Page 12 of Bitter Desire
I looked towards the door and on cue, it opened. “Thank you,” I said, stepping out and nodding back at the car. “Do I need my things?”
He shook his head. “No, we won’t be long from what Mister Sokolov told me of the schedule.”
That had my attention. The schedule? What exactly did that mean? Normally, when Taylor picked me up after work he took me wherever I had a mind to go, and when it hit six or so, I knew Law was never far away. He’d meet me if I chose to have dinner at that time, or come home, wherever that home happened to be—mine or his. Didn’t matter, Law would be there and we’d spend the time together doing anything and everything that caught our attention.Usually that meant sex.
I loved it when it meant sex.
A schedule didn’t seem to mean that, but Taylor didn’t say much else. He ushered me towards a bank of elevators to the left of the parking garage and hit the button for the 85th floor. I swallowed hard seeing the massive bank of buttons.
“That’s a lot of buttons,” I said quietly.
Taylor nodded. “It’s a big building.”
A big building with how many people working on each floor? How many offices were here? Board rooms? Desks and people working with the single minded goal of fulfilling Law’s orders.
My eyes saw that there were 5 more floors above the one we were going to. There were 90 fucking floors to this place, and it was all for Law.Holy shit.I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly wishing I was a little more dressed up, but my outfit would have to do. I hadn’t known where I was going after all.
I walked behind Taylor, thoughts of who Lawson was while he was at work beginning to take shape in my mind. He wasn't mine when he was here, he wasn't even Law, he was Mister Sokolov.
I leaned back against the elevator wall, arms crossed over my chest and watched the lights on the buttons flash with each and every floor that we ascended. In front of me Taylor stood ramrod straight, hands clasped behind his back and eyes forward. He was doing the Buckingham soldier dance again, but I was too nervous to even tease him about it. When the elevator doors opened I was practically a nervous wreck. Taylor stepped out and looked back at me over his shoulder, he raised an eyebrow in question, and when I didn't come forward, he held out a hand to me.
"Miss Martinez, come with me before the elevator closes."
I blinked at Taylor and it took me a minute to figure out what he was saying. I didn't know why I was freezing or panicking, or stalling for time the way that I was, but here I was and oh, there Taylor was staring at me like he thought I might try and climb out of the elevator through one of the ceiling tiles to get away from here. His brow furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. I knew he was thinking hard about what he was seeing. He wasn't sure what to do, but then again, neither was I.
Poor Taylor, he didn't deserve this.
I plastered a bright smile on my face and pushed away from the elevator wall. "Sorry about that, I don't know where I went. I must have spaced out," I lied. “Sometimes the early mornings get to me, you know?”
Taylor looked like he didn't believe me, but he nodded all the same and dropped his hand when I didn't take it. I fell into step behind him and was unable to stop looking all around me as we walked down the pristine hallway that I knew would lead us to Law’s office.
All around me there was nothing but the very best. And that went from everything from the fixtures to the walls and most importantly, the employees that moved through the space of Law’s building with a sense of ease and comfort. Each and every one of them was dressed precisely how I would have imagined when the words high-powered executive office came to mind. Everything was designer and colors like crisp white, navy, austere black, and a smidgen of sensible sky blue in the mix. There wasn't a hair out of place or a single awkward person to be found. Everyone here looked like they stepped out of a fashion magazine, which made me wonder who the hiring manager for Law’s building was. Some talent agency? It had to be. One that was tasked with filling the holes of beautiful places like this with equally beautiful people.
God, why had I chosen to wear a tank top and Doc Martens today? I could have just gone with a nice sundress, even that would have been salvageable right now.
I did my best to look friendly and I smiled when a pair of women walked past me. They returned the gesture, and I felt the nervousness in my stomach start to die down. There was no reason to be nervous. This was just an office, even if it was Law’s, and even if it was staffed with gorgeous faces. My confidence was short-lived however, when I turned the corner with Taylor into what I only assumed was the waiting area for Law’s office and came face-to-face with an up-and-down look from a woman who looked none too impressed with my outfit choice that day. I didn't miss the precise flick of her blue eyes down to my booted feet before they made their way up my slacks to my tank top. She took in the state of my hair— it was piled on top of my head in a messy bun. While I knew the look could go wrong, I had thought it was sweet looking when I had left for work that day. But now, looking at the blond with the perfect hair and the perfectly tailored suit that accentuated all she had going on, which was a lot, and good for her—or at least I would have thought good for her if not for the look of distaste on her pretty face–I found myself second guessing.
I’d seen that look before.
A thousand times over, even. It mostly happened in whatever coffee shop I’d taken a gig in that day, with increasing frequency in the more upscale shops. It was the look of a woman who was convinced cold foam was essential to a cappuccino, or that she could make a ristretto at home in her french press. Thus, rendering me useless to her. I was used to it there, when I was on the clock and paid to make coffee, smile, and be someone’s punching bag for however long it took for them to order from me.
I wasn’t on the clock now. I really didn't like this.
“Oh my gosh, are you Honey?” A small woman leaped up from the desk I hadn’t noticed. She had brown eyes and auburn hair that was perfectly styled, but not in a way that made her look too uptight. Just polished and put together. She definitely had been recruited by the model agency responsible for the rest of the hiring around here though. It was right smack dab in the middle of the room, which said a lot for how off kilter the perfect blonde had made me.
I nodded numbly and Taylor, who was normally a human shield personified when it came to people talking to me, stepped back with a warm smile on his face. “Adelaide,” he greeted.
She waved a hand at him and shot a wink his way. “Call me Addie, big guy. You know I like it better.”
Taylor flushed, just a light dusting of pink across his cheeks, but I saw it all the same. Oh my god, did Taylor have a crush? I giggled, but my laughter was cut off when she turned her stare on me.
“You are, aren’t you? Oh, my god, you are so sweet looking. I get it.”
“Get what?” I asked. The blonde woman’s stare was now turned up to a fifteen on the 1-10 scale and I shifted from foot-to-foot. I didn’t like the way she was looking at me. It made me feel like a bug that had been pinned down for examination. Her icy blue eyes slid from my booted feet all the way up to my messy bun again and she shook her head when she was done with her perusal. I swallowed hard when she turned on her heel and went into the doors that I knew were to Law’s office.
Great. She was meeting with him. Perfect.
“The good mood you have Law in, of course,” she explained with a grin. I liked that she called him Law. It was good to know that at least one person here did. I bet she didn’t take any of his shit either. My man was a good man, but he could be overbearing and bossy, he needed someone that pushed back. “He can be such a, well, you know,” she said with a heavy sigh.
