Poughkeepsie
Three months later
Working at Henshall & Langan had proven to be quite exhausting. When I wasn't busting my ass for Trevor, I was out running errands with or for him, and I had been recruited to help out Tristan with Henshall's messes as well. Overall, it really wasn't bad. I was used to the workload and the expeditious pace but I missed those quiet moments I sneaked during lunch and on the weekends. If I wasn't careful, you could catch me sending Trevor reminders or answering his calls and text messages about what ever it was he needed help with. Usually they were at a decent time and hour but you had those moments where I think he forgot he was the only up at such ungodly hour and would call me and wake me from slumber. He would apologize profusely but I was already aroused from sleep and wouldn't be able to reconcile with it unless I knew he was fine and really didn't need help with whatever it was he was investigating.
Another Monday at home saw me getting ready for work: multicolor vertical stripes skinny trousers, white button down blouse, and red pumps. I was feeling bold after having a horrible weekend of no sleep, thanks to Trevor's obnoxious phone calls asking questions that I never quite understood. I finally gave up and just stayed up with him through Skype and we were able to work like that. I was getting ready to leave my apartment when my phone rang, "Good morning, Trevor."
"Noa, good morning."
"What can I do for you?" I asked.
I could feel him smiling on the other side of the line, "I am needed in Poughkeepsie for a case and I don't think I can survive the day without my trusty assistant."
I chuckled, "What are you saying, Trevor? There's stuff to do at the office, I can't be on Skype the entire day," I said, tittering at my own words as I grabbed my sunglasses.
"I know, that's why I'm parked in front of your unit building. I'm pulling you for the day and instructed Jeanine to put the office phone on forward to your cellphone."
"Trevor…"
"Listen, we'll be back by lunchtime because I'm meeting my parents for our monthly lunch in the city. Which, by the way, I need you to make a reservation for us four, and we'll drive back to Poughkeepsie afterwards and I'll have you in your home before midnight. I promise," he mentioned.
"You drive a tough bargain but fine. It's not like I have a choice anyways, you're outside my home!" I chuckled grabbing my keys and exiting, "I want coffee, it's the least you could do."
He chuckled and hung up once he saw me exit my building. I opened his car door and slid in, "I still can't believe you just popped up in front of my home without telling me. I knew it was a mistake letting you drive me here last week."
"I was not going to let you get in the subway at one in the morning, Noa," he said glancing at me, "And, if we're talking about believing, I still can't believe you live in Harlem."
"What's so wrong with Harlem, Langan?" I challenged.
He eyed me curiously with a smirk on his lips, "That's what I thought!" I said chuckling.
"Here," he mentioned, handing me a cup of coffee, "Vanilla latte, no foam, with cinnamon?"
I took of sip of the burning liquid and hummed, "Aww, you remembered!" I said, pouting my lip.
He guffawed and shook his head, "My tablet is on the back seat, I have the office calendar linked. What do we have?"
That was his line. That had been his line since that first Monday, three months ago. Now, it just seemed like familiar territory, "Meeting with Lowell, Simmons, & Crenshaw that is going to last all morning; lunch with mom and dad; motions hearing in Poughkeepsie; and miscellaneous with LSC," I paused and eyed the calendar, looking for any reds and only saw one for the weekend, "Oh, office pool party on Saturday that I am happy to say I will not be attending, but you are."
"You're not going? Why?" he asked.
"I don't want to. I would like to enjoy my weekend boss and work free since I couldn't do that this weekend, I wonder why?" I mentioned playfully.
Trevor shook his head, "I'm sorry, I just needed help and I didn't know whom else to call and it was important."
"I know, I'm just teasing," I responded as I crossed my legs in the bucket seat of Trevor's plush SUV.
"You have to go, it's mandatory," he mentioned, eyeing the road.
"Nowhere in that email does it say that it's mandatory for anyone to attend."
"Oh, you can count on another email saying that presence is required from the partners since we will have several prominent clients hosting and participating in the event," he said as he looked at me.
"You're unbelievable, you know that, right?"
He shrugged and offered a boyish smile. We fell into somewhat of a comfortable silence before he spoke again, "So, Noa, do you have any siblings?"
I chuckled, "What are you doing?" I asked, playing with the tab of my coffee cup.
"I'm making conversation, what does it look like I'm doing?"
"Yea, you're asking personal questions. I'm sure we can engage in conversation without having to go into personal inquiries," I responded.
"You know everything personal about me, it's only fair I know what I'm facing," he said, turning his head to give me eye contact.
