I was in bed, listening to my neighbour argue with her boyfriend about him
The patina grey oak laminated flooring made me want to dig it up and take it home with me. The walls were white with partially protruding polished grey oak trees. The left had polish pine stools along the walls forming an L in the corner and in front of them was a white squared table. The right had the same setup but the difference was the elevator in the center of the right wall and a security guard stood beside it. There were three opaque glass partitions on both sides, three feet away from the sitting area. They were set in a parallel line beside each other and equally spaced. Each partition had water running into a square hole. There was also a pine partition with Spectrum in gold letters behind the secretary's desk. The desk was polished pine, forming a semi-circle around—Parker! Parker from Starbucks. He's dressed in white with a black and gold tie. The place looks great, Joel. It really does.
I turned to ask Michael what's going on but to my surprise the man standing there wasn't Michael. He's tall and in his early fifties with blue eyes and a crooked smile. He's dress in a dark suit with a black and gold geometric tie. I smiled back. "Umm...sorry to bother you but.......what is going on? And where is Michael?"
"I have no idea. Sorry...but I do know Michael is Mr Pereira's driver or something like that." He replied.
"Driver?." I said under my breath. "Oh...I'm Aubrey."
His smile fell. "Oh. I'm sorry my dear but Mr Pereira had instructed me to send you home until Monday." I frowned. Why didn't he tell me this last night? And here I was feeling guilty for being late..
"Why next Monday?" I asked before I broke into a coughing fit. "Sorry."
"He didn't say." He replied. "My name is Benjamin."
"Well...nice to meet you, Benjamin. I'll see you Monday." I told him as I turned on my heel. I spun around when I heard Bethany's voice. She was struggling to run in her heels. Even Beth was wearing a uniform. A black dress embroidered with golden geometric shapes. I jogged to meet her. She looked tired. "Beth, what's going on?" I asked. She flashed her straight teeth at me nervously.
"Bre, it's best we talk elsewhere." She replied quickly, looking around.
"What? Why?"
"Just come with me." She said pulling me by my arm. "Morning again, Benny." She said as she pulled me to the elevator.
"Morning, Miss Nicholas." He replied. "Bye Miss Aubrey."
"Bye Benjamin," I told him before she pulled me to the elevator. She pressed G and in a matter of minutes we were in the underground parking lot. Her red Mini Cooper was parked on the right-hand corner. I looked over my shoulder and saw the entire left corner was reserved for Joel. Four cars could've parked there. Why does he need that much space? She unlocked her car and we got in. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and attached it to her phone holder before she dialled Joelle's number. He answered on the fifth ring.
"Hey ba—"
"I have Aubrey with me and you're on speaker." She said cutting him off.
"Hey Aubrey!" Joelle said chuckling.
"Hi."
"Take her home b, her guard dog doesn't want her at work until Monday." He informed.
I looked at Beth. "Guard dog?" I whispered.
"Joel." She said dryly. Oh—don't call him that. "I will once I tell her what's going on."
"Ok , you have an hour," Joelle said.
"Good to know, why didn't Joel tell me himself?" I asked.
"I don't know I haven't heard from him since 1 am. He's got your flu and he's in a shitty mood so while he's out of commission I'm in charge—under his strict instruction of course." He informed.
"Oh."
"Yup. I gotta go, bye." He said.
"Bye," I told him before he hung up. She turned the engine and pulled out of the lot.
-
We stopped at a nearby pastry shop and ordered pie. Once I was done eating mine I turned to her. "Ok, what's going on?" I asked.
"Eli and Joel have started renovating." She replied and ate the last of her pie.
"I realised—the lobby looks amazing." I said. She nodded in agreement. "Is there anything else?" I asked.
"Felix Montgomery was arrested yesterday for sexual assault." She informed. My eyes widened.
"Finally," I whispered.
She widened her eyes slightly, nodding. "I know...this morning was the safest I've felt walking into management" She said. "You can thank your guard dog for that." I whined. Stop calling him that.
"Why do you guys call him that?" I asked. She smiled, shrugging. I rolled my eyes. "How did they catch him?"
