Page 110 of All the Ugly Things
I went to my desk, fingertips tingling with nerves and excitement.
I was on page three of paperwork when my phone buzzed in my purse. There were so few people who had my number, I figured it was Angie, wishing me luck.
Instead, it was Hudson.
Hope you have an excellent first day.
Can’t wait to hear about it.
By the way—you look beautiful.
All the remaining nerves I had about the kiss evaporated into thin air with the text. It was so simple. So needed. I grinned at the text for who knows how long but by the time Sandra returned, I hadn’t done a darn thing.
He thinks I’m beautiful.
27
Hudson
Ibarely concentrated all day. More than once Stephanie gave me awkward looks. Possibly because as she spoke, I nodded and mumbled and gave out commands and requests I had no memory of. Hell, I could have told her to go ahead and buy a company car, on me, for all I knew.
Lilly was two floors away and I couldn’t go see her. I couldn’t go talk to her. I couldn’t annoy her to death her very first day but all day long I was obsessed with her.
After lunch, Brandon finally responded to the many texts I’d sent him all morning asking how she was doing, demanding an update, asking him if she’d been to HR, if she knew where the cafeteria was for lunch.
His text was simple:Simmer down, asshole. She’s fine.
It told me everything. It told me nothing.
She was so close.
Living so close to me.
Working so close to me.
And here, in the office especially, I had to take my time and give her space.
Now, the workday was done and like I’d done this morning and waited in the condo lobby for her, I was doing the same thing at Valor Holdings. My dress shoes clicked a frantic pattern on the floor.
It was five. She should be done. Any minute she’d step off the elevators and then climb into my truck with me—that was currently sitting out front and warm because I’d already taken an Uber home and brought it back.
I had no desire to freeze over a walk home.
She finally stepped off the elevator. Her hair, perfectly curled this morning, now fell limply over her shoulders. Her eyes were tired but shone with a wearied excitement. She took my breath away in her outfit. Wide-leg pants that hid the thinness and shape of her legs but cupped her ass perfectly. A shirt that fell over her breasts elegantly and hid her curves perfectly. I’d barely resisted slamming my mouth to hers as soon as I saw her this morning and even tired at the end of the day she was still just as beautiful. I fisted my hands so I wouldn’t reach out and devour her in the lobby where every Valor Holdings employee could see. I’d promised her we’d go slow. It took everything in me to follow through on the promise.
“Hey,” she said, voice surprised when she saw me. “What are you doing here?”
I’d stopped my pacing when I first saw her, but I was still tightly wound. “Waiting for you to give you a ride home? How was your day?”
“Busy. But good. Sandra is really sweet.”
“She is. And she has the patience of a saint for working with Brandon so well.”
“I’m sure no one’s ever said the same about you and Stephanie.”
“Never. I’m a peach.”
“Sure you are.”
