Page 17 of The Swap After Hours

“Is everything alright?” I asked, my curiosity finally getting the best of me. “You seem...unsettled.”

Trevor jumped, my voice seeming to startle him out of whatever thoughts he’d been lost in. “Oh, um, yes, Mr. Marshall. Just a bit stressed, I suppose. I want everything to be perfect for your presentation.”

I nodded reassuringly. “I understand, but it will all get done. You’re doing a great job but I know this is your first time working as a PA, so I don’t expect you to get everything right the first time.”

His shoulders relaxed a bit, but his smile still seemed strained. “Thank you.”

Not wanting to push him, I decided to let it go for now. We had a lot to do to get ready. In two days, I would be presenting my ideas to the board for a rather large company acquisition and while I didn’t necessarily need their permission to do what I wanted, their support would ensure things ran smoothly.

As we worked on into the night, I found myself stealing glances at him, my concern growing with each passing hour. I wondered what could be weighing so heavily on his mind.

Finally, I couldn’t take the silence any longer. I opened my mouth to say something—I wasn’t sure what—when my phone buzzed. I checked it then pushed away from my desk and stood. My back was stiff from sitting so long and it felt good to stand.

Trevor glanced up from where he’d been putting together a PowerPoint presentation and did a double take when he saw me stretching my arms above my head. His eyes traveled over my torso, and he swallowed visibly before flicking his attention back to his computer.

“Our food’s here. I’m just going to run downstairs and get it.”

He scooted his chair back. “Oh, I can do that.”

“That’s all right. I need to stretch my legs anyway. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Why don’t you get a couple of bottles of water from the lounge?”

“Okay,” he said with a tentative smile.

I grabbed my wallet off the desk and quickly made my way down to the first floor lobby. The building was fairly quiet this time of night, most of the staff having already gone home for the day.

It was also the best time for me to get things done because there were no interruptions or distractions. Well, normally there were no distractions. Tonight, I was finding it very difficult to focus on anything other than my assistant.

Why did he get under my skin so much? I’d always been a very private person. I didn’t have any close friends and I didn’t particularly care what anyone else thought of me. So why did the notion that Trevor might be upset with me bother me so much?

I paid the delivery guy for our food and said hello to Dan, the night security guard before making my way back upstairs. Trevor was slouched over his desk, head in his hands when I walked back in. He lifted his head when he heard me approach, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.

My cock twitched inside my pants as I imagined licking that smooth white column of skin. I cleared my throat, forcing my brain to move on to something less…tempting. “Why don’t we eat over here,” I suggested, moving over to the small seating area and sitting down on the leather couch.

He followed me over and I knew I wasn’t imagining the wary look he gave me as he placed the two bottles of water on the coffee table, sliding one over in front of me. The tension between us seemed to increase as he sat down quietly in one of the chairs across from me, watching me pull containers of food out of the bag. His eyes widened when he saw how many there were.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I ordered a bunch of stuff to choose from. Help yourself.”

Trevor leaned forward, peering into each of the small white containers. “Uh, thanks. I’m not sure I know what half of these are though.”

“What do you normally get when you order Chinese take-out?”

He shrugged. “We don’t order take-out all that much. Too expensive.”

“We?” I asked before I could stop myself. I knew I was entering dangerous territory, asking personal questions, but my curiosity about the man sitting across from me outweighed my common sense at that point.

I watched as he began scooping a little of each item onto his plate and for some reason, it made me happy to be able to treat him to something he didn’t get very often. It also made me feel worse for the times he’d shown up the past few weeks with a coffee for me. Those chain coffee places weren’t cheap.

“Me and Doug,” he explained.

“He’s your best friend, correct? The one who wants to open a restaurant?”

Trevor’s face registered his surprise, either that I’d listened to him or that I’d remembered what he’d told me. Or maybe both. If only he knew how much attention I paid him.

“Uh, yeah, he is. He’s also my roommate. Anyway, neither of us had much money growing up. We came to New York to try and make a better living for ourselves than what our parents had, but we were in for a bit of a shock when we saw how expensive it is to live here.”

“I know what you mean. It was hard for my mom, raising me on only one…income.” I wiped my mouth on a napkin then reached for my water and took a big drink, suddenly feeling very exposed. My forehead furrowed. “I’m not sure why I said that. I never talk about my personal life at work. Or really, anywhere.”

Sensing how uncomfortable I was, Trevor decided to break the ice using his sense of humor. “Well, I am your personal assistant, so…”

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