Thirty two

EVE'S POV 

That morning, my department had a meeting, but my mind was barely in the room as various teams presented their reports. I was busy trying to untangle the puzzle that the previous night had left in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to urge myself to not think about it, it didn't take long before my thoughts slides back to that territory.

What must I have been thinking? 

I have asked myself this question about a hundred times since I left the house in the morning, but I still had no answer. So I settled on the only one reason that made sense, the alcohol. It was the alcohol that was to blame for my behaviour. Otherwise, I never would have dreamed of clinging to Morgan the way I had, let alone kiss him.

Its true that he is a handsome man, and I thought him to be attractive, and maybe he was totally my type, but I was in no position to be lusting after him. Or acting on that lust. 

The alcohol had done away with not only my sense of propriety, but also my sanity, and that was the only reason I crossed the boundaries we had drawn.

From now on, I think I would have to be careful to not go anywhere near him drunk. Or to drink, at all. That's if I grow past my embarrassment and could face him after the little show I had pulled this morning.

Every time I thought of how I had accused him of taking advantage of me, I felt my face flame with shame. I would have to get over it at some point, and I hoped he too would let it go. Otherwise, living under the same roof was going to be a lot more tricky than it had ever been.

Someone suddenly nudged my arm and I jolted out of my mind trip and looking to the side. It was one of my coworkers, who was giving me a curious gaze.

"You zoned out"' she said,

 "Mr Gray is about to announce the design that has been selected for the autumn and winter exhibition”,

"Oh.., thanks”, I told my colleague, switching my attention back to Mr Gray, who was seated at the head of the conference table. 

Everybody's eyes were on him as they awaited the announcement. 

Having your design selected for the exhibition was a big deal. Although l had submitted one, but I didn't have high hopes of getting selected. 

When I joined the company, everybody else had already been working on their designs. I hadn't had as much time to work on mine, so I was positive others had done a better job, which was why it caught me by surprise when Mr Gray said.

 "The design that has been selected for the autumn and winter series exhibition was submitted by Ms Luciano”,

l blinked, feeling like I was dreaming. But as everybody's attention turned to me, it sank in. My design has really been chosen.

"Congratulations, Ms Luciano," Mr Gray said, beaming at me. 

"You haven't been with us for long, but you've already proven to be an important part of this department. Keep up the good work”,

"Thank you, sir", I said humbly, not knowing what else to say. 

I hadn't expected anything like this. Everything seemed to be working in my favour, and I was grateful.

 Just last week I had landed the client who had paid fifty thousand dollars for a necklace, and now, my design had been selected for the next series exhibition. 

I had always known that joining the Edwards Group would be good for my career, and so far, so good.

"The rest of you," Mr Gray said, turning to the others,

 "you'll need to work harder if you still want to be part of this department. Having worked for our company longer than Ms Luciano, I would have expected you all to have something better to offer. If she wasn't here, I don't think we would have gotten a design to exhibit from our department for this series. Learn from her if its what it takes you to do better",

As the department head lectured everyone, I felt a little uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I mean, I was glad that my design was chosen, but I also felt awkward that he was implying that my seniors should learn from me. It wasn't the kind of spotlight I wanted. 

Most of them offered me congratulations, and many sounded sincere. But of course there were those who were not happy about it. One in particular, didn't bother hiding her contempt. Her name was Claire, and she snickered loud enough for me to hear, followed by a mumble that included the words 'boss's new pet’.

I pretended like I didn't hear that. When the meeting was over, Mr Gray asked me to accompany him to his office.

 I went, feeling a little uncomfortable because I could still remember how he had behaved the first time I was in the office alone with him. But hopefully, this time round he would be professional.

"Your design is really good" he told me when we walked into his office and he offered me a seat.

 "It was one of the best I've seen this year. You are very talented",

"Thank you, sir", I replied, wondering whether he had called me into the office to heap more praises on my design.

He waved a hand in dismissal.

 "You can call me Jerry. There's no need to be so formal when it's just the two of us”,

I blinked, not sure about that. He was my boss, how could I just call him by his first name?.

"So, about your design", he said, clasping his hands on top of his desk and swiping his tongue over his bottom lip in a way that almost made me gag.

 "It's very good, but there's still space for improvement. With a few tweaks here and there, it'll steal the spotlight at the exhibition. If you need any help with the design, you can come to me for help",

I would have been extremely naive to not understand the meaning of his words, but I wasn't, and I understood very well.

 The tell was in the way he licked his lips and leaned over the desk, his eyes constantly moving between my face and my chest area.

As much as it disgusted me, I mustered up a small smile and thanked him for the offer. I had absolutely no intention of asking for his help. 

Apparently, this was all he had called me into his office for, so after another word of thanks, I left the office.

GRAY'S POV 

After Eve left the office, I unconsciously licked my lips again and leaned back into my chair.

 I had worked with many talented designers, but it had been a while since I had come across the one I was so strongly attracted to.

 Whatever It will take, I was determined to get her into my bed one of these days.

CLAIRE'S POV 

When Eve walked out of Mr Gray's office, she saw me walk out of a corner, but paid no attention to me.

Eve, however, was anything but indifferent as I watched her walk away. I was curious about what the department director had needed to tell her in private, that I followed them and stayed outside the door, eavesdropping.

I knew enough about office politics to know that Mr Gray wasn't actually offering her help with her design. 

“No wonder her design had been chosen,” I thought scornfully. 

This woman turned out to just be a shameless vixen who had seduced the department head.