Chosen Heart (6 page)

If I ever see him again.

Giving my eyes a rest, I can’t
help but look at the one picture sitting on my bare desk.  Both wearing
floppy hats and sunglasses, looking happy as can be, no one would be the wiser
to think Rachel and I had such a damaging past.  I love looking at my
sister’s carefree smile, and brought it to work in an effort to remind myself
of what I’m working towards.  After a week of lusting over my blue-eyed
V.P., I needed to refocus and get my priorities straight.

And, once again, my mind finds
its way back to him.  I’ve fantasized about him in plenty of places;
bumping into him in the hallway, on the way to my car, even on the way to the
copier.  His perfect lips forming a smile as our eyes meet.  His
masculine hands touching my waist as he brings me into an embrace. 
Shaking my head I bring myself back to reality. 
Having thoughts like
this at work is bad for business, Ely.

It’s very disappointing that it’s
been almost a week since I last saw him.  Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a
little, it’s only been three days, but my infatuation is completely
unfamiliar.  I know it’s juvenile, but I can’t stop thinking about
him.  I’ve never felt such an attraction to a man before.  I imagine
this is how I should have felt for some boy in high school, or maybe even
college.  But even with Cole, I never felt this kind of charge.  And
even now, just the thought of his name brings anger and hurt into my heart,
something I hope I never have to feel with another person again.

I have to believe that with one
door closing another one has opened.  And, it so happens to be in the form
of sweet Janice.  Our budding friendship has come at such an opportune
time, and I’m thankful she’s become my lunch buddy.  It’s nice to eat in
someone’s company rather than awkwardly sitting by myself like a pariah. 
Having spent most of the week with her, I can tell she’s starting to trust me,
because she mentions that her enigmatic boss is away on business, giving her
more free time than she likes.

I sigh at the mention of him as
my body does cartwheels.  I would love nothing more than to ask her tons
of questions about her sexy-as-hell boss, but because I want her to continue
trusting me, I decide less is more and stay quiet.  Besides, I do want to
get to know her.  I enjoy her banter and her uncomplicated
life.   Making me smile, she discusses her love of cross-stitch and
her obsession with cable TV shows.  I feel slightly jealous she can find
pleasure in the simplest things, when these days I find it hard to find
pleasure in anything.

“Earth to Elyssa!!” Janice
exclaims, flapping her hands in my face.

“I’m sorry, what were you
saying?” blinking my eyes, I try and refocus.

