CHAPTER FIVE- TOUGH CALL

Eric’s POV

Eric felt her absence as soon as she left his office. His eyes remained on the wall, staring at the space for a full minute. The space where only seconds ago, he had her pressed tightly against him, her full lips giving as he demanded more. His jaw flexed and he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Shit!” He cursed softly, angry at himself for losing control like that.

What the hell had come over him? How could he let himself be so careless?

He walked back to his desk but he couldn’t sit, he was too restless to. He paced back and forth before stopping in front of his floor to ceiling windows. Looking down into the busy streets, he took another deep breath and adjusted his shirt and tie. The wrinkles on his shirt caused the memory of her grip to come rushing back. The softness of her lips, the heat from their bodies, the way she melted into him and kissed him back with passion.

Eric ran his hand through his hair and exhaled, staring at his disheveled reflection in the glass. His breathing was still coming in hard just as his heart was still pounding fast in his chest. Body still tingling with a warm sensation that both excited and confused him. Especially her scent which still filled his airways.

“What type of man kisses a woman applying for a job in his company for the first time? He mummured under his breath.

This was definitely unexpected and most unusual for him and he rarely slipped like this. In all his thirty two years, It usually was very hard for anyone to pick his interest this fast. He also rarely had flings or casual hookups with women. Yet, here he was ready to risk it all with a potential employee. A scandal he wasn’t prepared for in regards to his status.

He had faced challenges in the board room,built businesses from the ground up and stood against company rivals but none of them had been as challenging as pulling away from Katrina Jones had been just now. All his years of discipline and hard work could possibly be at risk if word of this got out.

On the outside, Eric Whitmore always appeared to be in control, cold and ruthless but that was in business. Little did they know that when he loved, he loved hard. To his sister, Jen, he was a softie and that was because she was the only one who got to see the sweet side of him. Ever since they were kids, he always took care of her and doted on her due to their seven years age gap.

Eric walked back to his chair and stared at the other files on top of his desk. He definitely wasn’t in the mood to conduct any more interviews today. He pressed the button on his intercom and his assistant’s voice sounded through.

“Yes sir?”

“Transfer the rest of the interviews for the day to the hiring manager” He said flatly.

“Certainly sir”

As he took his seat, he made up his mind about Miss Jones. There was absolutely no way in hell that he could hire her to work for him now even if he thought she was a good fit. He wouldn’t trust himself to be around her without having a repeat of what just happened which wouldn't be a good look for him.

Sadly, this was not fair to her. She hadn’t asked for this and was only caught up in his moment of weakness but he couldn’t think of any other way to handle the situation.

   A few hours later, Tony, his assistant, walked in with the hiring manager after knocking softly. 

“These are our recommendations sir form the applicants interviewed today” his HM said, sliding a few files from across the table to him. Eric glanced through and his body stiffened when he saw Katrina Jones’ name among them.