L. A. Cinderella

Chapter Eight

Natalie sat on the edge of her seat, waiting for the clock to turn five. Mr. Morrison had left at the same time every day for the past month she’d worked here, but tonight he was supposed to leave early. With her luck, he’d probably stick around.

Chase had been avoiding her desk all afternoon. After the first hour of waiting for him to pass by her desk, she’d started to relax. She ignored the twinges of disappointment as time continued to pass.

It would be better for both of them if they kept their relationship purely work-related. She could forget how his lips had caressed hers and how the warmth had flooded through her from the touch of his hands.

The door slammed behind her, and she almost fell off her chair. Mr. Morrison locked the door and turned his shifty eyes to her. “I expect the report first thing Monday morning. Just because Mr. Booker took you for a long lunch doesn’t mean you can neglect your work.”

Her cheeks were on fire. “Of course not, Mr. Morrison. I’ve got the numbers tied into the expense reports and just need to categorize two more reports before I’m finished.” She hoped he was convinced by her lie, because she could hear the tremor in her voice and could feel the tightness of her smile.

“Good. I’ll see you Monday morning.” He hefted his briefcase in his hand and was out the door before she could say anything else.

Now she just had to wait for the rest of the office to clear out. Which shouldn’t take long. Over half the staff hadn’t come back after lunch and half of those remaining had taken off early. They had places to go and be seen.

Her phone rang. She stared at it for a moment. The caller ID came up as Unavailable. She really didn’t want to talk to Jared Anderson again, but he wasn’t the only one who had her phone number.

Tentatively, she picked the phone up from the cradle. “This is Natalie. How may I help you?”

“Nat,” Rachel’s voice yelled above the background noise. “Brian finally asked me out.”

“Good for you.”

Rachel had been trying to get Brian from work to ask her out for months now.

“Don’t wait up, sweetie. I don’t think I’ll be home tonight.”

“Be careful.”

“Hey, sorry about the mess in the kitchen, I was experimenting last night with cupcakes. Turns out I can’t cook, so I picked some up at the store this morning. Would you mind cleaning it up? Just in case Brian and I end up back at our place?”

Natalie had seen the mess when she’d come home last night but had been too exhausted physically and emotionally to do anything about it. “Sure. Be safe.”

“Thanks, sweetie. See ya.” The line went dead.

She set down the phone and stood. Time to wander through and see who was left in the building. The hallway runway was quiet as she headed down to fill her water bottle.

She held her breath as she passed by Chase’s closed door and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened.

After filling her bottle, feeling confident that no one was left in the building besides Chase and her, she stopped at his door and knocked tentatively.

“Yeah?” She heard from within. She cracked the door open.

“Chase, Mr. Morrison has left for the day.” As she pushed the door open, a pair of feminine legs came into view. Someone was sitting in the guest chair. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Alexis Brandt was back for her Friday-night pickup.

“It’s all right, Natalie.” Clearly distracted, Chase looked up from some papers on his desk. He held out a set of keys. “Let me know if you need anything.”

She nodded to Chase, took the keys and pulled the door closed. Her chest had tightened, and she could barely breathe. She walked on wooden legs back to Mr. Morrison’s door. Her hands shook as she inserted the keys to find the right one.

She had no reason to feel jealous. She didn’t have any claim to Chase-just because he’d kissed her last night didn’t mean anything. Hadn’t he said that? The keys made a heavy thud when they slipped from her hands.

Squatting, she picked them up and shoved her glasses back up her nose. She was being ridiculous. Guys like Chase went for girls like Alexis. Just because he’d kissed her didn’t mean he felt anything for her. He kissed women as a career. Maybe he’d just been practicing.

She found the right key and pushed into the office. Get what she needed and get out. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could be away from Chase for a whole weekend. A weekend to strengthen her resolve to stay away from him.

Papers covered Mr. Morrison’s desk. Boxes of files covered the floor in front of five gray filing cabinets. This was going to take hours. Natalie shoved the keys into her jacket pocket.

Picking a drawer, she started methodically rummaging through the files. She was so absorbed in the files she tuned out the noises from down the hall. She didn’t care what those two were doing, anyway. It wasn’t any of her business.