”I was asking if you wanted to
join us for Happy Hour after work?”  Apparently, the Sales department
regularly gets together on Fridays, gets intoxicated and talks gossip about
management.  She says it’s kind of like therapy. 
Drunken therapy?
 I muse.  In hopes that this will get my mind off my unhealthy
obsession, I accept her invitation.  Janice even offers to drive; even
better for me.

~~~~~

Pulling into the parking lot of
Gordon Biersch, I glance in the passenger mirror of Janice’s smart car to check
my make-up.  You never know, I might meet a guy who will sweep me off my
feet. 
Make me forgot the name Alexander James. 
I’m just glad
I spent the extra time curling my hair this morning.  Who am I
kidding?  I’ve been waking up early every day, making sure not one hair is
out of place, hoping to see
him
.  Clasping the mirror shut, I step
out of the car for a night of unabashed fun. 
Hopefully.

Autumn, along with a few other
people from the office, are waiting just inside the front door as we walk
in.  My first impression of Autumn was not the most pleasant and if it’s
anything like our last meeting, tonight will be filled with stories of her
being the master of the universe, or should I say,
her
universe.  I
don’t know what it is, but something about her rubs me the wrong way.  I
definitely didn’t like how impolite and negative she was, but there’s something
more.

Pushing our way through the crowd
of college kids and business professionals, we are lucky enough to find a table
close to the bar.  Becky, our waitress, greets us and takes our orders;
two Cosmos for them and an Apple Martini for me.  As Becky runs off to
fetch our drinks, Janice excitedly brings us in for a girl huddle.  The
three of us lean forward and Janice whispers all wide-eyed, completely
animated.

“Look over there,” she points
with her thumb.  Autumn and I turn our heads and notice the three
attractive men sitting two tables away from ours.  “Those guys are totally
checking us out,” she giggles.  The gentlemen look away as they realize
their cover is blown.

Setting our drinks on the table,
Becky slinks away after Janice pushes our money aside, insisting on
paying.  Raising my drink towards the men two tables over, I boast, “Happy
hunting, gentlemen.”  Janice breaks out in laughter, raising her glass in
unison with mine.  Autumn, of course, doesn’t move an inch; instead she
takes out her phone pretending to have better things to do.

Autumn sneers, “I don’t know why
you are all smiles and giggles, Janice.  They obviously weren’t looking at
you.  You have about as much sex appeal as Mary Poppins.”  Giggling
to herself, she continues to press buttons, staring at the screen of her smart
phone.

My mouth drops in utter shock at
her lack of consideration.  Her constant need to pick is just plain
disgusting; especially someone as soft-hearted and timid as Janice.  Trust
me; the only thing stopping me from tossing my drink in her face is the fact
that Janice bought the drink.  I don’t want to waste her money on that
bitch.

“Autumn, I think you’re
mistaken,” I point to the man with dirty blonde hair in casual disarray, raising
his glass, waving at Janice.  “I think she has just the right amount of
sex appeal.”  Autumn glares in the direction of our admirers as I wink and
raise my glass to toast with Janice.  Clinking our glasses, we both take a
sip in unison.

Hopefully Autumn got the
hint.  I won’t stand back and allow her to plow over Janice just to
fulfill her own personal power trip.  Hiding her smile, Janice changes
topics clearly not wanting to be the center of attention.

“So Elyssa, Mr. James asked you
to stay late, huh?” Jabbing her elbow into my side, she giggles
uncontrollably.  The alcohol must already be working its magic on her
innocence.  And, I can feel my face turning crimson as my shoulders rise
and fall, shrugging off Janice’s observation.

“There was no one else to help
him, Janice.  So he settled for me.  No big deal,” I shy away, taking
another sip as I glance around the bar, hoping they don’t notice my chagrin.

“I was available, why didn’t he
ask me?”  She points to herself before putting up her finger and twitching
it side to side.  “Nope, he chose you for a reason,” she teases as she
tilts her head back, finishing off her ruby beverage.  Autumn cringes,
with a look of disgust, causing my body to tense at her reaction. 
Maybe
we should discuss how Mr. James laid into you, Ms. Perfect, for being so rude.
 
That might shut her up for the rest of the night. 
Highly doubtful.

“Stop being like that, Autumn!”
Janice’s delicate voice breaks through the moment of tension.  “You would
swear he left you at the altar,” she teases, sarcastically.  Finally,
she’s gained the courage to be blunt with her adversary.  Liquid courage
was all she needed.

“Stop being like what,
Janice?  We had a connection.”  Lowering her head, Autumn stares at
her scarlet cocktail.  “He asked me to go to lunch with him.  I
thought we were making progress,” she mumbles, obviously flustered, hitting me
with an unwarranted pang of jealousy.

“Autumn, don’t get it
twisted.  You were the Sales Exec over that account and it was a business
lunch.  He didn’t propose marriage; he was just keeping you in the
