Skeleton Key of Desires

Ezra

She was late. The woman with emerald eyes and long chocolate-brown hair was never late for her coffee. Time fleeted away, and Ezra painstakingly listened to the ticking of the seconds that passed by from the round clock on the white walls. He had just about enough. He placed his hands on the desk to help push himself up to stand when his office door slowly crept open, and the tiny framed woman silently slithered in. Obviously, she wanted to stay unnoticed, but he had other plans.

"Wait," he said, letting go of the table and relaxing back into his chair.

She stopped. Good.

"Come here,"

She obliged without hesitation. Ezra did not enjoy seeing the woman who took care of his needs in such disarray. She limped back over to him, and his blue eyes roamed over her, inspecting every inch to see where other injuries might lay. She wiggled back and forth while his gaze was upon her. The last thing he wanted was for her to be uncomfortable, so he looked away.

"What happened?" Ezra asked.

"I tripped and broke my shoe," she replied.

Ezra knew this was an obvious lie. But his need for his employee's health overrode her dishonesty, especially her well-being. He gathered what he needed while she made her way to sit on the couch and wait for him. It wasn't long before he joined her. As soon as he sat beside her, the smell of strawberries and mint intoxicated his senses. The smell alone dizzied his mind.

Ezra took special care of the woman in front of him. He chuckled when she hid her face, anticipating the pain of a numbing spray like a child. There was something about her that confused him, and he craved it.

Jewel slipped her small feet inside the slippers he provided her, and he could already tell they were a size too big. He hoped this would not add to her discomfort.

"Are you sure you don't need to take the rest of the day off?" he said.

"No, sir. I'm fine, especially after your treatment," she said.

The redness that rippled across her face and her tiny hand that went immediately to her mouth as if to shield any more words from flowing out was enough to put a small smirk on the cold Ezra's face. It was not that he enjoyed her uncomfortable feelings. It was more that he could see she might have some feelings for him if she was embarrassed around him. With that, she left his office. Not once did his ice-blue eyes leave her body. He wanted to make sure she made it safely back to her desk before he got back to his work.

Ezra could not place his finger on it, but she hypnotized him in a way no other woman could. Maybe it was the sly shake of her hips as she walked in her heels that made her only slightly above average height or maybe it was the deep shade of her emerald eyes that would stare at him adoringly when she thought he wasn't looking. Whatever the reason, he felt the need to have her close by and protect her. He had already failed this morning.

Ezra glanced at the clock and saw it was only a couple of hours before she was supposed to leave.

"Jewel, I need those papers," he said, peeking his head out of the glass door.

He watched as she stood up and scrambled papers together. As he made his way back to his desk, a tiny smile formed on his lips with every thought of Jewel. She was beginning to melt away at the wall of ice that he surrounded himself with a long time ago. A few moments passed, and she sauntered into the room.

As she set the metal folder on his desk, her unique smell drifted through the air. Not knowing what had come over him, he grabbed hold of her tiny wrist. Ezra felt her pulse quicken and her skin heat under the palm of his hand. Out of reflux, his grip tightened, never once, faltering eye contact. He had to think of something to say.

"How's your ankle?" Ezra said.

That wasn't exactly the plan he was thinking of, but maybe Jewel would not notice the effect she had on him.

"I...I...It's fine, thanks," Jewel said.

He did not mean to intimidate her. Immediately, Ezra let go of her wrist, breaking the connection that he absolutely yearned for. Still, his eyes never left hers.

"Go home and rest," he said.

"Yes, CEO Ezra,"

It was more of a demand than a request, and she understood. The demand rose off of Ezra's ridged body, making the surrounding air tense. Jewel took the hint and practically ran out of the office to pack her things. He hated using the boss' aura, but he also knew she would overwork herself if he did not send her home. One of the reasons he hired Jewel Swanson on the spot was by observing her out of the hundreds of candidates. Instead of sitting and rehearsing what she would say during the interview, Jewel was the only person that rose from her seat to help the janitor who had slipped and fallen into the puddle she was cleaning. The kindness in her heart was obvious, especially when she almost missed her interview for still helping the elder woman. Though kindness filled her heart, spikes filled her words. Like an uncontrollable volcanic eruption, the tiny girl yelled words at others for being too preoccupied with themselves to help another human in need. A smirk appeared on Ezra's face as he recalled the memory.

The sound of Jewel's voice interrupted Ezra's thoughts as he wondered why she was still there. He stood up from his desk and saw Henry from accounting stopping Jewel from leaving the office. When he saw the scene in front of him, his immediate thoughts were to protect her. Ezra opened his office doors and stood right behind Jewel in enough time to hear the tail end of their conversation.

"Can't you at least say you're..." Henry started.

"She is off the clock and needs to go home," Ezra said.

Jewel whipped her head around, not expecting Ezra to be standing right behind her. Any faster and her head would have been buried in his muscular chest, though he would not have minded. His arms slightly lifted as the thoughts of pulling her toward him entered his head, but they exited just as quickly as they had entered, and he clasped his hands behind his back. He looked down at her through his black bangs, trying to hide the smirk that was slightly rising on his face. Jewel, not having anything to say, scurried out from between the two men to exit the building.

Ezra, noticing that Henry never took his eyes off of the area that Jewel had just walked to, tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows at Henry.

"Anything else, Henry?" Ezra asked, bringing Henry's attention back to him.

"No sir, I will be on my way," Henry said.

Henry turned on his heel and trudged down the hallway back to the accounting office. Strange man, Ezra thought as he turned to head back into his office to finish his work for the evening.

Thoughts raced through Ezra's mind as his hands flipped mindlessly through thousands of papers. The woman with emerald eyes had a fish hook buried deep in him. Not knowing when, where, how, or why he was caught and he didn't care what she would do with him as long as he got to be near her for a moment.