Love Song - 7

Everyone on the floor? Everyone on the floor?! The floor was massive. And there would be, like, twenty employees up here! I would have to take down everyone's preferences, got to Starbucks, order, and then take a few trips to bring them back since the café was literally across the road to the building, and it would be stupid, not to mention impossible, to use the car.
But I didn't let the impossibility of the situation show. Instead, I smiled serenely and stood up.
"Is that all?"
"Yup. Get back here in - ooh, ten minutes? That should be enough, shouldn't it?" he smirked knowingly, one eyebrow cocked as if waiting for my failed rebuff. I gritted my teeth and smiled with a sugary sweetness.
"Right away, Mr Carmichael." I said firmly, before turning and walking calmly out of the door. Then I began to run. I ran right to Roberta's desk and thumped my fist down on it to get her attention.

"Oh, hey, Crys." She smiled, looking up at me through her auburn waves. Her light blue eyes were framed with thick, but short lashes, giving them a huge eyeliner effect. She was really, really pretty. It seemed everybody in the building was. When they weren't drop dead handsome, of course. "What's the problem?"
"Carmichael wants me to get everyone on the floor coffee. He's given me ten minutes, and I need to do this, because I've got stuff to prove." I gasped out, impatiently pushing my raven curls out of my eyes. "Please, please help me!"
"Stuff to prove? Oh yeah, that's right. The glossies were saying something about an old flame. Well, good luck, sweetie. Will hates any girl he can't get. Well, doesn't hate them exactly, more sees them as a challenge and will try all the harder to get them." She said with excruciating slowness, running her hands through her silky hair and pursing her lips in a way that suggested a case of sour grapes - he had obviously had her and dropped her.

I didn't really even care about that, though. He could go around and have been around. It was no concern of mine - I didn't care about him anymore. But the coffee; that was a different story.
"Roberta! Help, please!" I cried, clasping my hands together. She laughed a pretty, tinkling laugh and held up her hand.
"Don't panic. I was the coffee monkey before you arrived. I have a list of everyone's preferences right here, but don't tell Will, all right? He likes to think we work our butts off, which most of us do, but you know." And then, with a friendly smile, she pulled out a long list of amazing-ness.
I grasped at it, kissed it, and then thanked her.
"I owe you one!" I yelled over my shoulder as I ran into the lift. Into the lift, and right into a man. "Oof, sorry!" I apologized, untangling myself from his arms, which had thrown themselves around me in the similar way that my arms were around him.

I was unsuccessful, though, because the loopholes on my vest got caught on his jacket button. As I tried desperately to free myself, my cheeks getting hotter by the second, there was a chuckle from above. I looked up at the guy who I was currently attached to.
He was a very gorgeous brown-haired guy with eyes the color of emeralds and those full kind of lips that just begged to be kissed. I tried to refrain myself.
"I suppose you think my situation is funny, right?" I asked smilingly, straightening up and flicking my hair away from my eyes. I stuck a hand out. "Crystelle Giovanni. Carmichael's new PA."
"It's hilarious, and also, strangely exciting," Mr Green Eyes smiled. "After all, it's not every day beautiful girls barrel into you and then get stuck due to some fortunate incident. I'm Clint Hudson. Artist in the making."

I raised my hands and began to work on the tangled button again, all the while looking up at Clint. He was grinning cheekily, which made me blush.
"So you sing?" I asked conversationally, wondering why on earth the button wouldn't detach itself. There must have been a thread stuck or something.
"Yup. Sing, write and ... yeah, that's about it." He said, an adorable dimple revealing itself in his cheek.
"Hum. I used to date someone like that. It works for the ladies." I remarked, using my nails now. A look of realization dawned on Clint's face.
"Oh - you're boss's ex?" he asked affably enough, but the term ex was like a twist of the gut.
"Isn't everybody?" I asked wryly, trying to look casual as the lift slid to a stop at the top floor. A teenaged girl took one look in, stammered an apology, and went to press the button for the other. I sighed and Clint chuckled darkly.

