OVER THE last few months, Alexa barely managed to keep her life in order. She had started dating Jerome more seriously, but it did not stop her from having feelings for William. Unfortunately, days like today were impossible to avoid. When she first started working as a publicist for William, she expected to collect a tidy sum. What she did not expect was the impossibility of acting normal around someone she was so attracted to. She sighed.
Across the room, William looked up. “What’s the matter? I thought you said everything was about to be under control.”
Alexa shook her head. “No, everything is fine. I was thinking about something I need to get done around the house,” she lied.
William stood up and walked across the room. From behind her, he leaned in closer as he looked over the press releases she was working on. At this close range, she felt the sexual attraction oozing from his body. He ran his fingers through his hair and Alexa wished his hand was hers. She chided to herself… this was ridiculous. Everything was going so well with Jerome. If she wanted to stay faithful, she would need to leave now.
Abruptly, she stood up and shut the laptop screen. She turned around to come face-to-face with William. He waited for her to say something that could explain her sudden movement. At this close range, she could kiss him if she wanted to. His lips were so close to hers…
“I need to leave,” she explained as she tried to fumble with the zipper on her backpack. “I will send you the finished press releases later tonight. We should be able to finish this over e-mail or the phone.”
Confused, William nodded. He had no clue why she was acting so strange. Although he knew she had a boyfriend now, he never did anything to imply any non-chivalrous intent. “That’s fine. Just send it to my personal e-mail account. If I don’t answer right away, shoot me a text message and I’ll get to it right away.”
***
After driving around for a while, Alexa was able calm down enough to go home. She was taken. No matter what happened, she had to remember that fact. As she entered the apartment, she repeated this basic fact over and over in her mind. It did not matter. Despite her best efforts, the very thought of William aroused her.
Glancing at the clock, Alexa decided she could give in to her urges just this once. She would go home, run a bath and spend some time fantasizing about William. Having fantasies about him was not out of the question. Plenty of women fantasized about other men without acting on them. She frowned.
A sudden vibration surprised her. Reaching down, she realized her phone was buzzing. It was William. Flipping to the message with her fingers, she tried to read what it said while she pulled into the garage.
You left only moments ago, but I miss you already. I think I may have sent off the press release by mistake.
She groaned. Despite the cuteness of his message, William created additional work for her. Shaking her head, she messaged him back.
Don’t touch anything. I’ll fix it on Friday. :).
Exiting the car, Alexa climbed the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door and threw off her purse. Finally, she was home. Wandering into the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of wine. This would be perfect. She would start with a glass of wine, fill the tub and relax.
Turning around, Alexa dropped her wine glass. Standing in front of her was Jerome. Her mouth fell open as she tried to think of what to say.
Jerome shuffled his feet in an awkward manner. Now that she arrived home, he felt bashful and did not know what to say. Pulling the flowers out from behind his back, he held them out to Alexa. “I thought I would surprise you,” he whispered as he gave her a hopeful smile.
Alexa grinned. “This is so sweet. What’s the occasion?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I figured you needed something to brighten your day. You’ve been working with that one client so much lately that I never see you.”
Alexa felt a pain in her heart. He had waited for her with the intention of surprising her. Jerome was so sweet and she had spent the last few minutes fantasizing about William. Smiling, she took the flowers and tried to hide her guilty expression. “That’s amazing. It’s supposed to be over by Friday, so I’ll have some extra time to spend with you, Jerome.”