*Isabella's POV*
"You know you missed the Phoenix visit," he said. "You know I needed you there, but—"
"I should've been there to take notes," I cut him off. I took a deep breath. "That was reckless of me, and I should be punished." As soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted it. I don't know why I said that, but I pretty much have to commit to it now.
Damien walked even closer, bridging the small gap between us. He came so close I could almost hear his heartbeat. He put a finger under my chin, lifting my head up so I could look him in the eyes.
"You want a punishment, Ms. Williams?" he asked, his tone cold yet laced with dominance. The look in his eyes could not be confused for anything else; it was lust. His finger only grazed my skin, barely touching my cheek, but the proximity of his body made me tremble.
"Sir—" I began but was interrupted by yet another person clearing their throat. "Am I interrupting?" Jacob said as he walked into the office. *Uhm, yes you are,* I thought to myself. Damien quickly composed himself and walked back to his desk.
"I had a meeting with Phoenix today," he said, addressing Jacob.
"What, the competition?" Jacob exclaimed.
"Competition for eLanc, yes. But we have a shot at buying them. We'll talk this through at the Country Head meeting next week," Damien replied.
"Speaking of the Country Head meeting, Ms. Williams will be accompanying us," he added.
"Oh, will she? Well, you are both welcome in my humble abode," Jacob said, sounding intrigued as he winked at me, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Out of the question," Damien countered.
"Why?"
"Ms. Williams and I will be checking into a hotel," he replied.
"But..."
"End of story," he said, his dominant tone returning.
I brushed off the moment I shared with Damien as I got back to work, treating it as a product of my vivid imagination. And the rest of the week passed uneventfully. Too uneventfully if you asked me. Jacob stayed true to his word and behaved. But it felt a bit strange; he behaved to the extent of almost ignoring me.
"Morning, Ms. Williams," Jacob greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Lancaster," I returned the greeting as he retreated into his brother's office. *Wow, there he goes again, ignoring me.* I stood up from my seat and followed him in.
"Jacob, wait," I said as I entered the office.
"Yes, Ms. Williams?" he replied formally.
"Don't 'Ms. Williams' me. What have I done?" I asked angrily.
"What are you talking about?"
"You've been avoiding me; in fact, you're still avoiding me," I said, feeling defeated.
"I am not. I was just working," he replied nonchalantly.
"Would you like to have lunch together?" I asked nervously. I don't know why I asked, but I missed his company, so I wanted to have lunch with him again.
"Isabella..." he said, a confident smile plastered on his face. His cocky smile appeared again, and for some reason, I didn't know if I was annoyed or turned on.
"Did you miss me?" he added as he winked at me. He didn't need to know this—but I did miss him. I missed that motherf***er.
"I was wondering—" I started, but couldn't finish as Jacob walked closer to me. He leaned over me, his breath in my face. He was standing so close I could smell his cologne—a woody fragrance with lemon tones, milder than his brother's. It was refreshing, as refreshing as his playful smile.
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned my head to face him. "Tell me, Isabella, tell me if you missed me," he said, his eyes lingering on my lips, and I took the liberty to do the same. His full lips looked so delicious that I forgot where I was for a moment. While he ran his tongue over his lips, he leaned in and...
"Isabella, Jacob?"
I heard Damien's voice, loud and clear, and it sent shivers down my spine. He cleared his throat as we quickly composed ourselves. "Mr. Lancaster, I was just leaving," I said, feeling embarrassed.
"Stay. I want to talk to you about New York. We have to leave tomorrow," he countered.
"My pilot wants time off this weekend, so we will fly to New York on Friday," he added.
"But, sir, I travel by train," I said, and for some reason, it amused Jacob, causing him to laugh. "I mean, it's not that far... a plane is not necessary," I added.
"She's cute," Jacob whispered to Damien, but loud enough for me to hear too.
"Isabella, have your things ready. At 5 PM, after work, we will board the plane," Damien said, maintaining his calm, collected demeanor.
I was packing my bags at Cole's place when reality struck me like a bolt of lightning. "This is a disaster!" I exclaimed, starting to panic. "That's it, I'm not going. What else could he do, fire me?"
Cole entered the living room from the kitchen. "OK, what's the fuss about? I could hear you from the kitchen."
"I have nothing to wear," I replied. "I haven't had time to do laundry, and the rest of my clothes... well, I left some stuff at Harry's."
Cole asked sarcastically, "So you're going to New York in your underwear?"
I replied, "Not funny."
Cole chuckled and said, "Tell you what. You can have my credit card."
I protested, "I couldn't possibly—"
Cole countered, "Take it, no big deal."
I pointed out, "Even if I took it, when would I go shopping? We're leaving tomorrow after work."
Cole exclaimed, "You lucky bi***! Anyway, you could go shopping on Saturday. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you're going to fly on a private jet with Damien Lancaster to NYC, and you can still find time to complain about it."
*Friday, 4:50 P.M.*
Cole looked at my panicked face and said, "Deep breaths. Calm down."
I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. *Calm down. You'll be alright.*
I confessed, "I feel nervous—flying with my boss, seeing NYC... it all just makes me feel excited."
Cole retorted, "Don't wet the floor with that excitement."
Damien arrived to pick me up as agreed, and I sat with him in the back seat.
I broke the silence, asking, "So, your brother won't be joining us?"
Damien replied, "He will meet us there."
I smiled at the memory of Jacob changing gears and throwing me playful glances. It wasn't the first time this week that I'd been thinking about him. I hated to admit it, but that playboy was making himself at home in my heart.