Page 49 of Latte Girl
Nina...Felina?
Jordan
My forehead thumpsagainst the wall of thestairwell.
There are so many emotions churning inside me right now I feel sick, and I stay leaning against the wall at the bottom of the staircase for a solid fiveminutes.
You should have told her,I think, the phrase echoing over and over in my mind.You should havetoldher.
I was so close, so many times. First was when we kissed in the park, then at the window in my apartment, and finally, just now, before she climbed into the car and left. There was always a reason not to, though. I was still trying to gain her trust after my last fuck up, convince her to see me for who I am before I had to convince her that everyone at Knox Security is wrong. I let things go too far for the sake of showing her therealme.
What I didn’t expect was for her to reveal such depths of herself inreturn.
I picture her spreading herself open in front of me, screaming at me to fuck her, and despite the fact that I’m currently wallowing in despair, I feel my cock start to harden at the memory. She held nothing back. For those moments we were together, everything about her was minetotake.
Walking away isn’t an option anymore. She pulls me in like a magnet to metal, and before I let myself go any farther, I know I have to make thisright.
Soon. The possibility of having a chance with her after she hears about my reputation from me is slim. The possibility of having a chance if she hears it from someone else isnonexistent.
* * *
Stop by for a croissant today?I owe you for thespaghetti.
I stare down at the message from Hailey. We’ve been texting back and forth a bit, but I’ve tried to be vague about when I can see her again, wanting to wait until I at least have some sort of plan. I spent all weekend thinking up a way to explain the rumors in a way that won’t make her hate me, but so far I’ve gotnothing.
I’m not one to refuse a baked good, I type back.Have to check my schedule,though.
It’s not even a lie. Work has been the last of my priorities lately, and I have no idea what I have going ontoday.
Opening up my laptop, I scan through my inbox and find a message marked as high importance from my father’s personal secretary. Reading through the brief message that sounds as cold and impersonal as my dad himself, I realize it’s a reminder about a meeting I have with himtoday.
I check the time. I’m three minutes latealready.
My phone buzzes again, and a stern text from the same secretary pops up asking me where I am. I dash out of the office and give a distracted wave in acknowledgement of the wolf howls coming from the row of cubicles where my team sits. Their latest thing is referring to me as ‘The Wolf of 19thStreet.’
I drum my fingers against my arms as the elevator doors seem to open at every possible floor until I finally arrive at the top of the building. My father has his own personal lobby that looks like a miniature of the one downstairs, complete with another giant gold-plated Knox Security sign looming over hissecretary’sdesk.
Said secretary raises his eyebrows at me over a pair of square-framed glasses as I let myself into my father’soffice.
“Jordan, how kind of you tojoinus.”
My dad is sitting in the mafia leader-esque chair behind his desk, his hands folded underhischin.
“Sorry, lost track of time,” I mutter, taking a seat next to the other man in the room, a guy in his thirties with perfectly gelled hair and the kind of good looks seen on obnoxious TV showhosts.
“Clearly,” my dad intones, before setting his hands down and sitting up straight. “Jordan, this is Mr. Tyler Davidson. He’s a public relations specialist I’ve been consulting with for the past fewweeks.”
Tyler Davidson reaches over to shake my hand, flashing me what looks like a carefully rehearsedsmile.
“I’ve been told by many of my advisors that Knox Security would benefit from updating its image. We’re only barely reaching our targets for profit increase, and we need to expand our marketing efforts to reach a further audience. Mr. Davidson and I have been developing a plan. Why don’t you bring Jordan up tospeed?”
He inclines his head toward Tyler, who shifts himself in his chair so he’sfacingme.
“Celebrities,” he nearly shouts, putting as much enthusiasm into the word as if he’s telling me he just discovered the secrets ofgravity.
Iblink.
“You guys have a real sweet set up here,” he continues, as if I’d just jumped up and punched the air in celebration of his brilliance, “with a strong corporate client base, but if you want to keep moving up, you need to expand to the most attention-grabbing market there is. That’s celebrities. You start providing security services for famous people, and you’ve got glamour to your name. You’ve got that sexy factor. You have to keep things sexy if you want to keep them fresh. You know what I’msaying?”
