Delusional Love (2nd Edition) (6 page)

“No
I’m fine, the security guard is going to walk me to my car, thank you for
asking.” With that said she headed to the security station where Ralph the
security guard was waiting.

Ivan
went back into his office, poured himself a drink and sat down in his chair.
‘I don’t know if I can continue to work with
her. Why can’t I get her out of my mind?’

Ivan
thought he could come into the office late to get some work done without any
distractions but there she was and why was she still working. He turned in his
chair to look at the city’s skyline.

‘God she’s beautiful.’
The thought of
her caused his manhood to twitch.
‘What
the hell is wrong with me?’
 
He
drained the remainder of his drink and began to review the file Stephanie had
given him.

“Well,
Ms. Young, it appears that you do have a knack for this job.”
 
He said aloud.

Her
reports were thorough, concise and complete. He had to admit that he could not
have done a better job himself. He may have actually found someone whose work
impressed him more than Bridget.

-----------

When
Stephanie walked in her door she went straight to the kitchen. She poured
herself a glass of wine, decided to forget dinner, and took a long hot shower.

CHAPTER FIVE

FRIDAY
JUNE 17
^th

Betty
walked into the office at seven thirty in the morning ready to email the reports
to Mr. Quinn. She searched her desk for the reports when she heard noise coming
from Mr. Quinn’s office. She entered the office to find Mr. Quinn at his desk.

“Good
morning, Mr. Quinn, did you get the reports from Ms. Young?”

“Yes,
I did. Thank you.”

Betty
started to walk out of the office, but then turned around.

“Mr.
Quinn, I need to tell you something.”

“What
is it?” He said sounding
irritated,
he was not in the
mood for office gossip.

“Well,
the assignments you left on my desk for Ms. Young...”

“I
have them.” He replied as he looked up. “Is that all?

“No.
I wanted you to know that I did not see the Reynolds’s files until yesterday.
The folder was under a different pile of work. I gave them to Ms. Young
yesterday afternoon, I’m sorry, sir. I thought that I had gone through the pile
but I missed those assignments. Betty continued as she stumbled over her words.
“I don’t want you to be upset with Ms. Young…” He interrupted.

“Well,
the reports were handed in on time, so don’t worry about it, but going forward
we cannot have those kinds of slip-ups. You know the type of work we do here.
Everything is time sensitive and one missed deadline could cost this company
millions and could cost someone their job. Are we clear?”

“Yes
sir.” Betty responded.

“Is
there anything else, Mrs. Connors?” Betty shook her head and started to walk
out of the office. She knew he was angry because he only called her by last
name when he was truly upset with her.

“Mrs.
Connors, please tell Ms. Young I would like to see her when she gets in.”

“Yes
sir.”
 
She exited the office closing
the door behind her.

‘So, Ms. Young, you were just given the
assignment yesterday afternoon.’
Ivan was truly impressed that she was able
to turn out such quality work in a short period of time. He could tell by their
first conversation that she was feisty and did not have a problem speaking her
mind. So why didn’t she take the opportunity to correct him when he chastised
her about taking this job seriously and questioning her competence?
 
He still couldn’t get over the work she
produced. Maybe they could work together after all, if he could just keep his
hard-on in check for the sake of the company.

Stephanie
walked into the office and was immediately greeted by Betty.

“I
want to thank you again for yesterday. You did not have to do what you did and
I won’t forget it. If you need anything just ask.”

“Stop
Betty, its fine. We got the work done and no one’s the wiser.”

“Except
for Mr. Quinn,” Betty blurted out.

“What,
how did he find out? Was there a problem with the report?”
 
Stephanie said nervously.

“He
knows because I told him. I could not let you take the blame for my mistake.”

“That
was not necessary Betty, I had it handled.”

“Well,
he is in his office and he would like to speak with you. Good luck.”

Stephanie
put here belongs away and knocked on Mr. Quinn’s door. “Come!”

She
walked into the office and took a seat in front of his desk. His head was down
reviewing documents. She spoke first.

“Betty
said you wanted to see me.” He looked up.

“Yes,
it seems I owe you an apology. I had an interesting conversation with Betty,
when I spoke with you last night you should have told me that you had just
received the assignment. I would not have expected you to complete it in such a
short time frame.” He waited for a response but there was none so he continued,
“With that being said, I was very impressed with your work. There were a few
changes but overall job well done.

Stephanie
looked into his eyes and she could see the sincerity. She smiled, pleased with
herself. “Thank you Mr. Quinn, but…”

“Please
call me Ivan.”

“Okay
Ivan, I do have a few questions regarding your comments on the other reports
and I would like to discuss them with you.”

Ivan
sat back in his chair trying to control the erection he was getting from just
listening to her voice.

“No
time like the present. Get the reports and we can review them now.”

For
the next hour they discussed the reports, new assignments and his expectations
of his assistants. When the meeting ended, Ivan said,

“It
appears I owe you dinner, as both an apology and a thank you for going above
and beyond what is expected of you.”

“That’s
not necessary, you don’t have to do that.”

“I
know I don’t have to, but I want to and we can make it a working dinner if that
will make you comfortable. I can pick you up at seven o’clock.”

He
stood up indicating that the meeting was over. She walked to the door and spun
around before exiting, catching Ivan staring at her ass. He immediately looked
up to meet her eyes.

“You
don’t even know where I live.”

“Of
course I do. I will pick you up at seven sharp.”

He
picked up his phone and started dialing. Stephanie looked back then closed the
door behind her as she walked towards her desk. ‘
I believe I was just dismissed again.’

The
rest of the day flew by. Ivan came out of his office about two o’clock and told
Stephanie to take the rest of the day off because she worked late yesterday.

“Don't
forget, seven o’clock sharp.” Stephanie gave him a faint smile as she gathered
her belongings.