"I'm your assistant, I'm supposed to know everything personal about you," I countered, grinning. He remained quiet and bit his lip, not backing down, smug son of a bitch, "Fine, yes, I have one younger sister. Her name is Sara, no h."
He chuckled, shaking his head, "Noa no h, Sara no h; what is with your parents and the omission of the consonant?"
"Well, in Spanish, the h is silent, almost non-existent so they just omitted it. Why have it there when it serves no purpose at all?"
"Why a boy's name to you but a girl's one to your sister? I mean, traditionally," he asked.
"Actually," I said, turning in my seat, "Noa was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad. It's a biblical name; she also fought along her sisters for women's right when there were no male heirs. My name's meaning is literally 'motion to consecrate God'."
He smirked and turned his head to eye me impishly. He always did this, stare me down when he was intrigued or felt he was losing the upper hand, "That's what 'Noa' means?"
"Well, Noa Elisa is my name."
"And your sister?"
"Wife of Abraham, mother of Isaac; also a biblical name. As you can tell, I grew up in a religious home," I offered.
"That's good or did you not like that?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh, no, no; I never mind it. I loved going to church on Sundays, though some of my teachings have gone out the window but I still try and go on Sundays to church. What about you?"
"What about me?" he asked.
"Siblings? Church?" I offered, motioning with my hands.
"Well, you've met my brother Thomas and he has a twin sister, Tilly. She's the oldest out of us three," he said smiling, "And church was followed on the 'popular' days like Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Good Friday service."
"What's up with your parents and the letter t?" I smirked, redirecting the question back to him.
"Ha! That was my mother's doing. She wanted to keep TL as the initials for her children; just like her husband's."
"Oh," I said, placing my hand over my chest, "That's romantic but I won't ever do that to my children."
"Neither will I," he offered, tittering.
We fell in silence once again and before we knew it, we were in Poughkeepsie. The day had proven quite extensive and exhausting and we weren't even finished with the day. We were only halfway through and still had more to do. At Lowell, Simmons & Crenshaw I had been present throughout the entire meeting. Taking notes, assisting in research, and generally assisting Trevor. Apparently, they were defending a wealthy known member of the community in Poughkeepsie and they needed to find out everything and how to best plan the defense without tarnishing too much the reputation of their client. We left for lunch and let known that wouldn't be back until almost two in the afternoon where they had still a little bit of leeway to plan for their motions hearing. I offered to drive back to the city since I knew he was probably tired. He acquiesced and I even told him to take a nap and that I would wake him once we had arrived at the city.
"Trev," I said, shaking him slightly, "Trev," I said a little louder and forcefully but that didn't seem to work either. I huffed and turned off the SUV and walked to his side, I thought of ways of waking up the large man on the passenger side and the only thing that came to mind was the way my father would wake my sister and I. I rolled my eyes and mentally chided myself for even considering such a sweet and personal approach but nothing else had worked so I decided to give it a go. I ran my fingers through his hair and noted how soft it was, even for a man, and he stirred slightly. I rested my hand on his forehead and with my thumb rubbed between his brows, "Hey, sleepyhead. We're here."
It worked! Holy shit, it worked. He fluttered his eyes open and his sleepy eyes bore a hole straight to my chest, keep it in your pants Diaz, he's your fucking boss for Christ's sake, "How long have I been asleep?" he husked.
A shiver ran down my spine and I closed my eyes. Opening them, I saw him smirk, "The entire car ride and five minutes on top of that."
He smiled sweetly and rested his head back on the headrest, "I'm sorry, my mother used to wake me with an ice cube."
"Well, I'll remember that next time I need to wake you up."
We both chuckled and I noticed that my hand was still on his face, "I like your approach better though, Noa."
I retrieved my hand and faltered, "Uh, we should get going. Y—Your parents are waiting."
He nodded and pulled the backrest forward, unbuckling his self and exiting the car. We made it to the restaurant and saw that the Langan's were seated on the outside patio. It was a beautiful day out, so why not make the most of it? We got seated and we placed our drink order once the waiter saw the party was completed. Senior noted that I had the keys of the SUV, "Trevor Elijah Langan III, did you make her drive?" he grumbled.
"What?" Trevor said, still in his sleepy stupor, "No, dad," he huffed, looking at me. I shrugged and winked at him, taking a sip of my water, hiding my smile, "She offered and it's a good thing she did, apparently I slept the entire way here."
