Page 2 of Shy Girls write it Better
Okay, okay.She could skip the panic attack.Quite obviously, she was dreaming the whole thing, there was no way that Carter Fucking Harris was winking ather,frumpy little Cassie Franklin.
Right?
Carter
Carter wasn’t sure whether he was amused or irritated by the unforeseen inconvenience that the slender blonde who had taken cover behind her desktop represented.She was a distraction he just didn’t have the time for right then.
It wasn’t her fault, but the girl was adorable.She always made him want to ruffle her hair or pinch her rosy cheeks, which would have been entirely inappropriate, because she was an employee.
Cassandra Franklin – went by Cassie, born 21st of June 1991, valedictorian of her high school, graduated with honors from NYU.Youngest of two sisters, both parents were still alive, still together, and they all met up for brunch every Sunday.
Yes, he’d had her checked one year and seven months ago after she’d fallen on her ass right in front of him on her way to her interview.
He recalled the incident and smiled, shaking his head.She’d worn a polka dot blouse and patent leather shoes, with a headband.Seriously, a headband.All she needed to make the image of shy little schoolgirl perfect would have been a lollipop.
His gaze had dropped to her Barbie pink lips and suddenly he’dwantedher to suck on a lollipop.
Those were pretty lips.His interest piqued, he looked a little closer, catching the long legs under the bloodstained, ruined pantyhose, and the generous curve of her breast that the silken fabric of her top failed to entirely disguise…
He’d looked away.The girl was far too young to incite that sort of reaction from him.Eighteen, nineteen maybe, he couldn’t really tell, but she seemed far more innocent than the sophisticated women he frequented.
He heard her muttering about two left feet and found himself giving her a hand.
“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, to his surprise.
He wasn’t the kind of guy who called womensweetheart,or babe, or anything of that kind.But shewasa sweetheart, that much was obvious.Mistaking her for one of his employees’ teenage daughters, he’d asked, “You’re meeting someone?”
“Yes,” she’d replied, before her head snapped up and took him in.
First, her jaw hit her chest, then her cheeks turned tomato red, and her big doe eyes went down to her little feet.
“Yes, I… I’m here to see Ms.Cooper?I have an interview.”
He wiggled an eyebrow; so she wasn’t quite as young as he’d thought then.Good.That meant he could look down again, and properly appreciate the lips.
He liked that the upper lip was plumper than the lower one, giving her pout an irresistible and unique flair, but the pink gloss had to go.He wished he could wipe it off her face, and replace it with a cherry red lipstick.
“You want to intern here,” he guessed, and for some reason, that made her laugh.
“I’m twenty-three, and have two degrees, so no.I’d greatly prefer to be gainfully employed.”
He couldn’t hide his surprise.Twenty-three; eight years younger than him.That didn’t seem bad at all…
“Don’t worry, though, I’m not offended,” she said, smiling, without lifting her eyes up to meet his.How infuriating.“I’m well aware that I look young.”
Carter smiled and showed her to the elevator, resolving to have her background check done right there and then.There was a good chance that she was an industrial spy.No one was so perfectly innocent and sweet.No one.
Except Cassie Franklin, apparently, he had to conclude a few hours later after running through the report he’d asked for.There was no dirt on her,none.And yes, shehadbeen a Girl Scout, there was a picture of a mini version of her selling cookies in pigtails to prove it.
Carter didn’t often think of her, in all honesty; adorable and ditzy wasn’t exactly his type, and she wasn’t high up enough on the food chain to have any reason to make it to his floor, but each time he saw her, he couldn’t help smiling.God, she was cute, and helpless, too.More often than not, she bumped into any available surface and tripped over her own feet.
Glancing at her through the transparent walls of his temporary office, and catching her watching him and Trick, then panic and blush like the darling she was, he smiled again.It was like observing a kitten.He thought he’d miss his incomparable view of the city from his office, but now he was looking forward to a few days enjoying the change of scenery…
There was no questioning why she squirmed.Her panic was a little excessive, but most women he met generally acted the same way – intimidated; some, by the depth of his pockets, others by his appearance.According to the trashy magazines that featured him every other day, he was hot.According to Forbes, he was rich.
Carter wondered what little Cassie was frightened of, his money or his looks?
His smile widened as she got to her feet, grabbed a pile of papers from the printer, stuffed it into a folder, and went out as quickly as her feet could carry her.Stopping himself from chuckling when she stumbled at the door was almost impossible.
