**Isa"Woah, David," I said, stunned. I still wanted to believe that he was just playing a joke on me, but there was a serious and hopeful gleam in his eye that told me otherwise. "I don't know…""You don't have to say anything right now," David said.He put a hand up to stop me and just smiled down at me.I wasn't expecting this at all. I mean, sometimes we got a little flirty, and we had been getting closer. I also couldn't deny that he had made my heart flutter a few times and he was unbelievably kind and patient with me. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I realized that I couldn't let our relationship go in that direction. Simply put, I wasn't interested in him. Not in that way. As much as I hated to admit it, my heart was really only affected deeply by one person lately. "Anyway," David said. He wore a goofy smile as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "You can think about it for a little while if you want to. Like I said, you don't have to
**CallanIt was like my body felt her presence before I even saw her. An uncomfortable weight settled on my shoulders, and my desire to breathe or work or do anything just totally dissipated. When I heard my office door open, I didn't even look up. I knew her by the clack of her high heels on the marble tile, by the smell of her too-sweet perfume. "What are you doing here?" I muttered without looking up from my computer. Catherine chuckled lightly and didn't hesitate to invade my personal space by coming around my desk and spinning my chair to face her. She leaned down near my face. "C'mon, babe," she crooned. "That's no way to greet your future wife."In the corner of my eye I saw a familiarly-shaped shadow rush away. "Hah… I seriously don't know how to get it through your dense head…" I pressed my chair away from her and stood up. My intention was to leave my office and go after Isa, who I feared had just witnessed a very misleading circumstanc
**IsaThe break room was hot and steamy, but not because the coffee machine was busted.With the stairwell out of the question, Callan and I were back to our break room trysts.Callan's hands slid under my shirt. He thumbed the bare skin of my lower ribs. It was dizzying the way he overwhelmed my senses. One hand was sneaking slowly up my side, the other lightly massaging the nape of my neck, and his lips pressed firm but measured against my lips. "You can touch me," he murmured against me. "I wouldn't mind."I chuckled softly with embarrassment. Even though I was in a four-year relationship before, and in general I was a confident woman, it had been a while since I had experienced this type of intimacy. And even though it was late enough that pretty much everyone else was gone, I was nervous to get too into this moment.It wasn't that I didn't want to…With a heap of hesitation and excitement that made my hands shake, I placed my hands g
**IsaWhile I was in my whirlwind with Callan, I still made it a point to keep up with my friends.Erin met me in the cafe downstairs for lunch. "Uh, excuse me, but why do you look so fine today?" I asked her when she walked in.She was wearing a pair of high-waisted trousers and a satin top. She blushed a bit as she shrugged off her coat and draped it over the chair. "Oh, you know. I have another date later today," she said. "Another one as in… with the same guy or another one, as in, a new guy?" I asked. She had started dating again at the beginning of the year as one of her resolutions. As a pretty introverted woman who survived well on her own, she didn't necessarily have the desire to date, but she wanted to get married someday, so she knew that she would have to put herself out there. After almost an entire year, she had yet to meet a man that was worth more than two or three dates. "It's a new guy," she said. "I'm feeling hopefu
**Isa The clock read 8:00 AM. Just as the sun was really starting to come up. I blinked my eyes and turned onto my side to curl into a ball under my fluffy comforter. Soaking up the warmth, I laid there and tried to keep reality at bay for a little bit longer. Despite my mind swirling around like crazy the night before with thoughts about Callan, the mysterious email, and Catherine, I had slept well. It was a deep, long, dreamless sleep. Just what I'd needed. I wanted to go back there, to that dreamless rest. I didn't realize how exhausted I was from worrying and obsessing over everything that had happened in the past week. Callan had finally taken the lead and asked me to come over to his condo for a date night, but I couldn't in good faith. When Catherine had talked down to me like that, she had managed to get under my skin. Then, on top of that, I'd received that weird email from a mystery address. I literally felt sick thinking that someone had c
**CallanI had to face it. She was avoiding me.I looked down at the last couple of messages I'd sent her. Read. Unanswered.I laughed dryly at myself. Did I screw up already?"Mr. Arison, it's time to leave for your meeting with Mr. Evanchron," Jeffery informed me.I sighed at my phone and slid it into my jacket pocket. As we were leaving the office, I snuck a peek into Isa's office. She was there, staring intensely at her computer screen.Her hyperfocus left her eyebrows pinched slightly and her mouth muttering whatever she was reading. I decided to stick my head in the door.Or better yet, my whole body."Just a minute," I told Jeffery before closing the door behind me. Isa's eyes snapped up at me. She looked alarmed, maybe nervous. I approached her desk and leaned down on it, hovering over the top of her computer."Callan, what are you—""I don't know why you're avoiding me lately, but I don't appreciate it, and wh
**IsaI checked my plane ticket. First class. Just like everyone else going on the business trip to Brazil. We were launching Gabriella Luca's jewelry line in Rio de Janeiro first before promoting it in France."What seat are you in?" I asked Myalin, praying that I was assigned to the same row and side as her."C3," she responded.I grunted. "Damn"She peeked at my ticket. "Oh but at least you're right behind me and across the aisle. We'll still be able to chat a little when we get bored."I was getting nervous now. Up to this point, I had done a good job of avoiding Callan. He'd almost broken me when he cornered me in the office and confronted me about the fact that I was avoiding him. Fortunately, after I told him I needed time to think, he did give me some space. Of course, I still felt his eyes hovering over me while we were at work, but he didn't text me or corner me again.The truth was I kind of missed him, but I still wasn't sure w
**Callan Being so close to her in a moment like this was intoxicating. The smell of her citrus shampoo wafting on the wind off the water, the way the lights and stars swam in her eyes, the way she smiled up nervously as if she were taking a leap of faith. The beach of Copacabana was full of people, some of them embracing, some of them laughing and dancing. None of them were paying us any mind. And since we were far away from the rest of our business counterparts, I was free to take this moment a step further. Sliding my hands up her back, I gently pulled her closer to me. She shuffled her feet slightly to accommodate me. "You mean it?" I asked her.She nodded and raised up on her toes, angling her head back. She clenched onto my shirt for balance, and I tightened my arms around her. "Would you stop staring at me and just kiss me already?" she said with a laugh. Her impatience was adorable, but I didn't want to wait any longer, either. All at onc