Running From Forever (9 page)

“I didn’t mean that—” I started.

“No, K, don’t worry.” She cut me off with tears
in her eyes, putting down the spatula she was using to cook. “I get
it. That’s why I left. I guess it’s just going to take some getting
used to,” she added before walking past me to the bathroom, the
only room in my apartment with a door that you could shut and
hide.

***

My mood was less than
stellar going into work the following day. On top of it being
gloomy and ugly outside, last night’s discussion with my sister was
still bothering me. Even though she said that she understood, she
was still short with me for the remainder of the evening. We ended
up eating the dinner that she’d prepared then popped some popcorn
and watched a movie, but it was quiet. Stiff. You could’ve cut the
tension in the room with a knife.

All was forgotten, or at least put on hold, when
those infamous elevator doors opened, revealing Miles inside.
Seeing him was just what I needed.

“No meeting this morning?” I asked, a smile
replacing the somber look on my face as I took the space next to
him.

“Not that I’d miss our ride for,” he answered,
pulling me into his side to gently peck the top of my head. It was
sweet, just as sweet as his comment. “Are you joining the others in
Thirsty Thursday this evening?”

“I had planned to,” I admitted. “Were you
thinking of hanging with the commoners again?”

He chuckled. “I just may. That is, if I’m
invited?”

“Since when do you need an invitation?” I looked
at him, puzzled.
Were the higher ups not invited to happy
hour?

“I received a few curious looks last time. I
just wanted to confirm my welcome.”

“From who?” I quickly questioned. Though I knew
that some people were shocked to see him at McShane’s, I hadn’t
noticed anyone giving him discriminatory glares or anything.

“No one in particular,” he blew it off.
“Although I will say the bartender looked very perplexed when I
arrived standing beside you.”

“Merrick?”

“If that’s his name.”

Mystified, I answered, “I wouldn’t know why.
That was the first I had met him.”

I hadn’t even noticed the elevator skip his
floor—not until it opened to mine. We stepped out together, his
hand now on my lower back. It felt uncomfortable. Good, but not
where I’d like it to be while we’re on ETV property. Sami’s smile
was bigger than normal and she winked at the sight of the two of us
together as we walked the hallway towards my desk.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I whispered as
we walked.

“Connie is here this morning. I needed to speak
to her about something.”

“Oh.”

“With you,” he added.

“With me?” I questioned, looking up at him in
panic.

He left it at that, glancing down quickly with
that grin that stole my heart every time, though it was currently
scaring the shit out of me. I didn’t know what he was up to and I
didn’t have time to find out. Unfortunately, the walk from the
elevator to Connie’s office and my desk wasn’t a long one. There
wasn’t time for me to verbally react; we were already at her door,
walking in, before I could even think to formulate a coherent
response.

“Miles. Kayla,” was all she said, barely looking
up from her computer.

“I’d like to continue the discussion we had over
dinner last night with Kayla present, if you wouldn’t mind?” Miles
said with a sense of authority and a satisfied smirk on his face.
He was amused. About what, I had no clue, but I had a feeling I
would very soon.

Connie looked anything but. Not that I was
surprised. I had yet to see the woman smile. I wasn’t sure she knew
how to. “Okay. Would you like me to start or you?” she answered,
taking her glasses off and placing them on her desk.

“Here, beautiful.” Miles turned, gesturing for
me to have a seat in one of Connie’s chairs.

My body stiffened in shock. I didn’t like his
title for me in this situation. It was personal; entirely too
personal for work. My blood was getting more heated by the moment.
I wasn’t sure how this impromptu meeting was going to end. Visions
of me cleaning out my desk and carrying out a crate of my
belongings was dancing in my head—I’d only been here a few days! I
couldn’t tell if they noticed my discomfort. Miles was acting cool
as a cucumber as usual, and Connie, well, she was being Connie, the
consummate grump with a scorned look upon her face.

Miles took the seat next to mine, falling back
comfortably into the chair with one foot crossed and rested on his
knee. Connie was still looking at him to answer her question. So
was I.

“Last night your name came up in discussion…” he
started, turning his body towards me.

My heart flatlined at that statement. I was
dying. I was sure of it. I gulped. I had no other reply.

“It was brought to Connie’s attention that you
and I were dating.”

Son of a bitch. Already? We just went to
lunch!
My eyes went back and forth from his to Connie’s then
back to his. They were fucking amazing—both had impeccably straight
faces. I couldn’t tell what either of them was thinking.

“I didn’t have a suitable answer at the time,”
he said pointedly, then looked at me, his grin unusually larger
than normal.

It took me a minute to realize that his last
sentence wasn’t just a statement; it was a question. He was asking
me if we were dating…in front of Connie. Death. I was consumed by
it. I wanted to kill him. I wanted him to wallow in the death that
was enveloping me.
Cocky bastard.

“I…um…” I started, panicked, running my hands
along the arms of the chair, trying to wipe off the perspiration
building on my palms. I wanted to run as far away as I could in
these stupid heels. I could care less about my dream job or dream
boyfriend. I wanted out. I wanted out right then.

“Not the answer I was envisioning in my head,
sweetheart,” he joked, placing his hand on my lower arm.

I stared at his hand, my heart thumping out of
my chest. I didn’t know what to say or who to look at, so I focused
on his hand. Though I didn’t appreciate the situation he had me in,
his touch gave a tiny bit of comfort.

“The reply I had for Connie was that it didn’t
matter,” he continued, looking straight at me when he did, making
me look up and our eyes connect. “There’s no company policy intact
that says we can’t date, anyway, so what does it matter? Am I
right, Connie?” Miles turned to face his sister.

