"Ah...Mr. Holt, sir, would you like a cup of coffee while you wait? Water? We have a little...a little kitchen area in the back," Frank stammered.

"Water would be great, thank you."

I watched him walk off, only to return a second later with an icy cold water bottle. He nodded to the bathroom door. "I have no idea why girls do that, do you?"

"Do what?" I questioned.

"Go into the bathroom in packs," he said.

"Well, Frank. They are in there talking about me right now," I smirked.

"That's very conceited of you to say," Lexa's voice rang out behind me.

"So, you weren't just in there talking about me?" I questioned with a wink.

"You haven't done anything worthy of talking about, Mr. Holt." She tucked her lips between her teeth to stop herself from laughing.

"Challenge accepted," I said. Her sudden terrified smile was heart stopping.

She blinked. Then she laughed and rolled her eyes. "What do you need me to check for you?"

I handed her the crumpled folder. "And I need to know if maybe...Kevin Trager might be Alex Kavon," I blurted out.

"What? Why?" she asked, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"That's why Sophia..."

"Oh, I see.” She did her best to smile, but it was easy to see it was forced. “Well, as far as I know Kevin Trager can't string a sentence together let alone create a news aggregator-slash-blog. He can't even make toast without starting a fire. But then again, there seems to be a lot things in his life that I didn't know about, so I might be wrong." Her smile faded into a frown.

"I didn't mean to upset you," I whispered.

"I'm not upset." Again, her eyes went to the floor, and I reached my hand to her chin and lifted her gaze back up to mine.

Three throats cleared. Our audience shifted uncomfortably by the door. "Hey, we're just going to go get some lunch or something. Lex, you want anything?"

"BLT," she answered, never breaking eye contact with me.

I watched them rush out the door as if they couldn't get out fast enough. My eyes drifted back to hers.

"So tell me what's going on." I caught her lightly on the elbow and gently led her to her seat.

"With what?"

"You," I said.

"Let's see, I won't be getting married, yet I am paying for a wedding. I've been trying to donate it to a charity, but Kevin is fighting me. My mother on the other hand, has registered me for at least half a dozen online dating sites, hoping I could meet someone to marry in the next few days."

My chest did something funny, like it tightened for a minute, and then pumped harder. "You really aren't marrying him?"

She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "God, please, not you too. Why do people think it's okay for him to have done what he did and still get to have me?"

"I didn't think it was okay. I don't think you should marry that dipshit. He doesn't deserve you," I said. My heart continued its strange drumming, beating faster and faster until it became almost painful.

She looked at me stunned, lips parted, eyes wide. My thoughts rushed into erotic overdrive again. This thing between us, it felt…it felt like I was standing on the edge of a volcano about to erupt. It had to be something chemical, something beyond my control. Does she have any idea—even a tinge of a notion of the effect she has over me? Couldn’t she see me slowly hanging over her desk, edging closer to her?

She cleared her throat and leaned forward. "Kevin Trager isn't Alex Kavon. I can guarantee that. It's just another case of unfairness. The caterpillar does all the work and the butterfly gets all the glory."

"Run the fuck away with me," I whispered, my voice coming out strange and breathless. "Any woman who can quote George Carlin is the perfect girl for me.” I ran my thumb along her chin. She didn't react, she didn't move back. I was more shocked at touching her than anything and she was letting me.

"What?" She gave me a nervous chuckle.

"Exactly. What? Ever notice when we look at each other sometimes we don't notice what's going on around us?" I asked.

"James, you make my head spin. I need a triple dose of Xanax after I talk to you," she whispered.

"You're beautiful," I whispered, pulse throbbing. A small smile tugged at her lips, eyes questioning. She might have been blushing; it was hard to tell in the low light by her desk, but I knew she looked surprised by my words, maybe a bit embarrassed. "Do you even realize how stunningly beautiful you are, Lex?"

She stared at me through narrowed eyes. Then she stood up, flattened down her pants, and leaned her trembling hands against her desk. Her eyes locked on mine.

Mandy's voice echoed in the hallway. Frank's laugh followed.

She pushed off the desk slowly and took a hesitant step closer to me. "Um. James?"

"Yes," I said, stepping closer to her.

"I seem to have lost a pair of panties the night you took me home." Her eyes were so blue—so clear this close.

"White lace trimmed satin? A little pink bow on the front?"

"Yeah," she breathed.

"Haven't seen them."

Her lips spread into a smile. I wanted her. More than I'd ever wanted anyone.

The door opened. We stumbled apart, not realizing until then just how close I came to tasting her lips. "BLT," Mandy mumbled.

I nodded my head and smiled. "Would it be possible to have that file finished and on my desk first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, sure," she smiled.

"Good, I'll see you then. First thing. Tomorrow. My office."

"Yes, sir." She smirked and saluted me.

10

Lexa

“That really awkward moment when a situation doesn’t end the way you think it testicles.” @Kavon #CrackingMyselfUp

My palms were sweaty as I clasped my fingers around the file for James. I stepped out of the elevator and into what I felt was the wolf's den, a full hour earlier than I had to be at work, hoping he wouldn't be in yet. You could say I was a little nervous. I walked quickly toward his assistant's desk, eyes blurry and unfocused. I wasn't sure if I could look James in the eyes after the dreams I had of him. The way I touched myself when I thought of him as I lay in bed.

Last night after his last text, I stared down at my phone, eyes all out of focus, remembering the way his fingers felt against my chin. I stood in the middle of my apartment alone, a maddening ache between my legs. Erotic. Sensual. Kevin never made me feel like that, and all James did was touch my chin. The ache pounded out a rhythm against the silk of my panties. It pulsed with a craving. My thighs, hands, back, everything tightened with sexual tension. It had been so long. So long since a man touched me as if he wanted me, and longer since I felt a release of any sort. What is it about Jameson Holt? I asked myself as I pulled down my covers and snuggled into bed.