"How did you get him to wake up?" Mrs. Langan asked.
"I used my father's approach on waking my sister and I up when we were younger. It worked," I said, motioning to Trevor.
"Well, your father is a saint if his trick worked on this log," Senior added.
I smiled, "I like to think that he was one."
"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Mrs. Langan, mentioned.
I waved her off, "It's ok, thank you. He lived fully and well."
"Well enough of that, I'm starving," Trevor said, redirecting the conversation away from me. I mouthed my thanks and he returned my wink and smiled. We placed and received our orders and began eating.
"So, Trevor, lately the places you have been picking for lunch are such a great hit that I have brought the girls back several times already," Mrs. Langan said, nibbling at her food.
"Oh, you can thank Noa. I don't make these reservations, Mother. You'd think I would but I don't," he admitted.
"Well Noa, since my son here doesn't love his mother, thank you."
"Oh, Mrs. Langan, it's a pleasure. I'm a foodie; it's a trait my father and I shared. There's a lot more where this came from," I said.
"Please, call me Georgina, or Gigi," the woman politely offered.
I nodded and looked at Trevor who had a smug look on his face, "What's that face for, Langan," I said, temporarily forgetting where I was. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes, "I am so sorry, I forgot where and with whom I was. I'm sorry," I pleaded, feeling my cheeks grow red.
"Nonsense," Senior begun, "I think you're the only assistant of Trevor's that has given him a run for his money. You know," he said, pausing his eating, "every time we catch up or he visits home or calls, he has a lot to say about you."
"Does he now?" it was my turn to eye Trevor smugly.
"Oh, yes," Senior said, "I believe it was two days ago he visited home saying you gave him a headache."
I opened my mouth and laughed, "Did you tell them why?"
Trevor shook his head and averted his eyes, "No, they don't need to know the details. They just need to know that my assistant makes me want to pull my hairs out."
"Well, I'm telling them," I paused to see if he objected but he just smirked, "We had downtime at work between one of his meetings and he called me in to help him with a crossword puzzle and the hint read 'adjective, well-shaped buttocks' and he had, I believe were the letters y, g, and the last a of the word. So I told him the answer was callipygian and he threw a fit because 'that is not a word, Noa; if you're not going to help me say that instead.'"
Trevor shook his head and looked at me through his lashes, smirking as he chewed, "It sounded ridiculous at the time."
"Was she right?" Gigi asked.
Trevor remained silent, "Well was she?" Senior asked.
"She was," Trevor said softly, barely audible.
"What?" his mother asked.
He huffed and stopped eating, "She was."
The table erupted in laughter, "That's what he gets for being a Neanderthal," I responded.
"That right there," he said, pointing at me with the fork, "That's what started the headache. If she would've taken her win humbly, I wouldn't have had a headache for the rest of the day."
"Oh, like you take your wins in court humbly, Trevor, please," I said, taking a sip of my water.
He scoffed playfully, smiling, "You have no idea what I do after court, Noa."
I nodded and placed my glass on the table, "You're right, I don't but I do know what you do before. You gloat and feed your ego for two days straight when you know you have a win in your hands. And, don't even try to deny it just because your parents are here. I know how competitive you are."
"Well," he said, laughing, "I get to gloat! I'm the lawyer."
I laughed heartily, tucking my hair behind my ear, "And, I'm the smarter one, so I get to gloat too. I expanded your vocabulary, Counselor. You're welcome," I finished, smiling at him.
He shook his head and continued eating, "They're bickering like an old married couple, Gigi," Senior said, eyeing his son.
My cheeks turned redder and I stared at my lap, "And, now they're hiding their faces like guilty teenagers," she said, clasping her hands and tittering, "Get a room you two!"
I bit my lip and smiled, oh trust me Gigi, I want nothing more than to have you son on his back while I ride his m—
"Mother!" Trevor said.
"Oh, dear, have I made you uncomfortable?" she asked.
"No, no Gigi, you're ok. Don't listen to the big oaf over there, I'll be fine," I said smiling.
"Oaf?" he asked with a smile.
"Look it up, Counselor," I replied smugly.
"I know what it means, Noa," he smiled, melting to me to my core.
Jesus, stop. What is happening?
Where is this all coming from?
I cannot like Trevor Langan; he's my boss for heaven's sake. My BOSS!
A/N: This chapter will have a part two that will be posted some time this week. I promise the angst and sexual tension will continue to build from this point on. Please review and give your feedback! And, thank you to those who have reviewed and are following this story! :)