"It looks so wrong." He said, jokingly putting a hand on my waist as the elevator slid to another stop. I put my one hand on his shoulder.
"Let's give the next person at the doors a heart attack." I suggested cheekily, stepping a tiny bit closer to him so there were only inches between our bodies.
"Here, grab my tie. It looks more scandalous." He cheekily said, as he placed his other hand on the small of my back.
"Okay, three, two, one - look guilty." I whispered. There was a ping, and the doors slid open with the easiness of a well oiled machine. I'd like to say we sprang apart, except that this was impossible. So I stayed there, in Clint's arms, as Will stood defiantly in the doorway.
"Clint and Crystelle." He growled menacingly, his jaw tensing in that dangerous way that it does only when he's furious. "What on Earth are you doing?"
Clint rubbed a hand through his hair and grinned sheepishly.

"Um ... we're stuck?" he offered meekly, gesturing towards my hands, which were back at the button. I realized how it must look from behind, which was probably that I was undressing him in a fit of passion. I blushed something cerise.
"Yeah, see? His button's caught on my vest." I said, shuffling a little to the side to show him. Will stepped into the lift to check, and reached over to angrily tear the two apart.
"There you are. Problem sorted. Why the inappropriate canoodling in my building?" he demanded roughly, his fingers curling into a tight fist at his side. I looked at his hand, and then at his face.
"Man, Will, just chill." The words slipped out, just like they always would when we were going out and got into an argument. When his jaw tensed, it meant he was really, really, angry. I would, upon seeing this, say the four magic words and then he would laugh and take me in his arms and everything would be roses again. He always said I sounded funny using boy-slang.
Now, however, his jaw didn't even relax.

"Excuse me?" he asked in this ice-cold voice that I didn't even recognize. I swallowed hard.
"I mean sorry, Mr Carmichael. It won't happen again." I apologized meekly, tears stinging behind my eyes. When had he ever spoken so bitterly to me? So horribly, like I was something on the bottom of his shoes? I suppose I was though - I was down-market in his terms and standards now. So I retreated into my shell and stayed in my rightful place.
"Right," Will's eyes flickered to Clint, "and you?"
"Sorry, bro." Clint said easily. "But you must admit, Crystelle is beautiful." He looked at me while he said this, and smiled. I was about to smile back when something between and snarl and a growl emitted from Will's chest.
"Clint. Get out. Now!" He barked angrily. Clint, fearing for his job probably, cast an apologetic glance my way and jabbed the stop button. Luckily, we weren't between floors, and he stepped out easily.
"I guess I'll see you around, Crys." He mumbled, throwing a sympathetic smile at me behind Will's back.
"Bye." I said back, sad to see him go. There was doubtlessly big trouble in store for me now.

Will was horribly silent the whole lift ride. Once it stopped, he grabbed my wrist and practically dragged me out of the building. Discreetly, of course. There were a few hidden cameras, but it didn't seem as if he cared much. Instead of bruising my wrist, though, he let his hand slip down and enclose mine.
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard as our fingers, so used to this small gesture, entangled themselves automatically. Will tugged me closer into him.
"If you were looking for kisses, silly, why didn't you come to me?" He asked softly and then there, in front on the cameramen and passer-by, in front of the curious employees peering out of their windows and the traffic in the road, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
His familiar, soft lips closed over mine delicately, as if testing them out. I didn't pull away. I didn't want to make a scene in front of the now furiously flashing cameras. His mouth started out tentative, searching, but as I answered every unspoken question it asked, the kiss deepened till my stomach stirred restlessly and I felt like fire was slowly smoldering all over my skin.

"Will. Stop." I whispered against his lips, but he only smiled against mine and pulled me tighter into him, molding me to his lean frame. "Will." I mumbled again, struggling inconspicuously to pull away from him.
He stroked my curls away from my face, exactly the way he used to. A lump built in my throat and tears stung behind my eyes. "Will." I sighed in contentment this time, raising my hand to run it through his short, crisp hair, taking a moment to caress the few dark strands that curled on his collar.
His hand found the small of my back and pulled me further into the embrace, as my own hands took the opportunity to run over the hard abs of his muscled chest. Then I snapped out of it. What was I doing?! I was allowing Will - the Will that broke my damn heart - to kiss me again? How stupid was I? Stupid enough to let him find his way back into my heart, just so he could break it again.
I blinked and a tear fell onto my cheek. Then, with a gulp, I pulled away from Will Carmichael's all too familiar arms.