Conflict Of Interest (14 page)

I nod my head. “You coming over tonight?”

“Yes. It will be a little after seven.”

“Okay. I will see you then.” She turns off to walk the rest of her way to class.

The rest of the day was uneventful at school besides my thoughts being everywhere but where they should have been. Now it’s time for work. I hope I can do my job today since apparently I can’t focus on anything else.

As soon as I walk in to the office, the manager’s assistant, Laura, greets me, “Hey, Natalia. I need you to meet me in my office in five minutes.”

“Okay. I will be there.”

She smiles and walks back where she came from. I put my bag in my desk drawer and lock it up. I fix my clothes with my hands removing any wrinkles or any dust it I might have on them and meet with her.

I hear Laura’s voice, but then hear more people talking. I knock twice on the door. “Come in,” she says.

I see James Knox sitting next to her as I glance over to see who the other voice was. He is the owner of the company and damn he is a good-looking man. I never met him but see him wandering around once in a while. For him to be here, this has to be good news. I hope at least.

“Come in; close the door.” I walk in, closing the door behind me. “Have a seat.” She motions with her hand for me to sit. Laura is the nicest boss you can ever work for. She is somewhere in her forties and tall, slender, and always wearing a well-kept old-fashioned hair twist.

“Hi, Natalia.” Laura joins her hands and crosses her fingers together as she speaks. “Mr. Knox and I would like to congratulate you first as we know you have your graduation coming up.”

“Thank you,” I say, smiling.

“Mr. Knox and I have come together to offer you a position that has come open and we think you are the best candidate for the job. This position will open doors for you. The position that has opened up is a paralegal assistant for me. We would love for you to accept the position.”

I almost fell out of the chair. “I cannot believe this, and yes, I accept the offer.” I stand up, wanting to jump up in excitement but I don’t. I am so happy. The happiest I have ever been, well, almost as happy as when I met Evan.

They both stand up and walk over to shake my hand and Laura says, “We will get together in the next few weeks to proceed with this offer and settle you in.”

“Congratulations, Natalia.”

He almost reminds me of Evan. He is tall with dark hair and dark eyes and good-looking but not as good-looking as Evan.

“Thank you again for this great opportunity,” I say, leaving the room and start to struggle a little getting my hand back. He still has a nice tight grip on my hand. I didn’t make any eye contact him. I was hoping he wasn't flirting so I didn't want to give him the reason to believe I was interested.

My knees feel like they are shaking as I walk to my front desk. I couldn't hold the greatest news so I called my mom and dad. Luckily, my dad had a few minutes to spare in between patients.

“We are proud of you, honey.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I will be seeing you guys in two weeks.”

“All right, sweetie. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Daddy.”

The line goes dead. I miss them dearly and they couldn't be any happier for me. I need to get work done but not before sharing this to Evan, so I send him a text.

Nat: I have great news. I have been offered a job after graduation in my company. Want to celebrate with me tonight?

Evan: Congratulations that is great news. Let’s celebrate at our apartment. Pick you up at 7.

Nat: Where is OUR apartment at? I’m confused.

Evan: My apartment will be OUR apartment soon, and the anticipation is killing me.

I am about to fall out of my seat. Is he saying what I think he is saying?

Nat: Is that so? I am not sure about that.

Evan: You will see. Don't work too hard and see you soon.

Is he insinuating that he wants me to move in? Is he asking me? Does he want me to? So soon? Oh, Evan, what am I going to do with his controlling self. I throw my cell in my bag and continue my workday. I start my everyday paperwork.

Hours go by quick when I get busy. Five minutes before clocking out, I get my bag and take my makeup mirror out. I comb my straight hair and apply lip-gloss. I hope he is outside the building waiting for me.

I hear food steps, and then I see someone’s shadow over the desk above my mirror. “You ready?”

Instantly, the voice is familiar. It’s Evan. My butterflies have woken up. “Hey, I thought you were going to be waiting outside,” I say while putting everything away and signing off the computer.

“I wanted to come and pick you personally to see where you work. I see it’s very nice; professional environment.”

I walk around the desk, noticing his smile and his lust- filled eyes. His hands push back the hair on my neck and he grabs it and kisses me on the lips. I have to stand on the tips of my toes. He releases me and I bit my lip as his lips were still on it.

I feel my pussy talking to me. It is saying, grab this man and shove him on the top of the desk and fuck the hell of out him. This man consumes everything when he’s with me.

“You want me, don't you?” He asks. I don't answer. He knows I do. Maybe. He laughs a cocky laugh like he knows what I am thinking. “You are begging me with your eyes and you want me to take you here over the desk right now?”

That’s it; my panties are wet. He comes closer to me. I panic when he’s going for another kiss. I stop him, placing my hand on his chest.

“This is not a good idea.”

He smiles. “I know.”

I start walking to leave and he reaches for me.

“Relax, baby. Maybe not today, but it will be another day.”

“Evan, do not be crazy.”

He cracks up and we walk out. I’m still shaken at the thought that he was about to fuck the hell out of me on the desk. Thank God he didn’t.

We drive to the Ice Cream Parlor. I was in the mood for ice cream before we get home.

“Of course, ice cream is my best friend.”

He picks a plain vanilla cone and I pick plain vanilla with sprinkles. We sit on the bench outside to eat our ice cream. His hand is on my knee at all times and I love those sweet touches he gives me. He glances at me and I start to wonder what's on his mind. I’m so edgy tonight. I just start the talking.

