50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Five

    Destiny didn't know how she got through the work day. One hour, she was fantasizing about Aubrey and the red playroom he had in his condo, the room with all sorts of toys and gadgets and tools of torment. The next hour, she was fantasizing about kissing Brian, dreaming up the kind of life that she could live with him. Back and forth, the perpetual seesaw of daydreams. She wished she could expel Brian from her thoughts and fantasies, but the more time she spent around him, the more he managed to get under her skin.

    He hosted a department meeting to update the team on the improving press coverage that the company was receiving, thanks to Aubrey's press conference. Jeremiah, as expected, fell asleep during the meeting. For possibly the third time today, she wondered why he still had an internship with one of the most respected companies in North America. That was only a passing thought, though. For the majority of the meeting, her attention was focused on Brian, noting small things about him: the way he spoke, the way he moved around the room when he was presenting, the way he licked his lips after speaking for long periods of time, his hand gestures, the way he made eye contact with each person in the room while speaking. His eyes lingered on her longer than it did the other employees in the room, and she made note of that, too.

    She lowered her eyes the final time his eyes landed on her, feeling her cheeks heat up. I shouldn't be having thoughts like this, so why do I? She lifted her eyes again, and Brian had moved on, turning to the projection screen and gesturing towards it.

    After the meeting, she all but fled from the conference room, not even daring to breathe until she reached the sanctity of her office.

    That was how the rest of her week flowed. She took to avoiding Brian altogether, but that didn't stop him from crossing her mind, didn't stop her from fantasizing about him. She would see Aubrey a few times a day at work. Each time she saw him, she felt trace amounts of guilt for entertaining fantasies about another man. Even factoring in the guilt she felt, though, she savored those little moments, those brief interactions with Aubrey. She clung to those moments in hopes that soon this mess of a situation would be resolved so she could return to him.

    In the meantime, she had to work with the cards she was dealt. She tried to tell herself that having fantasies wasn't that bad...fantasies were beyond her control. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn't feel guilty for it...but she did. Because although she savored those brief encounters with Aubrey, she was still developing feelings for Brian. And she didn't know how to stop it.

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    Destiny was avoiding him. At work, she only talked to him if it was absolutely necessary. At home, she made sure not to spend much time in the living room. She started closing herself off in her bedroom. She was polite, courteous even. But if there was at all any way for her to avoid him, she took that opportunity and maximized on it.

    Brian's feelings were hurt. He was doing everything he could to make her feel comfortable. After effectively being friendzoned, he launched back into that mode and spoke to her casually. He kept sexual innuendos out of conversation, made sure to keep a lot of distance between them, and tried to make sure he wasn't staring at her for long periods of time. Even though I've caught her staring at me several times, the few times she was unable to avoid me.

    For the past two weeks, he could barely tell he was sharing his home with someone. She was like a ghost. He looked forward to the next moment he could see her face, only she made sure those moments were few and far between. On one hand, he wanted to talk to her about it and lay everything out on the table. He wanted to get past this awkward phase. But he felt like bringing the topic up again would scare her off more than it would strengthen their friendship. So he continued to live with a ghost, week in and week out.

    On a dreary Friday afternoon, Aubrey pulled him aside and asked how she was doing. Brian didn't mince words. "She's having a hard time with it all."

    Aubrey sighed and ran a hand over his head. "So am I, believe me. But I don't know what else to do. The entire time she's been staying with you, I haven't received anymore threats."

    "Does your P.I. have any information on Carlos?"

    Aubrey shook his head, and smiled politely at a co-worker walking past them. Once the co-worker was out of earshot, he muttered, "He hasn't been able to track Carlos down, hasn't been able to find any evidence showing that Carlos is even alive. The detectives working on Rafael's murder case have touched base with me a few more times. It doesn't seem like they consider me a suspect, but you never really know. If the cops are keeping tabs on me or running surveillance or anything of the sort, that could also explain why Palmer would have backed down for the time being. There's just no telling."

    "Shit."

    "Yeah." Aubrey paused. "Also, I've put in phone calls to Steve from accounting. He was supposed to be out of the office for only two weeks, but human resources got a fax from him requesting another few weeks. When I call him, I get no answer."

    Brian's brows drew together. "Suspicious."

    "Very," Aubrey said. "I don't have a good feeling about it. At all."

    "So..."

    "So, Destiny definitely continues to stay with you," Aubrey informed. "I don't see that changing any time soon. Not until I get to the bottom of this."

    "I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Brian mumbled.

    Aubrey laughed. "Is she giving you a hard time?"

    Brian shook his head. "She's avoiding me like the plague."

    Aubrey clapped a hand on his shoulder. "That's my girl."

    His girl indeed, Brian thought as he walked into his house that evening. The minute he set foot over the threshold, he heard the sound of running water. The sound carried down to him from upstairs. He slowly dragged his eyes up the stairs and tried to fend off images of a naked Destiny in the shower; he failed. His throat went dry and all of a sudden the tie around his neck was too constricting. He closed the front door at his back and dropped his briefcase. Then he started to walk up the stairs while loosening his tie as images of Destiny assailed him.