Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,32

a bad but fun choice once in a while? I was so sick of always having to be the sensible one.

But then there’d be consequences, and I’d already gone down this painful route before. “I appreciate your help getting me to my apartment, and the time you took to ice my foot, but I think we’re too close to crossing a line.”

“Crossing lines is a specialty of mine.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is, but I can’t. I know this is probably coming across as super conceited, and to be clear, I’m not saying you even want anything to happen between me and you—”

“I do. Not that I thought it all out, but from the moment I first saw you at the bar, I was intrigued. I don’t just hit on any woman who steps into my path.”

Pressure built beneath my ribs, his brazen reply unexpected and far more enticing than it should be. I slid my foot from his lap, carefully tucking it underneath my other leg in a way that wouldn’t put pressure on my ankle. The corners of his eyes tightened, but I refused to give in, no matter how magnetic his pull. “I can’t go down this road again. You don’t have to think about how it’d look or what it’d mean to everyone else in the office, but I do.

“I’d get a reputation for flirting with coworkers, and then there’d be accusations about sleeping my way to the top if I ever manage to actually reach it. I have too much at stake, especially with the huge project hanging in the balance, and even this conversation is a mistake, and I…”

Panic rose and crowded out every other emotion. For months I’d worked to prove that I’d been more than Ron’s girlfriend, and more than the woman who assisted in his projects. I’d practically run point, and he’d been promoted with the ideas I’d supplied him.

“I’m sorry, Archer, but I need you to leave.” I should take back the sorry.

I braced for the anger, my hand inching toward my phone just in case it got ugly. No matter how polite and gentlemanly a man started out, I’d seen several go Dr. Jekyll after facing a rejection. I’d been complimented on my looks one second only to be called an ugly bitch the next. I’d politely declined giving my number, only to be told “fuck you. I wouldn’t have called you anyway.” There was also the night a man followed me out of a restaurant to confront me after telling him first politely, and then more firmly, that I wasn’t interested.

If my Uber driver hadn’t hopped out to help, I would’ve had to quickly 9-1-1 and hope they reached me in time.

“Hey,” Archer said, pushing to his feet. “It’s your place, and you don’t have to ever apologize for asking me to leave. I’m the one who’s sorry—I was too pushy about coming up and helping you ice your ankle. I thought I was being chivalrous, but the fear in your eyes says I took it too far.”

How did I explain that I wasn’t afraid of him, but that I also was?

Guilt, my familiar companion, swirled within me, but I put his words with the many lectures Catalina had given me, and I refused to feel bad.

I reiterated that I appreciated his help and then told him I’d see him at the office tomorrow.

After locking the door behind him, I leaned against it, letting my head thunk against the plywood.

Now I just had to figure out a way to erase the compliments that’d seared themselves into my brain, about how he thought I was beautiful and how from the moment he’d first seen me, he’d been intrigued.

12

Archer

Evidently, when Penelope said she’d “see me at the office” she literally meant occasionally glance in my direction from afar. She’d called in on Friday to say she was going to work from home and give her ankle a break.

The text I’d sent asking how it felt on Sunday was met with an uber-descriptive one-word response: fine.

Monday and Tuesday, she wore noise cancelling headphones all day while she worked on her computer. It made me so want to be the guy who waved his hands, ignoring the signs she was clearly putting out, but I settled for brief hellos and email threads requesting files.

It also wasn’t doing wonders for my creativity, but I’d completed a few rough drafts and was excited about how the overall picture for the complex was taking shape. By