Moments of Julian (3 page)

Mr. Vincent looks from the stranger to
me and back again. It is easy to tell from his expression he would
very much like to keep me here and wring any secrets I might hold
from me, but he won’t make a scene in public.

“
Of course. I wouldn’t
want to deny you the company of this lovely woman.” He eyes me once
again and everything in them tells me he doesn’t believe what I’ve
said. But he turns, and walks away.

When Gareth glances over his shoulder,
the stranger wraps one hand around my waist, and takes my hand in
his.

“
One of the downfalls of
working with clients; having to kiss dirty, disgusting asses,” he
says, still glaring in Mr. Vincent’s direction. “Right?”

I am very well practiced at looking
calm and confident; it comes second nature. But something about Mr.
Vincent’s accusations has shaken me. “Yeah,” is all I manage to get
out.

“
You’re welcome for the
rescue.” Suddenly his voice is low in my ear and I faintly feel his
lips brush my ear.

“
Know I don’t say this
often,” I say, my confidence quickly returning. “But thank
you.”

“
What did the dick want,
anyway?” His hand slides around my back a bit more and his
fingertips brush my bare back.

It is just warm enough in here to keep
the goosebumps from rising on my entire body.

“
Company secrets,” I say,
trying to sound dismissive. “He obviously doesn’t know what he’s
talking about. I think it was just an excuse to get his hands on
me.”

He’s quiet and contemplative for just
a moment too long and I wonder what he’s thinking about. “Hmm,” he
finally says. “Who can blame him?”

Feeling completely normal again, a
smile curls on my lips. He pulls me slightly tighter.

“
Are you flirting with
me?” I ask, letting my voice drop low and quiet.

A small laugh comes between his lips.
“Well, if you could dance, I’d already have you in my bed, but
since you’ve already stepped on my toes twice in the last two
minutes, I’m having second thoughts.”

I pull away from him slightly so I
have a clear view of his face. “Excuse me?” I say in half mock,
half real offense. “We are simply shuffling in a circle. How could
you possibly tell I am a bad dancer? And I did no such thing as
stepping on your toes.”

His smile curls once again and he
drops the hand that was at my waist. Keeping my hand in his other,
he takes one step toward the front door. “I could use some fresh
air,” he says. “How about you?”

I’m half tempted to tell him to go
find someone else to insult, but it is hot and stuffy in here.
Knowing I’m probably setting myself up for a bantering blowout, I
allow him to lead me through the crowd.

The noise and music instantly die away
when we walk through the glass doors. It’s nearing ten o’clock and
all the streetlights around are on, adorned by lights twinkling
from windows further in the distance. There might be stars
overhead, but they’re covered by a thick layer of Washington late
spring clouds. They reflect back a soft city-orange hue.

“
I’m sorry about that
idiot,” he says as he lets my hand go. He walks to one wall and
leans against it, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Any man
should know that’s no way to treat a woman.”

“
I know I said thank you
earlier,” I say as I wrap my fingers around the other wrist behind
my back. “But I could have handled him myself.”

“
I don’t doubt it,” he
says as those intense eyes stare at me. “I get the feeling you
could be quite terrifying if you want to be.”

“
I’ve been told that
before,” I say as I take two lazy steps toward him. “It usually
works pretty well in keeping most men away.”

“
Is there a reason you
like keeping men away?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“
I’m not a lesbian,” I
defend, though not in the least bit offended. It wouldn’t be the
first time I’ve been accused of it. “So don’t let your imagination
start running away from you.”

He shrugs and gives a little cock of
his head to the side. “Just checking to make sure I’m not wasting
my time.”

“
Wasting your time doing
what?” I am now only two feet away from him. Away from the packed
room filled with well-dressed but overheated bodies, I catch the
scent of him: clean and crisp and sophisticated.

“
I don’t know yet,” he
says. “But I sense it’s going to be something fairly
epic.”

I can’t help it when a full on smile
spreads on my face. Mine breaks one on his as well. He licks his
bottom lip and then bites it, trying to contain his
grin.

“
Do you always try to hook
up with strangers at parties that you crash?”

He stands up straight and we are
suddenly only inches apart.

“
I told you, any party I
attend never crashes,” he whispers.

“
Sage?”

I jerk away from the stranger and whip
around to see Gretchen looking completely embarrassed and trying to
divert her eyes.

“
I am so sorry!” she says,
turning her back to us. “But Mr. Maxwell is demanding to see you
right now. He is
not
happy.”

My heart is trying to jackhammer out
my chest and ears and I can tell my face is beet red. I glance at
the stranger, my arms wrapping around my middle in an attempt to
calm my blood down.

Not sure whether to feel humiliated or
angry, I turn and walk past Gretch and back into the building. My
pulse is still skyrocketing. Not just from the heat of the moment
and the embarrassment, but from nervous anticipation.

There has been only one
other time that the words
Mr. Maxwell
isn’t happy
were directed at me and I
smoothed that out in a matter of minutes.

What could he possibly be unhappy with
me about this evening?

I push the up button and nervously
wait for the elevator to open.

As one would expect. Mr. Maxwell’s
office is on the tenth floor and has a view of the lake. The all
glass walls of his office reveal him sitting at his desk. Corbin
Matters, the company’s CEO, is sitting in a chair across from him.
They are talking heatedly.

I knock on the door, pushing my nerves
down and reclaiming my air of calm and confidence. They both look
at me at the same time and Mr. Maxwell waves me in.

