Page 24 of Give Me a Chance
“I went over your proposal, and it’s a cute idea, but it needs a lot of work.”
“Look, I was hoping to do this on my own, so feel free to not overwork yourself with it.”
“Not going to happen. Like Kiara said, the idea is basically PR, so since you wanted to meddle in my side of things, we’re going to do this the way I say.” I pretend not to notice the way he rolls his eyes.
The conference room has a glass partition wall, and we watch the office desks empty one by one. Kiara lets everyone leave earlier on Fridays, assuming we’ve finished all our work.
How I crave to be one of them, instead of sitting here with Matt in a soon to be empty office.
I sit down at the conference desk as he rolls up his sleeves, distracting me with his forearms. Clearing my throat, I get back to the topic at hand.
“What did you have in mind in terms of space for the pop-up clinics?”
“I thought we could grab a desk and a couple of chairs and set them up in a well-frequented area.”
“What are you? Selling lemonade? No way, it won’t work that way.” He scoffs, but I ignore him, scribbling some bullet points inside my planner.
“How do you plan to market the clinic? Inform people you’re going to be there...” I continue.
“Well, I kind of thought they’ll see me on the streets,” I shoot him a glare. “Or maybe we could make some posters to put up,” he adds quickly. Again, I write down a few pointers of what we need to do.
Outside, in the main office area, Kiara waves at us and dims the lights on her way out. I sigh, wanting to get this over with. Checking my notes, I continue.
“How do you plan for people to book time slots?”
He looks exasperated. “I sort of thought they’ll wait in line, or something.”
“So, your plan is to have overworked people spend their day waiting in line for half a minute of your time? And that time wouldn’t even be in private?”
He clenches his jaw and gets up, walking toward the water fountain in the corner.
“Message received, Natalie. You think my idea is shit.” His tone is clipped.
“It’s a rookie mistake: thinking a good idea is all it takes. But all those ideas crash and burn without heavy planning.”
“It’s a perfectly executable idea the way it is. No need for all the PR complications.”
“Well, tough luck, because Kiara put me on this project, and I plan to do it right.”
“Right,” he scoffs. “And there’s not a part of you enjoying raining on my parade?” His back is still to me, like filling up a cup of water takes forever, and I’m done with it. I get up to him, forcing him to turn around.
“What the hell is your problem?” I’m closer than I planned. His eyes are a stormy sea, his jaw set in stone.
“Want to know what my problem is?” He stalks even closer. His scent seeps into my pores, something citrusy and fresh. He drops his gaze to the almost crushed paper cup in his hand before he glances back up at me.
“My problem is you. My problem is seeing you every single day and not being able to touch you. Not being able to do all those things I can’t stop thinking about.” A breath hitches in my throat. His voice is pure molasses as he stares at me hungrily.
“That gives you the right to act like a dick?” I bite back.
“No,” he closes the distance to my ear, “but trust me, if I were to act like I want to, it would be so much worse.” He shakes his head, removing the warm breath from my neck.
“What would you do?” The bite is gone, my chest heaving, my mind whirling with anticipation.
“I’d punish you.” His tone is matter of fact, but I’m pretty sure I let out a whimper. “I’d punish you for driving me fucking insane, day after day.” He downs the water slowly, and I’m entranced as I watch him swallow.
My nipples are begging for attention, and he notices.
“You see? Fucking tease.” I shut him up by grabbing his shirt and pressing my lips to his. He catches up immediately, grabbing my hair with both hands and kissing me like a man starved. His tongue teases my mouth, and I open for him. The kiss is molten lava, burning me up from inside, while his hand travels down to my aching nipples. He pinches one through my blouse and any chance of me stopping this is long gone.
