“Yes, sir.”
He walked past her, not saying anything else before shutting the door behind him. Nicki stared at her computer screen, suddenly feeling crestfallen. She had been hoping for a slightly longer conversation than that barked order at her. Was it always going to be like this?
The answer was yes. Nicki was left alone the rest of the day. David stayed in his office. She thought back to the party, where Paz had said he was a shut-in and didn’t really go to social functions. Nicki hadn’t thought that would have translated to his office, as well.
At four-thirty, David came out of his office with his things. He stopped in front of her desk.
“I have an unfortunate function I need to attend tomorrow night. I’ll need you with me to take notes,” he pulled out his phone and typed something quickly before looking back up. “The information you need to plan the reservation is there. It’s with a rival company head, so it won’t be pleasant.”
“Yes, sir.” Nicki replied, studying him.
As usual, his face gave nothing away. It was blank, as if every emotion had been expertly drained from his face. Nicki suddenly had the urge to lean over the desk and shake him just to get a reaction from him.
Instead, she tried something else, “What makes it so unfortunate?”
David hesitated, briefly, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to her before replying, “The company head, Tony, wants to merge our two companies. But I have no interest in it. We meet once every six months to battle it out. He always brings his daughter with him.”
“Why?”
“To set us up, I imagine. She always throws herself at me. I have no interest in her, of course. But she’ll be there tomorrow. You’ll be my assistant and my buffer.”
Nicki nodded. David turned to go. She couldn’t help but watch him as he stepped into the elevator. He caught her staring. Quickly, she looked away.
“Nicki,” he said right before the doors closed, “You look nice today.”
The doors slid shut, leaving her alone in the office, her heart beating quickly.
*
The restaurant the meeting was located at was in the center of town. It was an expensive place called The Garden that Nicki had never been in before. Apparently, they had special dining rooms that were sealed off from the rest of the floor, which offered the privacy David wanted whenever he left the office or his house.
Nicki was feeling nervous only because she was nervous she would make a blunder somehow in front of Tony and his daughter. Not to mention that she couldn’t help but replay David’s compliment in her head over and over again.
Nicki arrived early, as per David’s instructions. When she was taken to the back room, no one else was there. She got settled in a chair and took out her tablet to get ready to take notes.
David arrived ten minutes later. He stepped inside the room silently and Nicki didn’t see him until she looked up. She let out a surprised gasp as he sat down next to her.
“You scared me.” Nicki said.
“Sorry.” He replied, although he didn’t sound sorry at all.
Silence filled the room. It didn’t seem to bother David like it bothered her. He was on his phone, typing away as he answered e-mails. Nicki couldn’t help but notice how close she was to him. Had they ever been this close before? She supposed they had been at the party when she’d run into him, but that didn’t really count. Now Nicki could smell his cologne. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He had some stubble lining his face and was wearing his glasses as he typed.
Nicki looked away before he noticed she was staring. She tried to quiet the butterflies in her stomach.
Finally he spoke, “They’ll be here soon. I need you to take notes, although I really just need you to throw his daughter off of me.”
“Are we…pretending we are dating or something?”
David let out a harsh laugh, “No. No, of course not. But I’m hoping, if she sees I have a new assistant, she’ll be thrown off and leave me alone.”
Nicki nodded. She opened her mouth to reply, but that was when the doors opened. An older man stepped inside. His hair was going gray, yet he still looked dignified with a narrow face that looked almost snobby. His suit was as well-fitted as David’s, but his eyes were a dark brown. He was slightly hunched over, as if old age was slowly settling in. Nicki hadn’t been expecting Tony to be old.
After he entered, a woman trailed in after him. Nicki knew this had to be Tony’s daughter. She was dressed to kill. Her long blonde hair flowed over her shoulders in sexy waves and she was wearing a gold dress that ended mid-thigh. It looked as if the dress had been poured onto her from the way it clung to every aspect of her body. Her high heels matched, and sparkled in the dim lighting. She had bright blue eyes that sparkled when she saw David. Nicki suddenly felt like an ugly duckling.
David stood up, “Tony, nice to see you again. I see you brought Rebecca.”
“Don’t be silly, David, of course I came.” Rebecca answered in what sounded like a purr.
Nicki stood up, as well, and David gestured to her, “This is my assistant, Nicki.”
Nicki shook Tony’s hand, but Rebecca looked at her with complete boredom before saying, “Hello.”
They all took their seats. Nicki felt awkward. Rebecca had clearly not been thrown by her at all. The conversation got down to business, with both Tony and David bantering back and forth about the business. Tony seemed to truly want to merge the two companies, but David wasn’t interested in the least bit.
“I built this place up from the ground,” David said as their meals were put down in front of them, “I have no interest in merging, as I’ve told you plenty of times.”
“Then at least marry Rebecca here,” Tony pushed, gesturing to his daughter, “She’d be a great asset to your company. She could be your assistant.”
In spite of her promise to remain quiet and in the background, Nicki couldn’t help but clear her throat. She didn’t like being treated as if she wasn’t even at the table. Rebecca’s eyes flicked over to hers. Yet, all Rebecca did was give her a small smirk, as if she knew something Nicki didn’t. It unnerved her.
