Yes. Yes, that is what came out of my mouth. If my blatant staring wasn’t enough, I actually asked the man how he cultivated his perfect muscles. Felix’s eyebrows shot up, and his severe frown was replaced by a small smirk. I felt my face flood with heat, but even with my embarrassment, I was thrilled to see the dimple on his right cheek finally make an appearance.
“Er… any chance we could forget I just said that?” My voice was muffled as I’d buried my face in my hands in mortification.
“I have a home gym,”Felix told me. “And I get up at five every day.”
“Every day?” I squeaked out, managing to lower my hands to look at him. “Even on weekends?”
“Even on weekends.”
“Bloody hell, you must be exhausted.”
“It’s called discipline, Lucy.”
I scowled out of the window. There was that superior tone again. I was so tired of being talked down to. There were different types of discipline. Okay, so mine was of the more haphazard variety, but that didn’t mean I never achieved anything. And, to add insult to injury, I just could not stop shaking. Felix glanced at me as we pulled up to another traffic light and frowned again.
“Why were you walking to get coffee in a heavy downpour?”
“I told you,” I said through chattering teeth. “I was being a good assistant. Mr Brent wanted coffee for his meeting.”
“He can get it at the office.”
“He didn’t want shitty instant coffee.”
“But—”
“Felix, you’ve got a fancy coffee machine inyourfancy office. The rest of us have to survive on instant.” Yet another example of the ridiculous hierarchical system at work. The partners hogged all the coffee, most of the space and even all the natural daylight. It was the least open environment I’d ever set foot in. The sad state of the withering mini tree I’d brought in during my first week, back when I didn’t realise the office was where dreams and plants came to die, was a good representation of the general vibe there.
When we made it back to the office car park, I shoved Felix’s coat at him and jumped out of the car at double speed, bookingit to the lift and hoping that he wouldn’t be able to keep up. This hope was in vain, seeing as his legs were much longer than mine, andhedidn’t have to wear ridiculous death-trap shoes.
When we were standing in the lift, I started shivering again, and he put his coat over my shoulders. The combination of his hand brushing my neck as he did that and the clean, masculine scent coming off his suit jacket was enough to make my cheeks feel like they were on fire despite how freezing I was. When I glanced at Felix, his jaw was clenched tightly as he stared ahead, his fists bunched by his side. He looked almost angry. Well, I didn’t ask him to stop and force me into his bloody car. What a high-handed prick.
As soon as the lift doors opened he strode away without a word, and I followed, feeling like a total weirdo. The office fell silent as we emerged into the common space. We were both still soaked and dripping water onto the carpet. I thought Felix would duck into his office, happy to be away from me, but then he took off in the opposite direction. By the time I realised where he was heading, it was too late.
“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at, Brent?” Felix had thrown open the door to Will’s office and was glowering at Will and the two other executives from the doorway.
Will cleared his throat. “Er… problem, Felix?”
“Yes there’s a fucking problem, you twat,” Felix snapped. Oh dear, I knew very well how things would go for me if Felix had a go at Will. The be-a-total-shit-to-Lucy campaign would ramp up significantly. I rushed forward to try to stop him but unfortunately tripped over those stupid heels when I was a foot away. I would have face-planted into Will’s office had Felix’s strong arm not shot out to catch me around my waist and haul me back up to my feet. My hands had automatically gone to his arm to steady myself, and I could feel the hard muscles undermy fingers through the still-damp shirt. His jaw clenched again, and he looked almost in pain before he abruptly let go of me once I was stable, stepping back like I had a contagious disease.
I heard Will mutter, “Fucking liability,” under his breath. If someone could die of embarrassment, I would have expired on the spot. There were some chuckles from the other two men in the room before Felix shot them a furious look that I was surprised didn’t incinerate them in their seats. David at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself.
“Don’t send Lucy out to get coffees in a fucking rainstorm.”
“Look, I’m sorry, Felix,” Will said, his voice full of frustration. “I didn’t realise it was raining.” Felix’s eyebrows went up. Rain was currently beating against Will’s windows. Will huffed. “And exactly what else do you expect I ask her to do? She doesn’t even answer the phone properly half the time.”
“Felix, please,” I begged, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. “Just let it go.”
He glanced at me. His eyes flashed as he tracked a raindrop splash from my eyelashes onto my cheek, and he huffed out a sigh.
“No more errands in the bloody rain,” he said, turning back to Will and pointing at him. “And you two better watch yourselves as well.” Geoffrey’s small smirk dropped, and he sank back in his chair. David shot me an apologetic look. Felix spun on his heel, ushered me out in front of him and slammed the door to Will’s office behind us. Then he turned to me.
“Don’t let him push you around.”
I frowned at him. “Don’t fight my battles for me.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared up at him. “You’ll only make it worse. Anyway, you yourself told me that I should be a better assistant. That does actually mean doing what the man says, you realise?”
His hand went to the back of his neck, and his headdropped back to look up at the ceiling. There was so much pec, biceps and forearm muscle action under the wet shirt involved in that manoeuvre that I felt my mouth go completely dry.
“You come to me if he gives you any more grief. Right?” He was looking at me again now as he crossed his arms over his chest. My eyes slid to the side. I was not going to go to Felix if I had another problem with Will. Why he thought I would was a total mystery. Nobody complained in this soulless place, and he was the very last person I’d run to if there was a problem. He already thought I was totally useless and spineless.
