“Your usual?” I ask Quinn as I take out my purse to pay.
She nods and I immediately fall into the line before the morning rush starts. I order two Vanilla Lattes and wait patiently to collect them.
The young guy behind the counter is watching me and I have to admit the attention isn’t completely unwelcome. He looks about twenty-one with sandy blonde hair that hangs in his face. He isn’t unfortunate looking by any means but I find myself comparing him to the blue eyes and chocolate colored hair from my dream. My cheeks flush at the memory and when the guy hands me our Latte’s the look on his face tells me he thinks he made me blush. I duck my head and pass Quinn her cup before walking back out onto the busy sidewalk.
“What was that all about?” Quinn asks between sips.
I mutter, “Nothing,” and keep my head down while inhaling the sweet caffeinated aroma coming from my cup.
“Does it have anything to do with you screaming like a banshee this morning?” I almost choke on the hot liquid in my mouth and barely manage to stop it from shooting out my nose. When Quinn sees my shocked expression, my eyes wide, she giggles.
“You heard me?” I whisper. Quinn laughs harder and I wish the sidewalk would swallow me whole. Great. Nothing like your best friend hearing your screams in the middle of a wet dream.
“I’m pretty sure the whole building heard you, Cass,” she chuckles.
“Can you imagine what I would’ve sounded like if I fi-” I slap my hand over my mouth and watch as Quinn almost doubles over with laughter. Now I’ve really done it. Foot, meet mouth.
Quinn finally catches her breath and pats my shoulder sympathetically. “We need to get you laid,” she proclaims, not giving a rats ass who overhears our conversation. We walk past a little old lady who gasps and then scowls when I look at her sheepishly.
“Says the diva who was out until God knows what time this morning, getting freaky with Jarred,” I retort quickly. Her porcelain cheeks flush. “Ha,” I shout. “I knew it! You just can’t stop yourself, can you?”
Quinn lifts her dainty shoulders in a shrug but I see the smile tugging at her red lips. She can’t lie to me. I heard her come in at about two a.m. “Why don’t you put the poor guy out of his misery and go on a date with him?” I ask.
She purses her lips, pulling the bottom one between her teeth. “Because I don’t do commitment,” she replies. “Jarred and I are just friends.”
I snort. “Friends who happen to fuck like rabbits for three weeks out of the month.”
“What can I say,” she grins. “When I have an itch, nobody can scratch it quite like Jarred does.”
A sigh breaks free from her mouth. “God, he’s fantastic in bed. If I didn’t go to gym four days a week he would’ve broken my va-jay-jay by now.”
“Lucky bitch,” I mutter under my breath.
“I’ve told you before, Jarred has plenty of hot lawyer friends who I’m sure will be happy to help you get rid of some of your frustration. Just say the word and I’ll have him hook you up,” Quinn says.
I shake my head. “We’ve spoken about this before. I don’t want a ‘hump and dump’.” She shrugs nonchalantly as we enter the double doors to our office building.
“Suit yourself.”
I look around the lobby of Knight Media and smile. I’ve been the publishing assistant for almost two years now, since I graduated from college, and wouldn’t give it up for anything. I worked my ass off to get here. Knight Media is the second largest media company in the city. It is an umbrella company of sorts, housing a complementary group of multinational companies specializing in publishing, digital advertising and film and television production. Quinn is the editorial assistant for the newspaper division while I work in the book publishing division. Our CEO, Robert Knight, recently decided to branch out into digital publishing and gave me the task of putting together a proposal for the executives. That’s why I can’t be late for any meeting.
“Holy shit,” I hear Quinn whisper next to me. I look up and follow her gaze until my eyes land on him.
His black suit fits him flawlessly, his navy blue shirt tucked in just enough to show a broad chest.
His mop of dark brown hair hangs just above his eyebrows but is styled in that just-fucked way. “Who’s that?” I ask in a hushed tone, as if the Adonis over there may hear me.
“That, my sexually frustrated friend,”Quinn sighs, putting her toned arm over my shoulders. “Is none other than the infamous Kyler Knight.”
My lips form an ‘Oh’as we watch Kyler being mauled by a drop dead gorgeous redhead who kisses him unabashedly, giving no mind to the small audience gathering to watch their embrace. “Who’s the redhead?”
Quinn frowns and her face contorts into the expression she gets when she’s about to be a total bitch. “Jessa fucking Price.” My eyebrows shoot up at the tone of her voice.
“You know her?” I ask.
“Everybody does. She’s slept with half the people in this city. Our fathers are friends and our mothers both champion the same charities. I practically grew up with the bitch.”
Quinn pulls me towards the elevator, dragging my attention away from the beautiful couple and back to reality. I check my watch and see that I have exactly ten minutes before my meeting starts. We step into the empty elevator just as a hand stops the two doors from closing. He steps into the elevator and the air in my lungs somehow escapes without ever leaving my mouth.
“Quinn,” he greets with a smile. She knows him?
“Kyler,” she replies, not returning his friendliness.
His eyes travel the length of my body, the tiny hairs on the back my neck standing up, until they lock with mine. I suck in a breath. I know those blue eyes. He brushes a piece of hair out if his face and I notice that it’s darker than what I thought. A dark, rich chocolate brown.
“Who’s your friend?” he asks. The question is directed at Quinn but our eyes never break contact.
“Cassey Emerson. Cassey, this is Kyler Knight. His father owns Knight Media.”Kyler sticks out his hand and I gingerly mimic his action. His hand is easily three times bigger than mine. It wraps around mine effortlessly, his slightly calloused fingers brushing up against my soft skin.
“Nice to meet you, Cassey.” His smile widens into a wolfish grin. “You too,” I squeak. He holds my hand a moment longer than what would be considered appropriate when meeting someone for the first time.
The elevator chimes and I drop his hand like it’s burned me. Quinn grasps my elbow and leads me out onto our floor. Kyler’s eyes stay fixed on me until the elevator doors close.
“Wipe your mouth, Cass,” she whispers harshly. “You’re drooling and I’m pretty sure Kyler noticed.”
Kyler. Why does that name sound so familiar? Then it hits me like a freight train.
“Oh, God,” I breathe. My eyes go wide and I look at Quinn.
“What?” she asks. I swallow hard and fight the blush I can feel creeping up my neck into my cheeks.
“Quinn,” I sputter. “It’s him.”
Her eyebrows dip into a confused scowl, “It’s him who?” We step into my office and I shut the door quickly.