Tony pretended he hadn’t heard her and barreled on, “You be with my Rebecca for a few years, and then we can discuss a merger.”
“Not interested.” David replied shortly.
The rest of the meal went on like that. By the time it was finishing up, Nicki wanted nothing more than to go home. She felt like she was being treated as an irritating fly. Everyone barely looked at her, David included, and when they did, it was either with complete boredom or a smirk. She was itching to go.
As they all stood up to finally leave, Tony pulled David aside to speak to him. With them whispering in the corner, Nicki was alone with Rebecca.
“It was nice meeting you.” Nicki lied, hoping to fill the silence.
“Yes, it was smart of David to bring you along.” Rebecca replied before turning away from Nicki and heading to the door.
What the hell did that mean? Nicki thought, at a loss for words. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Before she could trail after Rebecca for clarification, David was by her side.
“Let’s go.” He said to her.
She watched Tony and Rebecca leave ahead of them. She was waiting for Rebecca to turn around and stare at them, but she got in the car with her father and they drove off. Her shoulders slouched. She hadn’t realized how much tension she had been holding.
“Is it always like that?” Nicki asked David.
“Yes. But it should be done for another six months or so.”
“If you always say no, why does he keep trying?”
“He doesn’t like someone young in the game. Bothers him. He thinks if I marry Rebecca, he can get his claws in my company, but it isn’t going to happen. My company means everything to me. Anything else is just something on the side.”
Nicki fell silent, thinking over his words. She realized how little she knew of him. I
t felt as if they had been tossed together. In fact, the entire situation – from how they’d met to how she had gotten hired – felt like something out of a sitcom. How had David gotten to be a billionaire so young? She couldn’t think of any other billionaires in their mid-twenties. Of course everyone saw him as a threat. Tony was probably smart in trying to get him to marry his daughter.
“Anyway, you did fine tonight. Whatever notes you took, you can delete them. I’m not interested in anything with Tony. These dinners give him hope and keep him from getting aggressive. That’s all I care about.”
Nicki nodded and he turned to face her. In the distance, she suddenly heard thunder. Not for the first time, she realized how close she was to David. She could feel the heat off of his body. She took a step back, as if she could bring herself to stop noticing small things about him.
“I guess I should go,” she finally said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.”
He turned and began to head towards his car. In spite of the fact that Nicki wanted to leave, she somehow felt disappointed that all he’d said had been ‘goodnight’. It was stupid. She didn’t understand it. She decided to head home and put thoughts of the dinner completely out of her mind.
Chapter Five
Nicki’s dream started off as a memory. In it, Noel was over the woman in bed, moving under the covers. Nicki was turning around to run out of the room, feeling horrified. As she ran out of the bedroom, the room shifted. She was no longer in Noel’s apartment. Instead, she was in David’s office.
He was standing in front of his desk in the same suit from the dinner. Yet, the view was not of the city. Instead, they were underwater. Fish were swimming by in schools and she could see a shark in the distance. When she looked down at herself, she saw that her clothes were soaking wet and clinging to her skin.
“You’re making a mess.” David’s voice floated over to her, sounding muffled, as if they were outside underwater, as well.
Nicki opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was bubbles. David began to walk towards her. She realized that she couldn’t move her feet. She glanced behind her to see if Noel was following, but the door was closed.
When she turned her head back around, David was directly in front of her. The heat was pouring off his body, causing Nicki to start to shiver. He lifted one of his hands and rested it against her cheek. The warmth spread from his hand down her body, warming her up. Then he was leaning in towards her, his lips parting…
Nicki woke up with a gasp, as if she had suddenly broken the surface of the water. She sat up in bed, looking around wildly to get her bearings. She took in a deep breath of air and finally managed to calm down. She was in her bed with her sheets tangled around her. She felt clammy, as if she had a thin layer of sweat across her body.
Slowly, Nicki untangled herself from her bed sheets. The clock on the wall said it was a little past three in the morning. She padded into her bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was flushed. Nicki splashed some water on her face, thinking back to the dream.
Just nonsense, she told herself, absolute junk. There was no rhyme or reason to the dream. It had just been a dream.
So why was her heart beating so quickly?
*
“I need you to set up a meeting on Friday.” David was telling Nicki that morning in his office.
“Who am I inviting?” She asked, and then wrote down the names he rattled off.
“I might be needing to go overseas soon for an important convention,” David said next, “But I’ll let you know when I need something in regards to that.”
Nicki made a note of that, as well, avoiding his gaze. She still couldn’t get that dream out of her mind. It was stupid and she kept telling herself it was stupid. But the thought of being in soaking wet clothes in front of David as he leaned in to kiss her was hanging over her head. She could still picture it perfectly.
“Nicki,” his voice floated over to her, “Did you hear me?”
“Yes, sir, you were talking about going to a convention.”
“No,” he replied, “I was asking about if you ordered the laptop I requested last night. What is wrong with you today?”
“Nothing,” she lied quickly, “And yes. The laptop has been ordered.”