“How was your day?”

“My day was busy.”

I see him smiling, but he is admiring the view around us. I also see the way his tongue is licking that cone and it’s doing things to me. I smile, too, but I’ll keep that to myself.

“What are you smiling about?” I ask him.

He looks at me, finishing his cone with his hand behind me on the bench. He then turns his body to me. Oh boy, is this about to get serious.

“I have seen many faces in this world and none of them caught my attention like yours. You are in my mind every second of the day. I feel like I’m in a dream. I think of the future and all I see is you. You own my heart, Natalia. I want to own yours.”

Silence all I hear then. I feel my mouth open but nothing. Then my eyes are on him. I hear the cars driving and the people talking around me. I hear the kids laugh and I hear my heart beating out of my chest. The vanilla ice cream was melting on my fingers and hands and that’s when I snapped out of it. I started licking and he went to get some napkins.

He helps me clean up. He even licked one of my fingers seductively as he looks at me. He savored that finger to the tip. “Come on, let’s go.”

We are walking toward the car when he says, “I cooked and have a bottle of wine ready for us.” He winks. “We are celebrating your new promotion. I hope you like shrimp pasta with Alfredo sauce and garlic bread on the side.”

He makes me smile. “Of course, I do, silly.” I wink back. “I’m starving already.”

Evan’s POV

Chapter 24

We arrive and enter my apartment. “Make yourself at home while I get you a glass of wine.”

She threw herself on my couch making herself comfortable. I fill two glasses for the both of us and walk over to hand one to her. I start to unbutton my shirt to remove my gun from my lower back and I place it on the table.

I hand the shirt to her, but I noticed she looks really nervous. I follow her eyes to see they are glued to my gun. I pick the gun up and slide it in the kitchen counter drawer.

“Put this shirt on and I’ll put the gun out of view.”

“Guns make me nervous.”

“I know, and you are safe with me.”

“You want me to change now?”

“Yes, and I’ll get food ready.”

She enters my bedroom to change as I re-heat the dinner I made earlier while she was at work. I left work early to cook after she shared her good news. I hope me being able to cook gets me some brownie points. I dish out some of the Alfredo and place both plates on the table with the bottle of wine.

“You cooked this yourself?”

“Yes, I did.”

We both sit down and she digs in.

“You were hungry huh?”

“Just a little but this is good. I am impressed, Evan; you cook breakfast and dinner. I can get used to this.”

We smile together. “I can cook anytime for you.” I see her face turn bright red. “You don’t have to blush for me.”

I serve another round of wine. “This was really good and nice, Evan.”

“Anything for you.”

We finish and I cleared the table, putting plates in the sink. The mood is just right. I offer my hand so she can walk with me in front of my portable fireplace. I guide her to sit on the rug and start to turn the fire on.

I sit next to her.

“You are a romantic.”

I lay my head in her lap and she rubs my hair.

“I never thought I’d be this romantic. You bring it out of me.”

My skin blazes on fire of her every touch. It’s just that instant touch from her skin to my skin.

“Every time I am with you, I just want to be even closer with you. You bring that out of me, Evan.”

I turn my head around to look up to her pretty face. “Come lay next to me.”

I move my head so she can move around to me and she lays her head on my chest.

“Tell me about your childhood, Evan? I want to know more of you when you were little.”

“I wasn't expecting this, but I can tell you a little bit if you promise to tell me more of yours.”

“Of course, Evan.” She moves a bit to make herself more comfortable on my chest. I lay back straight and focused on the plain, white, high ceiling.

“I was born thirty-three years ago to a mother, who you met.” I felt her head nod on my chest and I continued. “She took care of me with my father. I grew up poor, but my parents made sure I had food on the table every day. When I turned sixteen, I worked part time after school at a local grocery store. I helped my mom with what money I brought home. I graduated at the age of eighteen and went to college, became a policeman and got promoted to an FBI agent.”

She kisses my chest then asked me, “What about your girlfriends?”

“Well, I had a love of my life but it turned into the biggest nightmare of my life. I gave her my heart and soul and she cheated on me. She shattered my heart into pieces and it was never  mended, until I met you. After that, I played with women’s heart just like mine got played with. None of them meant anything to me. I decided one day to stop and focus on me and that’s where I got where I am today. I’m successful and I never thought I would be here with a beautiful woman like you and with new feelings developing. I feel like a better man with you and have so much passion for you no words can describe.”

“You are making me tear up.” She wipes a tear out of the corner of her eye.

We finished the night talking about little things like things she liked and things she didn’t. She dozed off first and I was amazed at how much of a wonderful woman she was. She's warm, funny, laid back, loving, and wants the things I want. She is a hard worker and smart. She's spoiled by her parents, but I want to take that over. I want to be the one taking care of her. She is the woman that I need and I want in my life.

I want her to move in with me; that's my next mission. I didn't ask her tonight; I was afraid it’d scare her off. She might think it's too soon, but I think it's just right. I finally fell asleep on the floor all night and woke up with the daylight right in my eyes. Thank God it's Saturday and none of us work. She is still sound asleep with her head rested on my arm. I watch her sleep, listening to her deep breathing. She opened her eyes to me staring at her. “Good morning,” she said.