“So, are you ready to sign it?” Max motioned to the paperwork on his desk, and I shook my head.
“I need to go home.” I looked at my phone and yawned. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day, and I need to think everything through.”
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” He looked up quickly, an unusual expression on his face, almost like fear. Why would he be scared that I was going to leave? That made no sense.
“I just need to process everything.” I pursed my lips. “I’ll still play my part. I just need to figure out what my boundaries are.”
“What your boundaries are?” He got up from his chair and walked over to me. “What do you mean, you need to figure out what your boundaries are?”
“We’re flirting, and while it’s all in good fun, I want to decide if I want to go there with you. There are many men out there, and well, I don’t know if I want to waste time with you.”
“Waste time with me?” His lips twitched. “You don’t think I’d be a good lover?”
“I don’t like to mix business with pleasure.”
“What if I do?”
“What if you do what?” I feigned ignorance, and he chuckled as he stood next to my chair.
“What if I want to kiss you?” He dropped to his knees and kissed the side of my cheek. “Here.” He kissed my nose. “And here.” He kissed my forehead. “And here.” He kissed me on the lips and stared into my eyes. “And here,” he murmured against my lips, and I felt his hand behind my head, playing with my hair as his tongue entered my mouth smoothly.
I kissed him back, enjoying the taste of coffee on his lips. His right hand found its way to my leg and he ran his fingers along my thigh. I was glad that I was wearing leggings so that he didn’t have easy access to slip under my skirt. I moaned as he bit down on my lower lip and then pulled away from me. “I take it that was acceptable?”
“Mm-hmm.” I didn’t really know how to answer that. I didn’t want to lie. It had been more than acceptable. His lips had tasted like manna. His touch had felt like warmth on a cold day. I craved more of him, needed more of him. I looked at his face and into his eyes and tried to read his expression. His eyebrows were furrowed as he gazed at me, his blue eyes dark with desire, his dark hair complementing his olive tan and his perfect white teeth completing his look of perfection.
“You remind me of a young Tom Selleck.” I gazed at him. “When he was in Magnum PI.”
“You know Magnum PI?” He looked surprised. “You seem a bit young to have watched that.”
“I’m twenty-five,” I said. “How old are you?”
“Thirty.” He grinned. “Most people only know him from Friends.”
“I loved him in Friends.” I grinned. “You look older than thirty.”
“Well, thanks.” He grimaced. “Glad to know I look old.”
“You don’t look old—” I said hastily and stopped as he started laughing. “Oh good, you’re not upset at me.”
“How could I be upset at you? You told me I look like Magnum PI.”
“You know the show?”
“Yeah, my best friend loved it.” He nodded. “How do you know it?”
“My family watched it all the time when I was growing up. My mom had a crush on Tom Selleck when she was younger, and we had the videos and then later the DVD collection.”
“Aww,” he smiled. “Makes sense.”
“We used to watch it as a family every Friday night.” I smiled as I thought back to my childhood. “Friday nights we’d watch Magnum PI, then on Saturday we’d go to the beach and possibly the mall, and then on Sunday, we’d go to church. Every single weekend was the same routine,” I said in a soft voice. “Until I was thirteen.”
“What happened when you were thirteen?” He looked at me curiously.
“Everything changed,” I said, and then, because I didn’t want to talk about my childhood anymore, I stood up. “You have a nice office.” I walked to the window behind his desk. “This is an awesome view.” I looked out and down Broadway and smiled as I watched the hundreds of people walking up and down the street. “I thought you’d have your office off of Wall Street or something.”
“I’m not the typical CEO.” He came and stood next to me. “As my fiancée, I thought you would have figured that out already.”
“Yeah,” I said as I looked at the photos he had by his bookshelf. There were no personal photos of him and other family members. No photos of him with any women. No photos with him and any friends, either. There was a photo of him holding a twenty-dollar bill and another of him with a golden retriever. Next to the photos, there was a degree from Harvard Business School and next to that there was a photo of a man in an Army uniform.
I looked at the photo and then turned to him. “Is that your dad?” I pointed to the photo.
“No.” He shook his head and then held up the photo next to his face. “It’s me.”
“You were in the Army?” I was surprised. Rich boys didn’t join the military. They didn’t have to.
“Yeah, for three years.” He stared into my eyes searching for something. I suddenly felt uncomfortable in his presence. What was he looking for?
“But you went to college and business school?” I was confused. “When did you enlist?”
“During college.” He looked away from me then. “I had some demons I needed to face. It made me a better man. A stronger man.”
“Did you need the GI Bill for your tuition?” I asked him hesitantly.
“No.” He shook his head, but he didn’t say anything else.