David was getting up from behind his desk now. Nicki vividly saw the image from her dream of David walking over to her with the ocean behind him. She wanted to leave, but stayed frozen in place. He stopped in front of her as if he was studying her. Her heart started to beat quickly.
“You look sick. Are you catching something? If so, just go home. I can’t afford to catch anything.”
“No. I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”
“Could be that color. It washes you out.” He said, motioning to her green skirt and matching blouse.
“I didn’t realize you were a fashion expert, as well.” She replied quickly.
“Don’t be so defensive.”
“Didn’t you hire me to tell you when you’re being a dick?” Nicki said, forgetting her earlier awkwardness.
David’s eyes rested on hers and she fought the urge to squirm. She couldn’t keep up with her shifting moods around him. She felt irritated with him one second, and the next, she felt thrown off balance. It didn’t help that Nicki could never read what he was thinking. He took a step towards her, just like in the dream, and her breath caught.
“I didn’t hire you to be rude to me, however,” he said, and Nicki could sense the iron underneath his words, “So you should go back to your desk now.”
From this close, Nicki could feel the warmth coming off of David’s body. How could he be so warm all the time? Did he not feel it? She could feel it just by standing this close to him.
“Yes, sir.” She managed to say.
She was aware of how much she suddenly wanted him to touch her. Nicki wondered what she would do if he truly did reach out for her. What would it feel like if his hands touched her arm or her face? Would the warmth spread out across her body like in her dream?
She made herself turn around, tearing herself away from the close proximity of David.
*
“What is wrong with you tonight?” Paz asked Nicki as they watched TV together.
Nicki glanced at her, “What do you mean?”
“You’re totally out of it. I asked you like three questions in a row, and all I got from you was mild grunting.”
“Sorry. I have a headache.”
“Okay.” Paz replied, but she narrowed her eyes at Nicki, as if she was studying her.
The truth was that Nicki was worried about herself. She had to be feeling sick or coming down with something. How else to explain the strange feelings she got when she stood around David? Maybe she just wasn’t used to being around David yet, and the nerves got to her.
“Is it Noel? Are you still thinking about him?” Paz asked.
Nicki realized her concern over Noel had lessened ever since she’d started working for David. It wasn’t that she didn’t still dwell on him before she fell asleep. It was that working for David was so busy that Nicki simply didn’t have time to sit around and think about him.
She avoided Paz’s gaze, “Yeah, sometimes.”
For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Paz that it was David she was thinking about. She didn’t want Paz to make a big deal out of it. There wasn’t anything to make a big deal out of. Nicki was simply nervous working around a billionaire.
Her mind drifted back to the way David had told her to go back to her desk. He hadn’t talked to her the rest of the day. Had she gone too far with her snappy remarks?
“Well, if you’re dwelling on him, better to just find some incredibly terrible reality programming that we can mock together.” Paz remarked, flipping through the channels.
In spite of Nicki’s worries, she smiled. Making fun of trashy reality television was one of their favorite pastimes together. She
decided she’d stop worrying and have fun with Paz tonight.
*
Nicki felt better, going into work the next morning. She wasn’t going to let herself feel strange around David anymore. She knew it had just been because she hadn’t gotten used to the job. That was it.
She decided she’d get to work early. There was a big meeting later on, and Nicki wanted to be ready for it. She didn’t want to look as if she wasn’t taking the job seriously. Even though David had hired her for her open mouth, Nicki also made a mental promise not to snap at him today, no matter what he said or did. The last thing she wanted was to be fired.
Nicki made her way to his office. She used the key card and felt the elevator rise. Even though she had been irritated at the fact that David had told her the color green washed her out, she’d made a mental note to avoid the shade. Today, she was wearing black and red, and had spent time on her hair. The curls tumbled over her shoulders. Nicki had topped it off with a dark red lipstick that matched the outfit. For the first time in years, she felt as if she actually looked good.
The doors opened and she stepped out into her office. To her surprise, the door to David’s office was open a crack. Nicki knew that David wasn’t supposed to be in until closer to the meeting time. She was surprised that he was here already. She decided she would let him know that she was here also.
Nicki moved over the plush carpet and went to stick her head into David’s office to say good morning. Instead, she froze as her eyes registered the image in front of her.
David was in his office, but he wasn’t alone. Instead, there was a woman with him. She looked vaguely familiar, but her back was to Nicki. David’s arms were wrapped around the woman and it was clear that he was kissing her. His hands travelled down to the woman’s bottom and squeezed it. It was so unlike him that Nicki was shocked.
The two of them were still kissing passionately. The woman had her body pressed against David’s. Finally, they broke apart. David whispered something, but Nicki couldn’t make it out.
The woman then turned her head slightly so Nicki could finally see who it was. It felt as if her heart was suddenly covered in ice.
It was Rebecca.
She couldn’t believe that David was fooling around with a woman. But what Nicki couldn’t believe more was the fact that the woman was Rebecca, of all people. David’s words floated back to Nicki, stating that he would never be with her, and that Nicki served as a distraction for Rebecca to focus on.