“What’s
happening at seven o’clock sharp?” Betty whispered. Stephanie started to answer
the question but decided against it.

“Wait,
what’s at seven o’clock sharp?”

“It’s
nothing Betty. Have a great weekend.” She smiled and waved to Betty as she
headed out the door.

Stephanie
called Brianna on the way home.

“Hey
Bri.”

“Hey
yourself, why are you calling me from your cell phone in the middle of the day?
You didn’t get fired did you?” She said jokingly. She knew Stephanie was doing
a great job because she had just received a report on how wonderful she was
working out.

“No,
I was given the rest of the afternoon off because I’m doing such a great job
and I was also invited to dinner by my boss.”

“You
are kidding me Steph. You are going on a date with your boss?” Brianna said
excitedly.

“Wow,
wait a minute no one said it was a date. It’s a working dinner, that’s all.”

“Okay,
whatever. You are going out to dinner on a Friday night. Call it what you want.
I call it a date.”

“Don’t
start Bri. You know he can barely tolerate me, let alone consider asking me
out. It is all about work.” Although a small part of her wished it was a date
because she considered her boss one of the sexiest men she had ever seen, but
she knew she was definitely not his type.

“Hey
Bri. What time are you leaving work, I need to talk to you and I would kind of
like to do it before dinner with Mr. Quinn.”

“Not
a problem. Should I call Tara?”

“That
would be good, you both can pull me off the ledge.” They both laughed.

“See
you in a few,” Brianna said before disconnecting.

This
dinner was bothering her, she was definitely attracted to her arrogant boss and
that was a definite NO
NO
.

----------

Why the
hell was he complicating his life even more by taking Stephanie to dinner? He
knew when he asked her that it would not be a working dinner, but he needed to
see and talk to her outside of the workplace. He didn’t understand the strong
attraction he had to her. It was definitely a foreign feeling for him and he
needed to figure out how to stop it before it became a serious problem.

-----------

Ashley
was still fuming the next day after her conversation with Ivan.
‘If you think that you are
getting rid of me that easily Ivan, you
need
to think again.
I know you
love me and you don’t want to admit it. I won’t let you get rid of me because I
love you too.’

She
dialed her cell phone and waited.

“Hey,
are you still in your office?
 
Good!
I need to talk to you. I am heading over now. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

--------

The
doorbell rang and Stephanie let Brianna and Tara in.

“So
what’s this I hear about you getting your swirl on with your boss?” Tara said
while smiling.

“You
can be so crude at times. It’s just a business dinner,” Stephanie said. “You
guys want something to drink?” They said “Wine.” in unison.
 
It was five o’clock and she still had
time before getting ready for dinner.

“So,
what’s up Steph, why did you need us to come over?”

“Well,
I need some advice. I’ve told you how handsome Ivan Quinn is, but what I did
not tell you is that I really feel a strong connection to him. I mean I can’t
explain it, but when I’m near him my heart rate speeds up and my palms get
sweaty. I don’t know if I trust myself around him. I’m not saying I will turn
into Tara and open my legs if he smiles at me,” she said as she eyed Tara with
a smirk before continuing.

“But
this is scaring me because he is my boss.”

“Real
funny, Steph. I am not that easy but I will not deny myself the affections of a
handsome man if I am attracted to him.” Tara clarified.

“I’m
joking Ty. You know I love you, but seriously, I
need……”
Just then Stephanie noticed that the side of Tara’s face was swollen. “Ty what the
hell happened to your face.” Brianna moved closer to Tara to inspect the
bruise.

“What
is that?” Brianna said concerned. Tara tried to use makeup to hide it but it
was still a little visible. “It’s nothing, I was making a cup of tea and left
the cabinet door open and walked right into it. It looks worse than it feels.”
She was hoping her friends wouldn’t question her story because she was close to
telling them everything but was too embarrassed and decided against it.

“This
isn’t about me, it’s about your date with your hot boss.”

“It’s
not a date and I do need some advice on handling this situation.”

“Wow,
I have never heard you talk about any of your ex-boyfriends like this.” Brianna
said and gave Stephanie a serious look. She continued. “Here’s what I think
Steph, you are an extremely beautiful, intelligent woman who deserves to be
happy. You are always putting everyone’s needs ahead of your own. I say if the
attraction is there, go for it and let the chips fall where they may.” Brianna
looked at Tara for confirmation and Tara nodded.

“Okay,
Bri I can’t believe that we are actually on the same page. You know I am the
first to say do what makes you feel good. Life’s too short but I do say guard
your heart Steph.” She said with emphases on her statement. “You tend to open
your heart freely and have had it broken in the process. I love you and I just
want you to find happiness.
  
Speaking of love and happiness, I have a date tonight with the
incredibly handsome and well-endowed Mr. Pierce
an
with any luck, he will be putting that endowment to work tonight” Tara said as
she licked her lips.

“TMI
Ty.” Brianna said.

“You
are such a hoe.” Laughed Stephanie. “But seriously thanks guys.” Stephanie gave
them a group hug. “I guess I better get ready for dinner.
 
I will call you ladies later.”

They
let themselves out as Stephanie prepared for her working dinner. She decided to
wear a wrap-around sleeveless black dress.
 
She gave herself one more look in the mirror before going to the living
room. The doorbell rang, Stephanie looked at her watch,
‘seven o’clock exactly.’

Ivan
had been sitting in his car for the last fifteen minutes. He could not wait to
be alone with Stephanie outside of work; he wanted to give her his undivided
attention.
To hear her voice, to touch her, to kiss her, to
fuck her.
‘What the hell is wrong
with me? I run a goddamn billion dollar corporation and I can’t get my fucking
emotions under control with this a woman.’