“
One of our clients is
telling me something very troubling,” he starts in before I even
cross the threshold. I let the door close behind me and am not sure
if I should sit down or stand before him like a school girl being
reprimanded by the principle.

“
Have you been telling
people we have a new product coming out?” he asks. His face is
turning purple with anger.

“
Of course not,” I say,
trying my best to not sound defensive. “We don’t have a new product
coming out.” I want to add a
do we?
but know it won’t help anything.

“
Then why is one of our
most important clients telling Corbin he wants details on this new
product before anyone else, that he wants first trial claims? What
have you been telling people, Sage?”

“
Sir,” I say, keeping my
voice firm. “I do not know anything about a new product. I do know
that this client cornered me with questions and the proceeded to
get handsy. It was uncomfortable, but I managed to get out of it
without upsetting anyone.”

Mr. Maxwell eyes me fiercely and I can
tell he really wants to have someone’s head on this, mine, or
anyone else’s. But he will also not chase off the person who has
made him so rich with no proof.

I glance at Corbin, who is staring at
me. His lips are pressed into a thin line, his hands folded on his
lap.

“
If you ever hear anyone
else talking about this,” Mr. Maxwell says, making an obvious
effort to calm his voice. “I want you to tell me immediately. I
will not have anyone spreading lies about my company.”

“
Yes, sir,” I
say.

“
Leave.”

My brows furrow and
suddenly
I
want
someone’s head. No one talks to me this way.

But, knowing where my
place is, that I
do
work for
him
, I turn, and walk back out the door.

On the elevator ride down, my blood
gets hotter and hotter and I have the very strong urge to hit
something.

What is going on? Clients are hounding
me about technology that doesn’t exist. My boss is worked up over
what should be a non-issue. The CEO sits there silent and something
about his presence there was disturbing.

This company owes me more respect than
it has shown me tonight, after everything I’ve done for
it.

The elevator opens and the noise and
the smell of alcohol and sweat make my anger flare more. I storm to
the coat check, claim my jacket, and head back to the
elevator.

The door slides open and not expecting
anyone else to be inside, I nearly collide with someone.

Of course it’s him.

“
Well, hello
again.”

A person can only bottle up so much
and hold so many strong emotions before they come out in violent
and unexpected ways.

My hands are on his chest and I shove
him, hard, against the elevator wall as the door slides
closed.

I don’t give him a second to protest
before my lips crush into his.

His hands go to my hips and mine are
tangled in his hair. Every nerve ending and muscle in my body has
leapt to life and I am on fire.

His lips are urgent and fierce, but
not nearly as much as mine. I am frustrated and confused and angry
and suddenly so, so hungry.

The elevator opens onto the garage
level.

“
Whoa,” someone says. I
turn and see a balding man looking at us, very red and embarrassed.
“Uh, excuse me. Just going upstairs to the party.”

I grab the stranger’s hand and pull
him out of the elevator.

Thankfully my car is just steps away.
I pull his lips to mine, my arms looping behind his neck while I
fiddle in my purse for the keys. He turns us and my back is pressed
to the door and his body molds itself against mine.

Keys finally found, I unlock the
doors. He reaches around me, pulls the door open, and we topple
inside onto the back seat.

“
You should know I am
extremely pissed off at my boss, and I am using you right now,” I
say as his lips trail to my neck. My legs spread as he knees
between them to gain balance on the seat. One of my heeled feet
pokes out the door.

“
For right now, I am
perfectly okay with that,” he growls into my neck.

My fingers knot in his hair and I pull
his lips toward mine again. My lips part at the same time his
do.

My head is pressing uncomfortably into
the door so I try to get my elbows under me to raise my lower half.
Bending a leg to push myself up, suddenly my fifteen hundred dollar
dress rips up the side.

The stranger looks down at it, my
entire leg exposed from ankle to upper thigh. He looks back at me,
a coy grin on his face.

“
Just so you know,” I say
as his lips once again return to mine. “I will not have sex with
you, but I plan to do just about everything else
tonight.”

“
I am perfectly okay with
that, too,” he says as his hand runs up my thigh.

CHAPTER TWO

Saturday was a bust.

I went for a run, but found my mind
wandering so bad that it turned into a walk. Avia invited me to
lunch, and thinking that might get my mind off things, I went. But
I ended up getting her so worked up by ignoring her, she left,
thinking I was mad at her.

I even snapped at Kale for not getting
home until four in the morning.

Seriously, I normally don’t care about
things like that. He’s an adult.

But my mind was occupied by other
things and my body was sitting on the edge of
frustration.

I couldn’t get the man from the
banquet out of my head. I couldn’t get the taste of his lips off of
mine. I couldn’t forget the feeling of his hands on my hips. I
couldn’t help but recall the way his entire body shaped to mine and
how every nerve ending in my body felt like a firework ready to
explode.

But I never even asked his
name.

“
Sage!” Kale yells from
downstairs Sunday afternoon. “Mom is going to kill you if we’re
late!”

“
I’m coming, just two
seconds!” I shout back as I slide my earring into place and put the
backer on.

I take one more look in the
full-length mirror.

Mom and Dad don’t love my sense of
fashion but I can’t bring myself to dress down any more than I am
now.

Slim fitting leather pants hug my legs
from ankle to hip. A loose silk shirt is covered in a black blazer
that comes to my forearms. A thick gold bangle wraps around my left
wrist and my hair is in a loose knot at the base of my
neck.