Page 16 of His Dark Desire

Hazel

My nerves are all over the place. Tonight is the night of the event and I'm worried. What if he doesn't get what he's been after, all this hard work would have been for nothing. Not to mention, I'm freaking out. I don't have a dress, I've been trying my hardest to find one, everything is either out of my budget or not what I'm looking for.

"Hazel," Joe calls out, his voice thick and gravelly. He's been in a weird mood this week and I know that it's down to the event, none of us know what the outcome will be. We're all on edge.

"Yes?" I call as I turn to him, he's standing in the doorway of his office. "Is everything okay?"

He nods. "Once you've finished the emails, you may go home."

I blink, surprised by his words. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," he responds. "I'll pick you up at seven."

I shake my head. "Oh no need, I have a ride to the event," I tell him with a smile. "There's no need to inconvenience yourself."

I watch as his eyes flash with annoyance and his jaw clenches. The elevator doors slide open before he can respond to my words.

"I have picked three dresses from my closet," Briar tells me as she races into the office. "You can pick whichever one you want, I don't mind. But they're all perfect and will fit you and will work well for the event, all of them are purple, I know that it's your favorite color not to mention it looks good on you."

"Take a breath," I tell her with a smile. "Thank you so much, Briar, you truly are the best."

"Fucking hell," I hear Joe mutter. "That's not fucking happening," he mumbles and slams his office door closed.

"What's wrong with him?" she asks.

I lift my shoulders and shrug. "I have no idea. He's been in a weird mood all week."

"Eh, forget him. What time are you finished up here?" she asks.

"As soon as I finish this email."

She beams. "Excellent, that gives me time to beautify you. Not that there's much to do. You're gorgeous."

I smile shyly at her, I'm not great at taking compliments and I feel nervous when I'm given one. I'm getting better at it, especially from Briar, she's always plying me with compliments and telling me how gorgeous I am. "Thanks honey," I whisper.

She bounces on her toes. "Let's get you finished here, and I'll bring you home and get you ready for this evening."

I smile at her, I'm so damn lucky to have her as my best friend, I'm not sure what I'd do without her. She's been my rock since the moment we met. She's by far my favorite person in the entire world. I'd do anything for her just as she would for me.

I quickly finish sending my emails and then say goodbye to Joe, he's distracted and waves me away. I turn back to Briar. "I'm all yours for the afternoon."

She bounces once more, clapping her hands. "Excellent. Then let's go. I have so much to do and not enough time."

I shake my head as she links her arm through mine. I have no doubt she's going to go all out on me today and she'll love every second of doing it, I just hope she's not spent money, I don't want her spending money on me when she needs to save what she has for her sister.

As the elevator doors open, I can't help but glance back at Joe's office, the door's closed and my heart skitters a little. I still can't get past the kiss and it's driving me crazy. But there's distance between us and it's needed. I just hope that I will be able to push past it and focus on the job. I'm good at what I do, and I need this job.

I feel like a million dollars wearing this dress, I have no idea why Joe purchased it for me, but I'm extremely grateful that he did. Briar was willing to lend me one of her own dresses to wear, but for some reason that wasn't enough for Joe. After storming into his office when Briar announced that she had found three dresses for me to wear, I hadn't heard from him again. But when I returned home from Briar's house, a package was waiting for me outside my door. I was shocked to find the beautiful deep purple dress that was just my size.

Joe is crazy, there's no doubt about it, but he is also very sweet and generous. I can't lie, I was shocked and extremely honored that he'd gone out of his way to do this for me. The dress is to die for.

I walk into the ballroom and not for the first time this evening, I regret not taking Joe up on his offer to drive me here. But I'm trying to honor his wishes, he doesn't want anything to happen again and keeping my distance is what needs to be.

I glance around and see all the glamorous people already seated and having a good time. My stomach is in knots just as it has been all freaking day. This isn't me, while my family have been to these events a few times, it's not who I am. I don't need money or status to feel as though I'm exceeding in life. I just need my friends and family around me and I'm golden. It's one of the reasons why I get along with Briar, although if you were to meet my girl you wouldn't think of her as one who enjoys the simple life, but she does.

“You look gorgeous,” the deep gravelly tone of Joe sends shivers down my spine.

I glance up at the man that I’ve slowly been falling for and see just how amazing he looks. He’s wearing a black suit, white shirt, and a purple tie—My heart races as I realize he matched his tie to my dress—I plaster on a smile and pretend that little detail doesn’t affect me. “You look handsome,” I reply a little breathlessly. He rewards me with a blinding smile, his weathered face doesn't look so harsh when he smiles, there’s something about those deep intense green eyes that has my heart racing a little too fast.

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