A Fresh Love Ch. 01

At my slight nod, James is up and opening the door for me and we head out of the office and onto the street. We're round the corner of the building and hit Chinatown. James bypasses a whole row of restaurants with pretty young Asian girls showing us their menus and leads us inside a small and crammed restaurant. We're told the wait will be 10 minutes so James grabs us each a Tsingtao beer.

"You like Chinese food, right?" He asks after his first sip of beer, a look of concern crossing his face.

"It's a little late for that question, I think but yes, it's actually my favourite." I answer and James relaxes visibly.

We make small talk for a few minutes before being waved to a table. As soon as we sit down, James rattles off a few dishes to the waiter and turns back to me. Once we're settled, our conversation becomes relaxed and easy. He bombards me with questions about where I grew up, what I like to do on weekends, my favourite books and I am unable to get a question in at all. I take the moment when our food arrives as the moment to strike in.

"So long have you worked at L&L?"

"Too long!" James laughs. "Actually, I started working for them as a sales rep ten years ago when L&L was just a handful of people, and just worked my way up the ladder as the company grew. That's how I met my wife, actually."

My stomach flips. Suddenly all that flirting and touching made me feel queasy.

"Wow. Good job then?" It's hard to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, so I settle for deadpan instead. "Does your wife still work for the company?"

"Ex," He says, swallowing a mouthful of beer, "Ex-wife. I finalised my divorce more than a year ago. And no, she left not long before we separated." James offers me a thin smile.

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry." I'm so relieved that it takes everything I have not to get up and dance on the tabletop.

"Don't be, I'm not. She cheated on me and it was my choice to leave. We don't have kids and that made things easier, I guess. Worked out for the best. Anyway, let's not spoil a perfectly lovely lunch. Think you can handle another drink before we finish?" James grabs a waiter that walks by and orders two more beers.

"Are you trying to get me drunk on my first day, Mr Smithfield? You'll give a girl a bad reputation, you know?" I toy. I'm back in full on flirt-mode.

"I would love to give you a bad reputation." He says with a wolfish grin. I stare at him in silence as dirty thoughts run through my head. He interrupts them with a counter question. "And what about your love life? Any serious boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands?"

"An ex boyfriend." I play with my chopsticks. "Honestly? He wasn't a nice guy. He never hit me, but you know, other ways. I ended it a few months ago, about 4 years too late."

Silence hangs over us. The only person who knows the depths of the relationship between my ex and I is Lily, and here I am about to spill my guts out to a man I barely know.

"That's some heavy shit." I look up at James and his brow is furrowed with concern.

"Yes. Yes it is. Relationships can be needlessly complicated."

James scoffs "You're telling me! I've tried dating since splitting with my wife but it's hard to start from the beginning again, especially with a woman my age."

"Your age?"

"I'll be 46 in a few months. The women my age have kids, or want to act like they're 18 again. It's too much baggage for me."

"I'm pretty sure you'll find someone when it's right." I say as my heart drops again. He's made it crystal clear he doesn't want someone nearly 20 years his junior. I feel utterly ridiculous.

"I think we both will. There's someone out there who will want to give you everything." James flashes me a killer smile and the thought of exactly what he could give me makes me squeeze my legs together.

As we drain the last of our beer we're shuffled up to the register to pay the bill and despite it now being past 2pm, the restaurant is still busy. James and I are chatting in the queue and I wonder if other people think we're a couple. The thought both warms and terrifies me.

When we get into the building, James and I are the first to get into the elevator. He leans against the back wall and I face him as we chat, trying to keep my distance in the confined space as the lift fills to capacity after the lunchtime rush. One more person wants to squeeze in, and James reaches around my waist and pulls me closer to him to make more room. When the elevator doors close, he still doesn't loosen his hold on me.

The sexual tension between us is electric.

"You can feel that too?" He whispers softly in my ear, his breath once again raising the hairs on my body. I nod against his cheek. James pulls me slightly closer to him, a smile playing on his lips. "So what can we do about that?"

I tremble in his arms, in anticipation but also in fear. I'm so tightly wound that when the elevator dings for our stop, I nearly jump out of my skin. I can hear James laugh softly behind me as I power walk back to my office and close the door behind me.

I put my head down on the desk and take a few deep and steadying breaths before I decide look after some house keeping. I order business cards and a new diary and lay out the things I want to speak with James about tomorrow. I pick up my bag to leave and when I open our adjoining door, James is sitting at his desk, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, his tie loose and the top buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a light smattering of dark hair on his chest. I'm completely disarmed by how sexy he looks.

"You off then?" He says with a smile.

"Yeah, I don't really have much to do. I'd better save something for tomorrow, huh?"

"I'm sure I could find something for you to do." He says, leaning back in his chair.

Everything he says seems to be laced with sexual promise and it's only my first day here. How long can this go on? For a couple of seconds I wrestle with myself as to whether or not I should say anything, and I break.

"James, it's my first day. If you think there is something that might get in the way of us having a productive professional relationship, please let me know. I would hate to settle down only to have to leave." I hope I'm not being too presumptuous.

"I think we can have a very productive professional relationship." He stands up and walks towards me. He stands just inches away from me, and the smell of him is intoxicating "When you told me you were single, I said there was someone out there who wants you. In case I wasn't clear, I was referring to myself. I'm sorry if I misunderstood this situation."

We stand in silence, staring at one another. I'm relishing the tension crackling between us. I just want to throw myself at him, but I have to be firm.

"Whatever, James. I really want to have a career here and I don't want anything to get in the way."

"I'm not going to get in the way of your career, but I think I'm going to have a hard time with my self-control around you. Tell me that you're not interested in me, tell me that you don't feel something."

I say nothing. The truth is that I am interested, very interested. I look down at my knotted hands. He takes a deep breath before speaking again.

"That's what I thought. Now go home, before I do something stupid." His arm is around my waist as we walk to the door of his office. "I can assure you that I won't affect your career, but I can't speak about what happens outside the 9-5." He promises, and my knees almost buckle beneath me.