Page 51 of More Than Words

Nodding, I risked a glance at Isobel, who was slyly trying to watch me, briefly glancing up and then returning her gaze to the table in front of her, an impassive expression on her face.

Don’t worry, babe. I see you.

My phone buzzed in my lap, a fission of worry going through me before I looked at the notification screen.

Isobel: Quit staring at me.

The grin that stretched across my lips was surely obnoxious, but I didn’t care. She was initiating contact, and I was going to take it.

Adrian: You’d have to be looking to notice.

Isobel: I think everyone has noticed.

Adrian: It’s nothing new then. I usually spend these meetings watching you.

Isobel: Creepy much?

Adrian: I like to call it observant. I only wish I could observe the way your legs look in that skirt underneath this table.

Her eyes widened as she looked down at her lap to read my message, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue that indicated she liked what I was telling her. Or she was about to haul my ass into the hallway to give me a verbal lashing. Either one was hot.

Adrian: If only people wouldn’t notice me climbing underneath the table to take a closer look…

Adrian: Your legs parting slightly as my fingers encircle your delicate ankle. My palm slowly traveling up your calf until it reached the slit in the hem of your skirt.

Adrian: Your soft skin shaking as I slide my hand inward…

Isobel: STOP IT!

Adrian: The lace at the edge of your panties… Oh wait, we have yet to verify what’s under your skirt.

Isobel: ADRIAN!

Adrian: I love it when you scream my name.

A small piece of paper hit the leather cover of my notebook, bouncing into my lap. I glanced around the table, but the rest of our colleagues were still engrossed in the meeting, listening to Sloane detail some new procedures that were being put into place with the marketing department.

Isobel was facing forward, her phone now lying face down on the table, her attention focused elsewhere, but I could tell she was keeping an eye on me as well.

The laugh that wanted to escape my mouth when I pulled open the crinkled corner of a piece of paper turned into a loud cough, but I reached for my cup on the table in front of me, swallowing down a mouthful of water.

You stop it right now. We are in a meeting. Stop sending me suggestive text messages or our date is canceled.

Picking up my phone, I sent her one last text. Her phone vibrated against the table, causing her jaw to clench while she tried to avoid eye contact with me.

Adrian: I’ll stop. For now. But you can rest assured that I will be verifying if you listened to what I requested of you on Saturday. Because fantasy conference room Isobel might be wearing lace panties, but you better not be.

Deciding I should probably listen to the information my supervisor was bestowing upon us, I locked my phone screen and tossed it into the bag at my side, only stealing brief glances at Isobel for the rest of the time we were forced to be here.

Isobel escaped back to her office after the meeting with a slow glance in my direction. Her eyes lingered on mine for a moment, the corner of her lip twitching as she fought to keep her expression neutral. I knew I was pushing boundaries by outright flirting with her at work, even if it was by text to our private cell phones.

After years of watching her, in an observant manner, not a creepy one despite her accusations, I was finally seeing the vulnerable woman beneath the badass professional shell. She was still pretty badass, but like I hid beneath a veneer of assinine comments, she hid behind her professional strengths. She’d made her work her personality around her co-workers, and she was finally letting me see the real her.

The conference hadn’t just changed our physical relationship. We now saw parts of each other we’d never revealed before. And while I was enjoying letting her see my true personality, I wanted to see hers even more.

ISOBEL

Boston

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