I Do

                                                            *****

When Josie woke up the following morning, she could not help but think about what had happened the night before. She could still feel Ethan’s closeness. The moment they had shared…that she just could not explain. She did not know how long she had been tossing and turning but she knew one thing for sure: she did not have a restful sleep that evening. When she finally woke up, she was still a little confused about everything. She could not help but wonder if she had maybe made her own conclusions based on how much time they had been spending together. It was not like she could deny that Ethan was a good looking man. The thick dark mane and those perfectly warm brown eyes. She could tell that he was a perfectly built muscular man under his sleek suits because she could see the bulging muscles under his jackets and shirts.

“That has to be it,” she thought. “His looks… That must be what had me so confused.”

When she finally got out of bed, she took a long shower before she made her way back to the bedroom. She made her bed as she thought of the day ahead. She might have not had to go into the office early but staying in bed was a waste of time. She could not help but feel like her time would have been much better spent doing something productive. After getting dressed, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. She was in a green, elbow sleeved, knee-length pencil dress and a pair of red-bottomed nude heels. Her hair was pulled back in her signature bun and for a moment there, she wondered if she was a little too sexy for the office.

“What the hell…” she shook her head.

She had worn that outfit countless times before at Rank Media and she had never once had that thought. That was the moment she knew that she was already on a dangerous path. The path that would make it hard for her to do her job because she would not be able to see straight in the office if she was beginning to have improper thoughts about Ethan.

“But they are not really improper. All I am doing is recognizing the fact that he is an attractive man,” she consoled herself.

“And that is how office affairs start,” Josie said out loud as she looked at her reflection.

She stood there for a long second before she decided not to change into a different outfit. She was not going to let her thoughts take over. She was not going to let herself ruin this new opportunity. She had so much more to lose than she would have back at Rank Media. The new position as Ethan Beckett’s assistant paid almost double what she was getting at the advertising agency and the perks were pretty great. The health and dental plan were amazing and she could get a company car whenever she wanted. She was already thinking of how she was going to upgrade from her small Yaris to something environmentally friendly. Maybe a Prius or something. To think that all that came at no extra cost was a no-brainer for Josie. Even Dani seemed to agree.

“You have been talking about getting a better car for as long as I can remember,” Dani had said.

“True, but I just wanted to offload the car before the mileage got out of control,” Josie said. “I mean it is not like the Yaris is a popular car or anything.”

“You are making your own point, you know,” Dani pointed out.

“Yes, but I have only been there a few weeks. I don’t want to seem like I am only there for the perks. I mean, I have already gone to the dentist and the gynaecologist.”

Dani shrugged.

“The fact that it all happened within the first two weeks was purely coincidental. You were due for a check-up with the OBGYN and the hard candy we had at that Turkish party kind of gave everyone a toothache. So, you have a whole television station to vouch for you when it comes to your dental work.”

Josie smiled and then shook her head.

“I don’t know, Dani….”

“Do you know why they call them benefits?” Dani asked, cutting her short. “It is because employees are supposed to benefit from the employer. It is a quid pro quo situation based on the fact that incentives only make the workforce more loyal.”

Josie nodded.

“Okay. I really, really don’t know where you are going with this,” she said.

“Well, it is simple. Ethan Beckett is already benefiting from you. I mean, you are single-handedly handling the man’s life and it is no small feat either. The man heads one of the biggest companies in the world. If you are wondering how this situation is working out for him, I would say pretty damn well and you are not breaking any laws by getting a company car. The thing is in your contract, is it not?” Dani asked and Josie nodded.

“Yeah, it is,”

“Then go right ahead.”

Josie took a long, deep breath as she recalled her conversation with Dani. Her best friend made a lot of sense but she could not help but wonder if it was too soon to put in the request. For the first time in a long time, she drove to work in complete silence. She did not know what to do about a whole lot of things. She did not know how she was going to handle the fact that she worked for America’s most eligible bachelor and that she knew just how perfect his scent was. All she could do was think about the previous night. Perhaps that was what had her thoughts flying all over the place when she thought about putting in the request for a company car. The last thing she wanted was for it to look like she was trying to benefit from an unfortunate situation. But at the back of her mind, she could not help but wonder if she was overreacting or simply being really aware of her surroundings.

When she got to the office building, she took some time to compose herself in the car before she got out. Her heart was still racing as she made her way to the elevator but once she got to her desk, she felt a little more relaxed. It was like magic. She put in her headphones and began blasting some Leon Bridges tunes. There was something about his music that had a general calming effect on her…