loop.”  Giggling, Janice puts her hand up to her mouth in an effort not to
break out in laughter.  Autumn glares at her, clenching the edge of the
table.  “Plus, you are as sweet as pie to his face, but when he isn’t
around you act like he’s the devil,” Janice quips. 
Ooh…I
like
this side of Janice!

“I can’t help it.  Have you
seen that man’s smile?  Those lips…his eyes…and those arms…I just want him
to…”  All three of us blush as Autumn dives right into her secret fantasy.

“Ok that’s enough, I get the
picture!”  Janice slams her hands over her ears, drowning out Autumn’s
play-by-play.  We all laugh at Janice’s reaction to dirty talk. 
Autumn, hot and bothered, fans herself with her hand. 
Boy, do I know
how she feels.

Autumn being the bitch that she
is decides to shine the spotlight on me.  “What do
you
think about
Mr. James, Elyssa?  I know Mary Poppins over here wouldn’t dare press her
luck with her boss, but what about you?”  Janice blushes, looking away
embarrassed.

“I
don’t
think about
him.” 
I said that a little too quick, hope she doesn’t notice.
 
I am lying, of course.  I think about that man constantly.  I’ve
thought about him at least twenty times since we sat down for Happy Hour. 
I take a swig of my drink, swallowing the nervous knot building in my
throat.

“You must have a boyfriend then,”
she grumbles.

“No, I’m single,” I retort,
trying to remain nonchalant.

“Then how can you not have
noticed him?” Autumn says haughtily.

“Maybe it’s because my pool of
available men expands past my co-workers.”  Standing, I grab my half empty
glass and head towards the bar.  Needing to remove myself from the
situation I decide to take the road of avoidance.  I don’t want Autumn of
all people to know how I feel about our V.P., and unlike her, I can keep my
thoughts to myself.

Sitting down at the bar, I feel
bad leaving Janice to deal with Autumn, but then again, maybe the new bold
Janice will handle her just fine.  She knows where I am if she needs me.

Just about to finish my Martini,
I feel a shoulder brush against me, giving me chills.  And not in a good
way.  Through the corner of my eye, I notice a slightly attractive man
take the stool next to me.  He eyes me thoroughly before extending his
hand to make introductions.

“Hi, my name’s Sam,” he yells,
trying to talk over the roar of the crowd.  He appears to be in his
mid-thirties, dressed well wearing a fitted knit maroon shirt with a tan
leather jacket and dark jeans. 
Not too bad.

What the hell, I’m sure talking
to him cannot be as painful as talking to Autumn.  Reciprocating the
gesture I place my hand in his. “Elyssa; nice to meet you.”

“That’s exotic!  El-y-ssa,”
he phonetically pronounces my name.  “I like how it rolls off my
tongue.”  I fight the urge to vomit.  The thought of anything rolling
off his tongue right now is not appealing.  But, beggars can’t be choosers
and maybe he’ll grow on me, possibly curing me of my obsession with Mr.
Unattainable James.

Our conversation is quite dull,
but Sam did buy me another Martini so I almost feel obligated to sit and chat
with him, at least until I finish my cocktail.  He discusses his day and I
learn he’s the Regional Sales Manager for a local office supply company. 
As he rants about the exciting world of paper clips, I feel my initial
attraction to him slowly disintegrate.  “Another drink, Elyssa?” he
suggests, placing his hand on my shoulder.  I cringe at his touch.

Hoping to send the message that
he clearly has no chance in hell, I attempt to slink out of his grasp. 
“No Sam, I should be going.  It was nice to meet you.”  As I stand,
he moves his hand and encircles my waist, pulling me tight against him. 
With my back to his front, he whispers in my ear, making my skin crawl.

“Leaving so soon?”  The smell
of alcohol is strong as his eager hands feel around my waist line.

“I need to get back to my
friends.”  Again, I attempt to pull out of his forceful grasp, but I’m met
with resistance.  Starting to feel nervous, I try to squirm out of his
touch, but fail.  His grip is much tighter than I expected.

His lips are against my earlobe
as he continues to whisper, “How about I take you home?  Where do you
live, baby?”

My patience is lost.  I turn
to face him and look him dead in the eyes.  Thinking he won this battle,
his lips curl up in a presumptuous smile. “Sam, I don’t know of a nice way to
say this, but I’m not interested.  I said it was nice to meet you, and now
you need to let go of me before I scream.”  I push against his chest, but
feel his arm around my waist tighten.

“Oh, I see what’s going on. 
You’re one of
those
gold diggin’ bitches!” he huffs, loudly.

“Really, asshole?  You
bought me one drink, not a trip around the world.  Let-Me-Go.”

Not getting a chance to open my mouth
and shout to the rooftops, a force came down on Sam’s arm, effectively removing
his hold against my waist.  At the same time, another arm swoops in and
wraps around me, pulling me close.  His muscular build rests against my
back as the scent of citrus calms me.  I would recognize that scent
anywhere.  Turning in his arms, I look into his beautiful face.  His
brows furrow as his piercing blue eyes are ablaze with anger.  Looking
every bit the protector, he repositions me behind him, putting himself between
me and Sam.