Page 16 of My CEO Neighbor
"The way you look at people like you're calculating their quarterly earnings potential."
"I do not do that."
"You did it to me in the hallway last week."
"That's because I was wondering how much yoga instructors make and whether you could actually afford to live in this building."The admission slipped out before Ted could stop it.
"You were thinking about my finances?"
"I was thinking about..."Ted stopped."Never mind."
"No, finish that sentence."
"I was thinking about how you always look so calm and put-together, and I couldn't figure out if that was natural or if you were just better at hiding your stress than the rest of us."
Monica felt heat creep up her neck."And what conclusion did you reach?"
"I'm still working on it."
The air between them felt charged, electric, like the space right before lightning struck.Monica was suddenly, acutely aware of every point where their bodies were almost touching—her knee still brushed against his, their shoulders were close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, and if she leaned forward just a few inches...
"We should probably change the topic."
"Why?"
"Because we're trapped in a small space and I'm already having trouble thinking clearly, and if we keep having this conversation, I'm going to do something that probably isn't appropriate given our current circumstances."
Monica felt a flush of heat that had nothing to do with the elevator's temperature."What kind of something?"
"The kind that would make tomorrow morning very awkward."
"Tomorrow morning is already going to be awkward.We might as well make it worthwhile."
The words were out before Monica could stop them, bold and reckless and completely unlike anything she'd ever said to a man she barely knew.But sitting in the darkness with Ted, feeling the weight of his attention and the heat of his proximity, being careful felt less important than being honest.
She was tired of being careful.Tired of being alone.Tired of pretending she didn't notice how attractive he was, how much she wanted to know what his mouth would feel like against hers.
"Monica."Ted warned.
"What?"
"Don't say things like that unless you mean them."
"Who says I don't mean them?"
Ted was quiet for a long moment, and Monica could hear his breathing, faster now, less controlled.When he spoke again, his voice was closer, like he'd leaned toward her.
"You don't know me."
"I know enough."
"You know that I'm a workaholic with control issues and a caffeine addiction."
"I know that you care about your employees.I know that you're harder on yourself than anyone else could ever be.I know that you dropped out of school to chase what you believed in, and you've been proving yourself ever since."
"Monica..."
"I know that you're sitting in the dark with a woman you barely tolerate, and instead of complaining or checking out completely, you're actually talking to me.Really talking."
