office. Darian stands in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, his eyes tracking me. He gives Olivia a disparaging look–one she responds to with a withering smile.

He shuts the door behind me and pulls me to the wall adjacent so anyone peeking in won’t be able to see us.

My back lands with a soft thud while he cages me in, his hands roaming over my waist and torso. He quickly takes my camera from my shoulder, placing it on the shelf nearby, before grasping the back of my neck.

My body arches into him while my hands fist his shirt, and I pull him to my lips. For a few minutes we devour each other–lips, tongues, groans filling the room with our heat. My body temperature spikes, along with my heart rate, as his thickening erection pushes into the top of my thigh. His lips travel from my mouth to my neck as I dig my fingernails into his shoulders.

“I want you so fucking bad, Rani,” Darian growls into my ear but a knock on the door has us jumping off each other. I run my hands through my hair and shirt, reining in my heavy breaths.

Darian, as calm as if he was just changing channels on the TV on a casual weekday evening, rounds over to his desk. “Come in.”

The door opens and a man with thinning hair and a sleeve of tattoos pops his head in.

“Greg. What’s up?” Darian says nonchalantly.

Greg peeks further inside, noticing me fiddling with my camera before speaking to Darian. “Hey, Olivia wanted me to ask if you wanted something from the burger place down the street. I was just heading over there to get me and her something to eat.”

Darian’s lips are stiff when he responds, “I’m good. Thank you.”

Greg lifts his hand, his eyes bouncing from me to Darian again. “No worries. Sorry to interrupt.”

When the door closes, I make my way to the chair in front of Darian. I notice that while he has the picture of him and Arman still on his desk, the one of him and my sister is no longer there. “What was that about?”

He shakes his head before putting his elbows on the table and pressing his fingertips into his temples. “Nothing you need to worry about.” He tilts his head in my direction. “Want to show me the mockup?”

I point at his computer. “Mind if I use that to log into my portfolio online. I can show you everything I have.”

Forty-five minutes later, I’ve walked Darian through all the changes I plan to make. He has some questions but to my surprise, he doesn’t disagree with anything I’ve proposed and gives me the go-ahead to get things updated. We decide to implement the changes in phases so we can limit the site maintenance banner from showing up too often.

I also discuss the series of newsletters I’d like to send out on a bi-weekly basis and the daily TikTok videos I’ll post. He doesn’t like that I’m signing up for all this work for him, but he agrees to it if I take a small payment in return. He tells me he’ll vouch for this being an internship when I submit it to my school for fieldwork credits.

“I can’t thank you enough for all of this,” he says sincerely.

I get up from my chair. “You’re helping me as much as I’m helping you. I needed an internship, anyway.” I walk to the door before turning around. “I’m going to eat my leftovers from my dinner last night in the kitchenette and see if I can get hold of Melody or Bella. Do you want me to bring you that salad you packed?”

Darian gets up from his chair, coming up behind me. His hand lands on the base of my spine. “No, I’ll grab it later. I’ll see you when we’re on our way out?”

He opens the door, his hand still on my lower back.

“Sounds good,” I reply, stepping out.

I flick a quick glance at Olivia as I’m walking away when I hear Darian’s stern voice. “Olivia, please ensure Rani always has access to my office, whether I'm in a meeting or not. Also, I'd like to speak with you in private, immediately.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

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