We meet again
1119 Words
As I stared at him, my breath caught in my throat.
He was tall and muscular, with cold, unreadable eyes and dark hair. It was him.
No doubt about it.
It was Neo Sanchez.
He scanned the room with the same nonchalant expression he’d worn the morning after, then his gaze landed on me and his eyes narrowed, making my heart jump.
“Miss Parker?”
The office manager said, completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil occurring inside me.
“This is Mr Sanchez, our CEO.”
The dots in my mind began to connect, parts of the puzzle pieced themselves together, and it started to click.
Neo gave a curt nod. “Welcome to the Sanchez group.”
My mouth went dry.
Of course.
I knew my one-night stand looked familiar that night at the bar, but I just shrugged it off.
I just never thought I’d be waking up next to my high school tormentor, let alone working for him.
“I-I look forward to working with you”.
I managed to say, my voice coming out merely as a whisper.
His eyes remained locked on mine for a while.
I fiddled with the hem of my shirt as the intensity of his gaze deepened. The fact that his eyes were guarded and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, nauseated me.
“HR will get you settled.”
He finally said, turning and walking away.
The rest of the morning blurred in a haze.
HR handed me a welcome package, I got introduced to my coworkers, and someone even offered me a muffin from the break room.
It was stale, sure, but it was still a nice gesture.
I nodded, smiled and thanked everyone. Barely registering a word.
My mind was still stuck on him.
Neo freaking Sanchez
He looked nothing like the lanky, loudmouthed teenager I used to know.
But that didn’t justify what he did to me.
Or what we did last weekend.
A ping from my phone jerked me out of my thoughts.
I looked down at a message from Sarah.
However, before I could read it, a voice called from behind me.
“Miss Parker. Mr Sanchez would like to see you in his office.”
My spine stiffened.
“Of course.”
I said tightly. Standing and straightening my blouse.
I followed the assistant until she made a stop at the elevator.
“Top floor,” she said, pointing her finger upwards.
“He’s waiting.”
I stepped in alone, the doors began to close but bounced back as someone stepped in.
Neo. Just my luck.
He pressed the top floor button without even glancing in my direction, his jaw tightly clenched.
I cursed his good looks as my eyes roamed his face and I found myself stealing glances at him as the elevator began to ascend.
We stood in silence as time went by. Ten seconds passed and then twenty and then, of course, since the universe hated me, the elevator jolted and stopped.
A tiny red light flickered above us.
I reached for the panel and hit the emergency button, taking deep, controlled breaths.
“Great.”
I murmured under my breath as I came to the realization that we were stuck here.
Neo seemed unbothered. He just leaned back and buried his head in his phone, completely ignoring my existence.
“So… Kind of awkward.”
My attempt at using small talk to cut through the thick cloud of uncomfortable silence failed miserably.
Neo didn’t even flinch. His thumb continued lazily gliding across his phone screen like we weren’t stuck in a small silver box together.
He seemed calm. While I was spiraling.
“Seriously, you’re not even a bit concerned?”
I raised my shaky voice at him, my left foot bouncing up and down.
His eyes flickered up from his phone screen.
“Panicking won’t get us out now, will it?”
He retorted, immediately burying his head back into his phone.
“I-I wasn’t panicking, I’m just uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable.”
I said, shifting my weight from one leg to the other, making him briefly raise an eyebrow at me.
I glared at him, willing myself not to snap. Not that he could see me, he was totally consumed by the black box of technology in his hands.
“So you’re just going to pretend like last week didn’t happen?”
He didn’t respond, and my ears grew hot.
“Did you even recognize me that night?”
My eyes became softer, but my voice was still sharp as I questioned my boss.
“I did remember you. That’s the problem.”
He finally replied. His voice was quiet, but not soft.
“How could I forget the person I used to…”
“Bully?” I cut him off, my nostrils flaring.
“Know.” he said, authoritatively. He took a daring step closer to me, looking down into my eyes.
As he closed the distance between us, my insides began to prickle with heat. I couldn’t tell if it was the temperature of the room or the sudden proximity between us.
“Although.”
He added, his eyes dropping briefly to my lips.
“You have changed quite a lot, Mia.”
Something about the way he said my name made my brain temporarily shut off.
I craned my neck to meet his gaze. The heat of his body seeped into mine as our bodies touched.
“What are you doing?”
I whispered, my voice breathless.
Neo didn’t respond. He didn’t stop either. Not that I wanted him to.
My eyes briefly flickered to his rosy lips before I returned them to his eyes. A whirlwind of emotions played inside his eyes before he leaned in, his lips inches from mine.
I closed my eyes, fighting against my better judgment.
My past was screaming at me to pull away, to run, to scream, to get away from him. But I couldn’t. No. I wouldn’t.
I could think about the consequences of making out with my boss later, but right now, it felt like all I needed was him. My lips yearned for his, and I was ready to oblige.
I braced myself for the kiss, puckering up, but it never came.
A loud ding in the elevator made Neo spring away from me like I had burnt him, leaving me with an erratic heartbeat.
My heart, however, thumped harder when I heard HR’s voice.
“Mr Sanchez?”
Neo’s expression contorted into his usual scowl, his corporate mask slipped back into place like it was never gone.
And even though it hurt to see, maybe it was for the best.
- Writer