"Joseph hired a PI a while back and Joel hired two more once he took over and they managed to gather enough evidence to put Felix away for a long time." You're joking. He's been here five days! Five! Joel you're amazing.
"What else is there?" I asked.
"A lot of people lost their jobs today—hence the circus in the lobby." I blinked at her.
"How many?
"Today 1/4 but Monday it'll be half."
"Half?" I repeated. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I wasn't given a reason. The evil overlord sent his list and I must obey." She replied and rolled her eyes.
"Wow."
"So many people lost their jobs.....it was torture sitting them down and firing them."
"I could only imagine," I said and massaged my aching temples. I dodged a bullet yesterday. I don't think I could have done it. "Who did he make you fire?"
"The first person was—"
"Let me guess...Dean?" She nodded. Joel you petty asshole. "Figured, who else." She gave me all the names but hesitated on the last name. "Spit it out already."
"Leila!" She blurted. I sat back in shocked. Leila? Why? Why would you do that?
"You're joking?" I whispered. She shook her head. I was angry. Why the hell would he do that? "Did you tell him she's a single mother of three with a mother with Dementia?"
She nodded. "I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen so I went to Eli and he wouldn't either."
This doesn't make sense—Leila is a hard worker. I couldn't find a reason why he'd fire her.
"Do you know where Joel is by any chance?" I asked. She nodded and gave an address to a hotel in Soho called Nomo Soho. "He's in a hotel? Doesn't he live at the plaza?" She shrugged.
"I don't know and I don't care." She said and got to her feet. "I can take you there if you want."
"That would be great thanks," I said getting up.
"Let's go."
-
The hotel is breathtaking. It was like stepping into a different world. I made my way to the front desk with a smile. "Hello my name is Aubrey Cabrera, I'm here to see Joel Pereira." I began, "he's.....he's expecting me." I lied.
"Room number?"
I chewed on my lip. "I can't recall."
"One moment please," he said and lifted the phone to his ear.
"Good evening, Mr Pereira," he began, "I have an Aubrey Cabrera—right away, sir." He hung up and gave me Joel's room number.
"Thank you." I said and made my way to the elevator. Once I was at his door I took a deep breath and knocked. My heart skipped a beat when I heard him approached the door. I stood up straight and summoned the little anger I had left. The moment he opened the door and smiled I loss my nerve. He was shirtless and had a scratch on his left shoulder. He wore his pj bottoms low on his narrow hips. I had to force my eyes not to trail down his V-line.
"Did you come to see if I'm sick or in hiding?" He said pettily. He tapped his red nose. "I—"
"Spear me. What the fuck, Pereira?" I spat. He furrowed his brows.
"Excuse me?" He questioned folding his arms. He leaned against the wall with his brows furrowed.
"You heard me. Why did you fire Leila?"
"That's none of you're business Aubrey." He said dryly. Yes, it is.
"It is!" I spat. "She's my best friend and an honest, hard—" He laughed when I said honest.
He stopped abruptly. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked, his eyes searching my face. He softened. "As I suspected—you had no clue what she was doing." He said under his breath. "You need to be more aware of the people you surround yourself with."
I frowned. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"Your 'friend' is a thief." He began, "she's been stealing from my father for years—using your computer." I stared at him in disbelief. I shook my head.
"That's slander." I croaked as I began remembering all the times Leila had asked to use my computer. She-she wouldn't do that. "No way," I said in disbelief.
"Tell that to the state attorney prosecuting your ' friend ' for identity theft and other offences." He informed.
"Where's your proof?" I asked.
"I have a police report on the bedside table if you'd like to look at it." He said. I nodded. I needed to see it for myself. I was shaking when he handed me the folder. Inside was a list of suspects and I was one of them. In fact I was the primary suspect until the 27th of September. The night Joel took care of me. I know I shouldn't be surprised but it's still disheartening. I closed the folder with tears in my eyes and handed it back to him.
"H-how was I cleared?" I asked, never meeting his gaze.
"My team hacked every device in the building and I personally went through yours." He replied.
