Page 28 of A World Apart
“What floor?”
I was puzzled. I’d entered on the side closest to the button panel. It was literally six inches from my left elbow.
“Um, two,” I said. And then, to my surprise, he leaned past me to press the ‘2’ button. He was so close that I was momentarily engulfed in a cloud of his cologne. It wasn’t that strong, blessedly, and I’m sure it was eye-wateringly expensive, but I had to force down a cough.
The moment the doors closed, I began to wish I’d taken the stairs. There was no reason why he needed to stand so close to me, it was a big elevator. He was so much taller than me, I felt crowded and I knew it was deliberate.
He didn’t say a word to me, but when he put his hand on the small of my back, I got the message. My t-shirt skimmed the top of my jeans, so it really wasn’t hard for him to brush his pinkie finger downward, hooking it slightly under the soft fabric of my shirt. He ran that finger lightly back and forth, tracing patterns into my back, branding me.
I froze in a kind of panic. My fingers started tingling and I had to really focus on keeping my face neutral. Pretending it wasn’t happening.
Finally, the doors chimed and rolled open, but I felt frozen to the spot, my knees locked into place.
Which is around the same time I noticed Jihoon standing there. He was smiling as the doors opened, and when my eyes met his, I wanted so badly to feel the warmth I saw in them. I saw the moment his gaze dropped to where Trevor Kyle still had his hand on my back. He stood close to me, but there was a gap between our bodies, it must have been quite clear where his hand was.
I felt my face crumple at the same moment I regained control over my body. I took in a great gust of breath as I forced myself to step forward, returning the slight bow from Youngsoo and the habitual, but unsure one from Jihoon.
“Good morning, I mumbled.” I rushed past the group, making a bee line for the studio I was working in that day.
“Our tech interns are always rushing off somewhere.” Trevor Kyle laughed.
Arrogant dickhead. There are no tech interns. And I’m literally the only intern in the building. Fucker.
I rushed into Studio 2 and shut the door behind me, barely even noticing that it was pitch black in there as I leant back against the door, taking a tremulous breath in, trying to settle myself.
Chapter 12
Iturned on the overhead lights and tossed my bag across the room. Angry. At Trevor Kyle. At myself. Just… angry.
When my phone beeped, I was ready to toss it, too.
But that’s when I saw the name on the screen.
1 unread message from: Joon
I slid my finger up the screen to unlock it and tapped on the message, heart thumping slightly.
Joon
Are you ok?
[Sent 08:57]
I tapped the side of my phone, thinking howto answer.
Me
Yeah, all good.
Joon
You didn’t look good.
[Sent 08:59]
Me
Lol! Thanks. I thought I looked nice today!