“Where were you stationed?”
“Bagram Air Base. Afghanistan.”
“Oh.” I felt cold again as I stared at him. Afghanistan was a dangerous place. A deadly place. “I’m glad you made it back safely.”
“Thank you,” he said and then he put the photo down. “Would you like some water or a glass of wine?”
“I’m okay, thanks.” I shook my head and made my way back to the chair in front of his desk and took a seat.
“I made a mistake earlier.” He came and sat on the desk in front of me. I looked up at him in confusion. What was he talking about?
“What mistake did you make?”
“I said your hair was brown, but it’s not brown, is it? It’s black.”
“Oh,” I laughed as I touched my hair self-consciously. “It’s a very dark brown, but yeah, pretty much black.”
“Raven-haired.” He smiled and then looked away for a few seconds, muttering something under his breath.
“Sorry, I can’t hear you clearly.”
“Oh, that’s my fault. Your hair color reminded me of my favorite poem.”
“Oh? What poem is that?”
“‘The Raven,’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Do you know it?”
“Not really. I think I read it once in high school English class, though.” I shrugged. “Perhaps, I can’t really remember.”
“Once Upon a Midnight Dreary,” he said with a small smile. “That’s how it starts.”
“I know that one song by Blues Traveler, what was it called again? ‘Run Around’?” I said. “I think the first line is the same.”
“I think you’re right.” He grinned and then grabbed his phone. “Let’s check and see.” I watched as he pressed some buttons on his phone and then the song started playing through his phone speaker. “That’s cool.” He looked at me appreciatively. “I’m impressed.”
“Well, I’d be impressed if you can quote me some more of ‘The Raven.’”
“Okay, then. Hold on, let me think.”
I watched as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. And then he opened his eyes again and stood up, throwing his hands up into the air and grinning.
“But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—
Till I scarcely more than muttered Other friends have flown before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.
Then the bird said, ‘Nevermore.’”
He stopped then and took a little bow as I clapped for him. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up off of the chair.
“I feel like I’ve known you forever, Charlotte Johnson,” he said as he gazed at me. I held my breath as I waited for him to kiss me again. I could almost taste his lips on mine again. I was going to run my hands through his hair this time. I wanted to see if it felt as silky as it looked. But instead of kissing me, he took a step back.
“Shall I call you a car, then?” He looked at his watch. “I can hand you these papers, and you can take them home and read them through, and we can reconvene tomorrow.”
“You didn’t tell me what amendments you wanted to make,” I said. I felt like I’d just been rejected, even though I hadn’t asked him for anything.
“I changed my mind.” He was pressing buttons on his phone now. “No need to make any amendments.” He looked up then and nodded. “The contract as it stands is fine.”
“I see.”
I grabbed the papers from his desk. He was hiding something, but I didn’t know what. What were the amendments that he’d wanted to make? And why had he changed his mind?
“Are you calling the car?” I asked him as he held the phone to his head. He shook his head and put his finger to his lips.
“Hey, Sandy, it’s me, Max. What are you up to?” He chuckled. “That’s what I thought. Why don’t you drop by my place tonight?” He looked at me then, and I could feel my entire body shaking as my soul sunk into the ground. Was he really going to play this game?
If there was one thing I didn’t do, it was games. And men who wanted other women.
I turned around and headed to the door as he was still talking and I had my hand on the doorknob when I felt his hand on my shoulder.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.” I looked over my shoulder and tried to keep my face impassive. I didn’t want him to know I was jealous and pissed off. “Like I said before.”
“My driver isn’t here yet,” he said. He glared at me, the phone still attached to his ear.
“That’s your problem, not mine.” I pulled my hand back. “Have fun with your little friend and just email me later.”
“You’re not leaving.” He pushed his body against the door. “We’re not done.”
“I think we are, Max.” I pushed his chest, my hands loving the feel of his rock hard body. “You’re not my jailer. I’m leaving.”
“Charlotte.” His tone was light but threatening.
“Max,” I said in the same tone. And then I leaned forward and placed my lips next to his ear. “Max Parker, get your body off of the door . . .” I blew into his ear then and I ran my right hand down his chest all the way to his pants and lightly down his crotch. He was hard, and I swallowed. He was as turned on as I was. That made me smile slightly, but I wasn’t going to let him know.
“Move,” I said and pushed him. He fell back, a dazed look on his face. “I’m going to catch the subway and head home. Email me.”
Before he could react, I opened the door and headed out of his office. I looked back from the hallway and I could see him watching me with veiled eyes, looking taken aback and bewildered. I turned back around and looked for the elevator so that I could leave, a small smile on my face.
Score: Charlotte 1, Max 0.