Page 66 of His Temptation
“Me too,” I repeat myself as my brain still struggles to come back from our kiss.
He smiles. “I guess that makes this a first for both of us.”
The doors to the elevator open, and he buttons his jacket and pulls on the ends. I can tell he just slipped back into CEO boss mode. I follow him onto the elevator, and we ride it in silence down the ten floors.
Maybe we can do this. We can separate work from our personal lives while we keep it casual and get to know one another. Although, if he keeps doing things like telling me he’s going to start a program to help people like me, I may be in danger of falling hopelessly in love with him.
That is, if I’m not already there and just in some serious denial.
24
LINCOLN
“Damn this stupid fucking coffee machine,” I curse to myself as I try to grind the fresh beans, but they keep coming out only half ground up.
This machine is a piece of crap. It’s supposed to grind the beans for you automatically, then brew your coffee immediately. Well, that’s pretty hard to do when it won’t even do the first process correctly.
I open cabinets and drawers and find a separate coffee bean grinder. It’s a manual grinder so I am literally spinning the knob and grinding these things by hand like I’m a barista before there was electricity. Good thing I come into work at seven, before most people in the office do, so no one is here to witness this train wreck.
This morning, I came in twenty minutes earlier than my regular time because I wanted to do something nice for Kylie. I can’t stop thinking about everything she has on her plate and what she has been through. I started to feel like an ass, having her make me my coffee every morning, so I thought I’d make it for both of us.
After I get the beans ground up properly, I place them in the coffee machine and hit Brew, then lean against the counter and wait.
I’m glad I did this because it showed me that I needed to buy a better coffee machine for the break room. This thing is crap. I can’t believe Kylie’s put up with it for as long as she has, as well as everybody else on this floor. I wonder if they’ve all just switched to using the new espresso machine we got a while back.
As I wait, I remember that I wanted to ask Walker about a legal question. I pull out my phone to text him.
Me: Hey. You know anything about life insurance policies and NY regulations surrounding them?
I don’t expect to hear back from him so quickly.
Walker: Random question at this hour. I know a little bit. Obviously, it’s not my specialty. You need me to get you a contact?
Me: Yes. A good one. Someone who holds a lot of power and intimidation over life insurance companies.
Walker: Noted. I’m not even going to ask.
I tuck my phone away. Satisfied with that.
I know Kylie has already made it through the worst of her times without that life insurance money, but if I can help her get access to it sooner rather than later, I’m sure as hell going to try. I know I pay my assistants well, but it’s still not a life-changing amount of money when living in this city. It still means budgeting your ass off and being very mindful of what you spend.
I want her to feel like she is set for life. I just hope the insurance plan her parents had was sufficient enough to give her a big cushion. Shit, if it’s not, I’d be willing to supplement with my own money, but that’s just complicated as fuck and something I bet she’d smack me for even offering. Just another thing that makes her so irresistible to me.
When the coffee is done, I head toward my office with two hot cups in my hands. Kylie is just setting her stuff down on her desk when she spots me.
What are the signs of someone having a stroke? Because I think that’s what’s happening to her right now. She is frozen and looks like she might fall over.
“What the hell is going on?” she says as I approach and place her cup next to her purse.
At least I know she isn’t having a stroke.
“I decided to make the coffee this morning,” I tell her.
I lean against her desk as she takes a seat, and I take a sip of my own coffee.
She looks at me like I have two heads. “Whyyy? Did I make it wrong yesterday or something?”
I chuckle. “No, you pessimist. I just wanted to do something nice for you. I figured it was about time I started making my own coffee. You don’t need to be doing that for me. That coffee machine is crap, by the way. How come you never told me?”
