Chapter Two
After the brief encounter with the man whose tree trunk Bella wouldn't mind climbing, she had to grab some much-needed caffeine. The morning was off to a wonderful start, minus Lauren's hourly visit.
Left alone to her own devices, she got work done. Simple as that. Sure she often worked with a team, but Mr. Volterra knew she worked better as a lone wolf. Her boss sent her the hard or on the verge of financial ruin files and she always pulled them back from the brink. Yet, a hundred percent success rate wasn't enough for her to earn a cushy corner office.
Why? Was it her sparkling personality that lost her the promotion? Her lack of filter? Her 10.9 on the Bitch Face Richter Scale scowl? Or maybe it was the fact she karate chopped Aro's wandering hands more than once?
She had threatened to leave the company, even took a two-week sick leave. Her boss had called her to his office within seconds of returning to work, offered her an awesome pay raise and first dibs on the next position. And not some made up one, too. She put Aro on probation, a fact he was well aware of and did his best to not piss her off anymore. Honestly, Bella believed her boss was scared of her.
"Excuse me, Miss Swan?"
That voice melted Bella's panties in an instant. Scorched itself in her memory bank she'd undoubtedly unearth when she was in bed later. (Man-free diet, remember?) All deep and smooth, a slight accent she couldn't place. She turned to face the devilish voice already knowing who'd be standing behind her.
Edward's eyes were green, and not just any shade. They were dark around the edges glowing brighter toward the middle, mesmerizing and hypnotizing.
You are on a man-free diet. Not even a nibble, Bella!
The reminder allowed her to muscle up a friendly but cautious smile. But from the way his timid smile fell, she suspected she came off as homicidal. Oh well, if it kept his timber out of her mill, it was probably for the best.
Liar! You're such a fucking liar.
"Hello, Mr. Masen, did you need something?"
A giant hand with a finger span as long as her beloved T-ruler came up to run through his auburn hair. No wonder Lauren wouldn't shut up about his hands. Her mind immediately decided she needed to get him to sit down so that she could calculate the size of his tool, timber, whatever!
"Would you mind showing me how to work that fancy machine?" He gestured toward the Keurig machine behind her. "I never used one before, used to the old-fashioned ones."
"Sure." She waved him closer and immediately regretted it. He smelled like an intoxicating combination of mint, outdoors, and pure masculine male. Though he kept a respectful distance from her, she felt the heat from his body nearly pushing her against the counter. "There's a lot of variety we keep in stock, everything from regular and decaf, to hot chocolate and tea. I assume you like your coffee a bold and bitter?"
She picked up a black K-cup, showing him and looking over her shoulder to find him smirking. A facial event that should be illegal in all fifty states. He could melt panties in a five-mile radius with that shit.
"Bold and bitter sounds fucking amazing."
Bella had a feeling he wasn't talking about the coffee. She cocked a brow, making him blush and look away first.
Don't most people give up diets in December and start fresh in the new year?