"Did you suspect me?" I asked and quickly wiped away a tear. Was that the reason he was so nice to me? Or why he came over in the first place? Tears began rolling down my eyes faster than I could wipe them.
I sobbed when he lifted my face and wiped away my tears. I can't believe this was happening right under my nose. It breaks my heart—I trusted her. I could have been jailed you wretched woman. "No." He said.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not. I didn't suspect you but I couldn't rule out the possibility." He assured. "Everyone was a suspect until proven otherwise." I searched his face before pulling away from him.
"Thank you for your honesty." I said and turned to leave. Joel took my arm and pushed me against a wall. I gasped.
"Did I say you can leave, Miss Cabrera?" I stayed silent. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Answer me. Did I?" He questioned, cocking his head.
"No," I answered in a whisper.
"Exactly," he began, "none of it was your fault...don't cry, ok?" He whispered and dried my cheek. I nodded slowly. He licked his lips as his eyes fell to my lips briefly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" He questioned. I poked his nose.
"The way you are looking at me right now."
"I don't think I'm looking at you any differently than I normally do—"
"It's the hungry look you gave me the day we met." I interrupted him. He looked surprised.
"Hungry?" He repeated. I nodded. His eyes search my face and soon a smile grew against his lips. "I think you know why." He moulded our bodies and his hand circled around the back of my neck. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
"Do I?" I questioned. He pressed his lips against mine and we shuddered. He pulled away soon after and pressed his forehead against mine. Our heads swung to the left when we heard a door open. Joel took my hand and pulled me inside. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, staring at me. "If I wasn't your boss....what would we do right now?"
"N-n-nothing." I stuttered. I want you on top, I want to look in your eyes while you do dirty things to me. "Chess or monopoly." I lied. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Bullshit. Don't lie to me, Aubrey."
"It's not a lie." I lied again. "Ok, let's play Snakes n ladders." He pushed himself off the door and stood in front of me. His hands ran down my shoulders taking my coat with them. A breath got caught in my throat when it hit the ground. He smirked.
"Really, snakes n ladders?" He questioned. I didn't answer. Of course not, Joel but we can't do this. I don't want anything ruining our relationship. I don't want to lose you. I closed my eyes when his hands touched my face. "Let's pretend...I'm not your boss—just for a little bit." Pretend? But pretending won't quiet the elephant in the room. That big beautiful elephant knows I'm your employee and this is wrong. He pulled me into him and trailed gentle kisses down my neck. You're not making this easy.
"Joel." I moaned and shivered when he found my sweet spot. I dropped my bag and buried my fingers in his hair. "I knew you were lying." He said against my neck. Shut up and do it again. When his lips found mine, I found myself melting into him and before I knew it I was in his arms. He pulled away briefly with a smile but it fell when I bit my lip. "Stop biting that damn lip." He growled and walked to the bedroom. I let my lip go.
"Why can't I bite it?" I asked.
"It's a fucking turn on." He said and threw me on the bed. My heart skipped a beat. He pulled me to him by my ankles before taking off my shoes. I bit my lip and something ignited in his eyes. He freed my lip with his teeth. "If you only knew how long I wanted to do that." He whispered before he kissed me, taking my breath away. His tongue found mine and he held me tighter. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer. He pulled away and trailed kisses down my shoulder while his fingers worked on the buttons of my top. He pulled my top off my shoulders and placed a gentle hand on my breast and soon it was under my bra. My eyes sprung open.
"Stop," I said. He stopped and got off of me.
"What's wrong?" He asked through swollen lips. He reached for me and I moved away.
"I can't. I can't pretend. Don't get me wrong I want this—so, so badly....but I can't." I said and got to my feet. I threw on my shirt and heels. He gave me a tortured look. "I'm sorry." I said before I made my way to the door
"Aubrey." He said. I stopped and looked over my shoulder at him. "I want you." He confessed and got to his feet. I moved away when he got close. I want you too but we can't. I can't. I ran to the door before he could say anything else.
That night, I finished my second chapter and dreamt of Joel.
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