I Do

Chapter 5

Needless to say, Josie was still a little confused when he walked into the office the following day. Ethan just gave her his signature warm smile when he walked into the office and she felt herself blush. It was hard not to. After all, Ethan Beckett was a good looking man. However, the confusion cleared up pretty quickly paving way for what Josie knew all along: she was wildly attracted to her boss. At first, she was not sure if it was just another case of workplace fantasy or the real deal. She had been known to indulge in an unhealthy amount of workplace fantasy romance stories. However, there was a small voice at the back of her mind that was unrelenting. It was this voice that made her sure of the fact that she was not imagining the sparks between her and Ethan.

Things were especially heated up one Thursday evening after the two of them wrapped up yet another late night. Josie was in a white elbow-sleeved dress, red strapped stiletto heels and a red jacket with a bold African print collar and cuffs to match. She had taken off the jacket almost immediately as she walked into the office and what she did not know was that her dress had treated Ethan to a nice view of her body. The way the fabric hugged her curves made it almost impossible for him to ignore her. It made it impossible for any man in the office to function really.

“We really need to figure out something so you don’t have to work late every single night,” Ethan said as Josie cleaned up the desk.

“I think it is evident that we do our best work in the evenings,” she pointed out. “Maybe this is just our process. It is the way we work.”

Ethan looked at her and nodded.

“I guess.”

“What are you doing?” she asked when he got up and began cleaning his side of the desk.

“Helping.”

“You don’t have to. I’ve got this.”

“No, you are my assistant. Not my maid.”

He tossed the takeout boxes in the bin and looked at her.

“Besides, there is no rule which states that I cannot assist my assistant.”

Josie smiled at him.

“I guess not.”

She exhaled loudly when he was finally done and rubbed her temple.

“I think it would be a good idea to take some time off. Even if you will just be taking the morning off… just a few hours so you can recuperate,” he said as he looked at her.

Josie shook her head.

“Tomorrow is Friday. Well, technically, it is already Friday… I have the whole weekend to unwind.”

“We have been working late every single day for the past week and you worked through last weekend.”

She shrugged.

“I don’t know what a recap of my last work week has to do with anything.”

“Well, you have been burning the candle at both ends. I think you should really take a break.”

Josie smiled as she straightened up some papers on the desk.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” she said and Ethan walked up to where she was. He was standing right in front of her as he looked into her tired eyes. He could see the bags under her eyes and the tensed vein that appeared on her forehead when she smiled.

“You are no good to me or the company if you are exhausted,” he said in a soft voice.

She looked up at him and her lips parted as she looked for something to say but suddenly, she could not speak. It was like her brain and vocal cords were no longer a part of her body. She was thinking one thing and what she wanted to say was completely different. He gently pushed a few stray strands of her hair from her face. She had come in all neat and perfect but she was no longer that neat and perfect person. Hours of shoving her pen in her hair had undone that perfectly done loose French braid. He held her chin gently and she whimpered when he gently stroked her chin with his thumb. She could feel her heart beating faster when he lowered his head and got close to her. She took a step back creating some distance between them before she grabbed the few books they had been using as references. She had just put them back on the shelf when she turned around to look at Ethan who was looking right back at her. The tension in the room was so loud that she could have sworn the sound she was hearing was her own heartbeat. She gasped silently when he began walking towards her.

“I am sorry… I don’t know what came over me.”

She leaned against the wall and wondered why she was not simply running out of there.

“I don’t know about you but lately, I have found myself thinking about you, a lot. Thinking about us… I am sorry if I am making you uncomfortable but the last thing I want you to do is think of me as a weirdo when you catch me staring… It is just that I find you so beautiful, so perfect….” He was finally where she was and he had trapped her. “I want to do everything by the book.”

Josie shrugged.

“What are you talking about?” she asked and he took a step closer to her.

“Have dinner with me,” he said and she raised an eyebrow over the other.

“What?” she was surprised.

“I promise you, your answer will not change our work dynamic. I promise you,” he said as he looked into her eyes. He was standing so close to her and she did the only thing she could do. She took a step back but there was nowhere else for her to go. Ethan took another step, getting even close to her. She could almost read his mind. If she did not do something soon, she knew that she was going to kiss her boss. While she had been thinking about that since the first day she had met him, she was not exactly sure this was how she would have liked it to happen.

“Don’t,” she whispered when he held her cheek. “I should probably go.”

“Do you really want to leave?” he asked and her lips parted. Even though she wanted to tell him that she did want to leave, it was as if she was rooted to the ground. She was in a statue state. “Tell me, Josie. Tell me what you want.”

“Maybe I should come in a little later tomorrow,” she said when she finally found her voice.

He nodded.

“Sure.”

She took a long, deep breath when he took a step back.

“I could walk you down to the parking lot,” he offered and she shook her head.

“No… I’ll be fine.”

“Dinner?” he asked as she walked out.

She stopped and looked at him.

“Can I think about it?” she asked and Ethan nodded.

“Yeah, take all the time you need.”

She forced a smile as she walked out and Ethan stood there thinking of the big mistake he had just made.