After an hour she stretched, trying to loosen her muscles before heading out to her desk.

There had to be a better way. She keyed in her password but didn’t have access to the reports she wanted.

Chase would have the access she needed. Her face grew warm. She didn’t want to interrupt whatever was happening with Alexis.

But this would go a lot faster if she could look at the information in the computer first. If they were waiting for her to finish, this would get them out the door faster, too.

Smiling, she stood and headed down the hall. She stopped when she noticed his office door was open. He wasn’t behind his desk. Had he left? Usually he stayed until she was finished, but it wasn’t unfathomable that he’d left because he had better things to do than wait for her.

“Did you need something?” His voice came from behind her.

She spun on her heel. “I thought you’d left.”

“I was just walking Alexis to her car. Didn’t you hear us pass by the office?” He smiled, and his gaze roamed over her.

“I was working.” Her words came out breathy. She cleared her throat and tried to tame the desire surging through her as his eyes settled on her lips.

Breaking eye contact, he walked around her into his office. “Have you found anything?”

Natalie took in a deep breath. She could do this. She could ignore this attraction and focus on work. She followed him into his office. “Do you have complete access to the computer system?”

“I should. What do we need to look up?” He opened his laptop, logged in and looked up at her, expectantly.

She stepped around the desk to stand behind him. Trying to ignore the smell of him, she leaned down to focus on the screen. She pointed to the icon of the reporting system. “Click there.”

He followed her instructions until the report she was looking for came up.

“Can you print that out?”

“Sure. Is there anything else?” He leaned back, and his shoulder brushed her hip. She nearly leapt out of her skin. She’d been so focused on the computer. She hadn’t realized she’d gotten so close to him.

“Um.” She stepped back.

His chair swiveled toward her. “Natalie, it’s okay.” His eyes sparkled like emeralds. “People touch all the time in business. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Unfortunately, no one told her body that. Every touch catapulted her rational thoughts out the window, leaving her a pool of desire. Just because he didn’t feel it, didn’t mean she could stop.

“Of course.” Warmth surged to her cheeks as she realized she’d pressed herself against the wall as far from him as possible. Forcing herself to relax, she stepped forward again.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” His voice had a husky quality to it, but she ignored the corresponding push from her insides.

“Bank account statements. Do you know where they would be in Mr. Morrison’s office?”

He stood and she resisted the impulse to step back, but she couldn’t control the wince at the expected contact. When he didn’t brush against her, she raised her gaze to his face.

“I’ll show you.”

She couldn’t breathe, let alone move. What was he going to show her? Heat poured off his body, infusing her with a drowsy feeling. Her body wanted to sway into his to see if the heat would explode into flames.

“Natalie?”

“Hmm.”

“Martin’s office?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” She turned and caught herself before she stumbled. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel him directly behind her, ready to help if needed. Straightening, she walked down the hall before him, silently chastising herself.

“Here, I’ll show you the drawer,” Chase said.

What was she doing here with this man? He was supposed to be condescending and overbearing. He’d been raised to be a Hollywood star, a highly publicized birth followed by a childhood in the limelight. Speculations about what features he’d get from each of his beyond-gorgeous parents had been rampant.

Critically acclaimed performances had shot him beyond the shadows of his famous parents. He’d taken on risky performances and made them his own. Now he was kneeling in front of a filing cabinet, rooting through bank statements.

And all she could think about was how soft his lips had been, how he’d tasted like a hint of mint and how his body had melded against hers. Why had she let his warm eyes and smooth words convince her she could work with him? She would die a little every time someone like Alexis strutted down the hallway to his office.

She was halfway in love with this man, and if she stayed much longer, she could find herself hopelessly in love with him. Someone like him could never love someone like her. A burning sensation formed at the back of her eyes.

“Found it.” Looking at the papers in the folder he was holding, he stood and walked toward her. “All the bank statements are in here. This should have the information you need.”

When he met her eyes, he froze. A moment of panic flashed over his face and flowed into resignation.

“I’ll come back in tomorrow to finish up.” She managed to speak without a single hitch. Even though her heart ached and she could barely breathe. She dug the keys out of her pocket and held them out to him.

“Nata-”

“Please. Don’t. I can’t.” She turned and ran out the door.