He smiles when he notices me in the doorway. Isaac leans back in his chair and rubs his hand over the back of his blonde head. “Come in. Have a seat.”
I sit stiffly in the chair across from him after laying the letters on his desk. He inspects each letter one by one, carefully reading over my work right in front of me.
I try to relax a little, but every muscle in my body is clenched tight. It’s hard being judged, especially by a man who wants to date me. The last thing I want is for him to think I’m a moron and question why he hired me in the first place.
I cross my ankles together and tug at my skirt while I wait on him to say something. The corner of his mouth twitches at one point and my heart squeezes for a second. “Something wrong?”
He glances up. “Oh, no. It’s great.”
My shoulders relax. “Okay good.” I stand and hold my hand out to collect the papers from him. “How soon would you like me to send these to potential sponsors?”
He grimaces and pulls the papers away from my grasp. “Actually, I was thinking of rewriting these.”
I tilt my head. “I thought you said they’re great.”
He bites his lip. “They are great…for a first try. You haven’t quite hooked the reader with your sales points. The bones are there, but I need to spruce it up a little for you before you send them out.”
“You don’t think I’m capable of correcting my own work?”
He shakes his head. “No. no. You misunderstand. I want your work to shine.”
I frown. “Yeah, but if you fix it, it won’t be my work anymore. It’ll be yours, Isaac. Lying about my skills and sleeping with my boss is not how I intend on moving up in this company.”
He stands and motions with his hands for me to keep my voice down and then he points towards the open door. “Look. It’s not like that, okay. I see how bright you are. You’re a hard worker and someday you’ll do big things on your own. I’m trying to help you get to the next level faster.”
“I don’t want to move on any faster than I’m ready for.”
“Is that why you haven’t named a date when we can go out again?”
My stomach clenches. “I want to take things slow, okay. I have the habit of moving too fast in relationships and always wind up getting hurt. I want to change that. I want to start taking things slowly. I’m tired of all the flings. I want to find someone who is real and genuine—someone who loves me for me.”
Isaac steps around the desk and closes the door. He turns to face me once we are trapped inside alone. He takes a step toward me then takes my hand. “Well, maybe I can be that for you. I like you, Aubrey. I want to see where this goes. I’m a patient man. I’ll give you time to see that maybe we can be more if you let it.”
I stare down at our fingers twined together and think about how it feels nice, but it’s missing that spark—the one filled with excitement. I’m attracted to Isaac, but the chemistry between us feels forced. It doesn’t feel natural. Maybe this is how it is when you settle for something you don’t really want. I know deep down my heart craves Zach, but he’s too unpredictable. He’ll only hurt me. Isaac is the safe way to go, but my feelings for him won’t be instant. “I think I’m going to need lots of time.
He nods as I glance up at his face. “That, I can give you.”
We stand still for a few more seconds, waiting on the other to make a move. Finally, he says, “Guess we should get back to work. I’ll have these edited and back to you by the end of the day.”
I smile as he lets go of my hand. “Thank you.”
I rush out of the room, needing space to figure out what the hell just happened in there. One minute we’re talking about work, the next minute he’s trying to figure out our relationship.
I rub my forehead. A rush of pain hits me between the eyes. I haven’t had a stress headache since my last week of finals in college.
I pull open my bottom desk drawer and open my purse to look for the Tylenol. I notice a little blue message light flick on my phone, indicating a message. I tap my screen. There’s a missed call and a message from Zach.
I lean back in my chair and play the message. He has about the worst timing in the world.
“Aubrey, hi, it’s me. I know I fucked up by not calling you. It’s what I always do—fuck things up. I won’t blame you if you tell me to go jump into traffic or something, but I would really like a chance to apologize. Call me back when you get this.”
My teeth pinch the inside of my lip between them. This is exactly what a relationship with him would be like—constant fighting and breaking up. I don’t want that. I’ve been through those enough already.
I throw my phone back inside my purse and slam the drawer shut. My co-worker, Sadie, at the next desk over whips her head in my direction wearing a scowl on her face.
I throw my hands up. “Sorry.”
Sadie rolls her eyes and turns back to her computer. God I miss Lanie at times like this. Most of these people are stuck up asshats. She helped liven this place up a little. I haven’t heard much from her over the past few days—not since Noel cornered her into staying because she’s contracted to stay on the tour.
I need to call her and check in—make sure everything is okay with her.
I turn my attention back to my computer and an instant message pops up from Zach.
Zach: You around?
He’s persistent when he wants to be. Too bad he isn’t consistent on his follow through. I was so close to giving into him and trying a relationship with him against my better judgment. It’s actually a great thing he blew me off the way he did. I got to see his true colors early.