“There is no such policy,” she confirmed,
glaring at Miles as she spoke.

Miles looked back at me, his grin still
displayed. “Therefore, beautiful, there would be no reason for you
to worry if people at ETV knew of any relationship between us.”

I closed my eyes and licked my lips. I was
beginning to take notice of what he was doing and what game he was
playing. He didn’t like the distance I put between us while on
company grounds and he wanted to make it very apparent that our
status had no hold on my position at ETV. There were still a
million what-ifs that I should still consider—what would others
think of me? What would happen if, God forbid, anything should go
wrong between us? What does Connie think about this whole
situation? They were all things that I should think about but I
couldn’t…not with the way Miles was looking at me and the way my
heart felt when I opened my eyes and saw his big blue ones taking
me in.

“Well, do you have a suitable answer now?” I
asked, nerves seeping from my body and a smirk replacing the
fearful look on my face.

His gaze turned mischievous and incredibly sexy
before he winked and answered, “I think I may.”

I met his stare and felt a zap between my legs.
I was turned on, there was no denying it. The next level in our
relationship had been reached. We were dating, and by the heat
transmitting between us, I had a feeling another level would be
reached in the near future. Things were moving…rapidly.

“Are we finished?” Connie interrupted, her tone
less than enthused, making me jump, startled. I had forgotten where
we were.

“I believe we are,” Miles answered, pleased, as
he stood, holding out his hand for me to join him.

Connie’s mood never wavered. In fact, she had
already put her glasses back on and went back to what she was doing
before I looked back to her.

“Have a good day, Connie,” Miles said, almost
sounding sarcastic, once we reached the door.

“Uh huh,” was the extent of her reply. She
wasn’t happy, this I knew. But she never was, so it didn’t bother
me. She wouldn’t be happy about our relationship, but at the moment
I couldn’t care less. I took Connie with a grain of salt, and
that’s all that I’d continue to do. She was a stepping stone to a
career I yearned to have. I’d deal with her while I had to.

I also couldn’t care less who saw me when I
slapped Miles’ arm when we reached the hallway. There were better
ways to approach the “are we/aren’t we dating” topic, and in an
office, with my boss, wasn’t it. As happy as I was that we had a
label attached to us, I was still pissed. I died at least ten times
in the twenty minutes that we were in Connie’s office.

“I do believe that
is
against company
policy,” he joked, following me behind my desk.

“I do believe I don’t care.” I glared, appearing
mad still. “Nothing like putting me on the spot first thing in the
morning.”

He leaned down, sitting on the edge of my desk,
facing me, his arms crossed over his chest with an entertained
smile. “Would you have believed that Connie didn’t mind if I’d just
told you myself?”

Shit. He had a point.
I wouldn’t have.
Although, I still didn’t quite believe it. If she didn’t mind, she
had a funny way of showing it. She just couldn’t do anything about
it if she did. There’s no rule against it.

“And that’s why I did it.” Miles didn’t wait for
my reply. He knew he was right.

“Don’t you have work to do?” I asked.

He snorted as he stood. “Lunch?”

“I suppose,” I said, feigning disinterest.

“I’ll meet you here at noon,” he added, leaning
over to kiss the top of my head before walking away.

I watched as he did, mesmerized by his tall,
physically authoritative stature. Miles walked with purpose. He
made heads turn and woman gawk. A pleased smile covered my face
when it hit me. He was mine.

I was dating Miles Blackwell.

The day didn’t get any better. Connie had me
all over the fucking city and Sami had some doctor’s appointment,
so I was answering the phones until she returned. My lunch date
with Miles consisted of Chinese takeout eaten on the fly in his
office. Speaking of his office, it was Connie’s times two. Huge.
Fully equipped with both a treadmill and bathroom. Apparently
running eased his stress, and since the office bore most of it,
having a treadmill there for a quick run was essential. Not my cup
of tea, but whatever. If it was the reasoning for his body looking
the way it did, I had no complaint.

It was past six o’clock when I was finally able
to shut down my computer. Even though my feet were killing me and I
had visions sleep dancing in my head, a beer sounded much better.
Miles had a late meeting and informed me he wouldn’t be at the bar
until after eight. That was fine. I never was the super attached
girlfriend, needing her boyfriend all the time. Well, I guess I was
never the girlfriend type to begin with. Fairytales just weren’t my
thing. As I got older, they didn’t seem so bad; I just would never
be
that
girl, clinging to my boyfriend’s side or at his beck
and call whenever he needed me. No man would ever make me, either.
Not even Miles Blackwell.

Since most people had already left, I took a
taxi to McShane’s by myself. It gave me a minute to touch base with
Leah. I hadn’t been able to talk long last night because I was
slapped by rap music in my apartment midway through our
conversation. I filled her in on my
meeting
with Miles and
Connie. She found it amusing but still disapproved, telling me
“there’s just something about him I don’t like.” I rolled my eyes.
Leah was always my careful counterpart. She was cautious with her
heart and other people’s. It’s no wonder it took her and Matt so
goddamn long to finally admit their feelings for each other. I get
protecting yourself, but missing out and letting the what-ifs
consume your life wasn’t something I would do. I liked Miles. He
seemed to like me. Other than owning half the business I worked for
and being my boss’s brother, there were no other obvious red flags
flying in my face. I was going to date Miles, get to know Miles,
regardless of Leah’s gut feeling, and she knew I would, too.