Page 22 of Perfect
I think? I’m so fucking stupid. I need to get away from him for a second, so I force a smile.
“Can I get you something while you wait for Catherine? Water? Coffee? I think we have muffins. Do you want a coffee?” He looks amused and shakes his head slowly, taking a sip of the coffee he has in his hand. “Right, youhavea coffee. Um, okay, uh, please excuse me,” I say quickly, heading towards the kitchen.
What iswrongwith me? I’m so good at being polite and polished and social with strangers, butonecute guy smiles at me and I become an awkward teenage girl again. I pour myself a cup of coffee, taking a deep breath before heading back into the reception area, keeping my head down. I’ll just make an idiot out of myself if I keep talking to him, so I avoid looking at Theo as I sit at my desk. I pull up a blank email, and type out the wordstupidrepeatedly, looking intently at the screen.
When I glance over at him, he’s smiling down at something on his phone.
I stare at him for a second, noticing his thin knit sweater is tight enough to show off his broad shoulders and the fact that he definitely works out. He catches me looking at him, and I pointedly stare back at my computer. After a few minutes, he stands up and approaches me, resting his hands on the edge of my desk and leaning over my computer to get my attention, and I look up at him immediately. Up close, I can see that his eyes are the most startling hazel I’ve ever seen, pale green at the edges and a dark gold in the center, the transition nearly seamless.
“Do you know how long Catherine’s going to be?” It takes me a second to realize he’s asked me a question, and I blink quickly and jerk my gaze away from his to look at my computer.
“Oh, um, Catherine’s in the middle of a meeting right now,” I say, frowning. Was he even on the schedule before I went to lunch? Maybe she changed it at the last minute. “What’s your last name?”
“Anderson.”
“Mr. Anderson? Welcome back,” I say slowly as I flip through the calendar, realizing halfway through saying it that I’m saying it out loud. I’m hoping he doesn’t catch it, but he laughs, his expression bemused.
“Are you making a fuckingMatrixreference?” I avoid looking at him, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry. I rewatched it a week ago, and that just came out of my mouth,” I say, cringing slightly. “Please ignore me, that wassostupid.” I bite my lip, focusing hard on my computer but not seeing anything in front of me.
“No, it wascute,”he says, his voice low and amused, “and I havenointerest in ignoring you, Alex.” Butterflies explode upwards from my stomach into my throat as I look up at him, his warm, crooked smile making me blush. I look away quickly, unused to this level of attention. I suck in a sharp breath andrefocus on the calendar on the computer screen again, and frown.
“Um, you’re not here. What time is your appointment?”
“I don't have one.” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Most people make appointments to see their lawyer, unless they’re in trouble.” He shrugs, smirking a little.
“I’m definitely in trouble.” I frown at him, concerned, but he looks relaxed.
“You know Catherine doesn’t do criminal law, right?” He laughs.
“Oh, I’m aware, but I’m not in that kind of trouble. I’m inCatherine has a pretty receptionisttrouble.” He flashes that cute smile again, and I can feel my face burning as I look down at my keyboard. I don’t even know how to respond to that, so I don’t. He’s flirting with me, and I’m making an idiot out of myself. I shouldn’t even be flirting with him since I’m at work, so I put on my chipper receptionist voice and try not to look directly into his eyes.
“Um, Catherine will be done soon,” I say, my gaze landing on his mouth. His lips look soft. “Can I get you anything while you wait? We have muffins.” He laughs a little, and I realize I didn’t notice his faint dimples before. Those are so fucking cute.
I wonder what kissing him would feel like.
Okay, I can’t look at his mouth. I glance at his nose instead, flustered.
“You’rereallypushing these muffins, huh? I’ll try one, but only if you made them.” I frown at him, meeting his eyes again.
“Why would that matter?” Theo frowns back at me, looking a little confused.
“Am I doing this wrong or something?” He asks with an almost nervous laugh.
“Doing what wrong?” I take a sip of coffee, and he looks at me incredulously.
“I’m hitting on you, Alex. Youknowthat, right?” I choke on my coffee and look away from him as I struggle to catch my breath. He slips the coffee cup out of my hand, my nerves lighting up from where his fingers graze against mine. “Shit, you okay?”
“Wrong pipe,” I choke out, refusing to look at him. “Um, I have a lot of work to do. Excuse me,” I say, flashing a tight smile somewhere in his direction and grabbing a stack of paper off my desk, hurrying into the other room to pretend to file them.
After a few minutes of hiding in the other room, berating myself for being such a fucking idiot, I hear Catherine and her clients walk downstairs and listen as she starts speaking quietly with Theo. I fix my face into a neutral expression and walk back to my desk, trying to ignore the amused smile he’s giving me. I slump down in my chair once they’re upstairs, covering my face with my hands.
Fuck,that was embarrassing. I’m twenty-six and I’ve been married for almost a decade, so I haven’t been hit on much and I havenoidea how to deal with that sort of attention. I’ve barely flirted with anyone, but I’m positive that’snothow you do it.
God, I’msostupid.
