Untitled - For Now

Chapter 8

Monday morning came too soon. After the run in with Namjoon the other day, Kate was determined to keep her distance. Thankfully she hadn't seen him when she went out for her run this morning. She wasn't sure what would have happened if she had seen him. Slow to a walk? Never. Run faster? Quite possibly, but he could have easily caught up to her. She could tell he was in good shape. Didn't take a genius to figure that one out. Turned in the other direction? That was most likely what would have happened. That is, if she caught it in time.

Thankfully, today was a day he wasn't in the office, so she wasn't overly concerned there. She also had a lot to do since it was month end, so there were reports to run, checks to cut and journal entries to create. Absolutely no time for a CFO who was dangerously handsome and who threw her mind into overdrive at a mere glance. Heaven help her.

After her shower, she walked into her bedroom to get dressed. She had laid out her clothes the night before so she wouldn't have to stress over it in the morning. She had a tendency to overthink it – as with just about everything – and couldn't waste precious time debating when she needed to be at work on time. Last night she had chosen black trousers that hug her ass impeccably, a blue button down top that brought out her eyes, and black Danskin shoes. She left the top two buttons on her top unbuttoned, showing a small amount of cleavage. She paired the outfit with a necklace with a round disk that hung provocatively between her breasts. The disk was simulated opal and looked lovely against her skin.

Looking at herself in her full-length mirror, she decided she looked presentable and set to work on her hair. In less than 5 minutes, her hair was brushed and dried. Her auburn hair hung down her back in gentle waves. As a child, she hated the color of her hair, but as she grew older she seemed to at least tolerate it. She would never color her hair, she had done that once years ago and hated it, so for now, she tolerates it.

Brushing her eyelashes with a layer of mascara and lining her eyes with eye liner, she grabbed her things and headed out the door.

The day was lovely – warm and sunny. Just like she liked it. It was fall, but today was one of those rare days when they got a reminder of what late summer was like. Stepping onto the sidewalk to begin her trek to work, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, relishing the warmth of the sun, the smell of fall and being able to appreciate it all. She was about to start walking, when she bumped into something hard. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but then just as quickly she recovered, crossing her arms.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you're stalking me," she said, moving around him in the direction of her office. Her quick strides were no match for him, however, as he quickly caught up to her. He was looking as fine as always in his designer suit with a green shirt that somehow brought out the color of his brown eyes. She looked straight ahead in hopes he didn't catch her quick glance at his well-clad body. Damn him for being so hot!

"I'm hardly stalking you when I live not that far away and we are both headed in the same direction." He countered, obviously amused at her tone. "Happy Monday, Kate." He tried to make eye contact, but she refused. A smirk lit up his face, clearly amused still.

"Good morning," she replied. Even though he was...him...she wasn't about to become rude. Something that was ingrained her in DNA from childhood. "Heading to your other job today?"

"Yes," he replied, shifting his laptop bag to his other shoulder. "As you know it's month end so it's a busy time."

"Yes, it is," she said, as they walked through a crosswalk, then headed to the left towards her building. "Where is your other building? I didn't realize it was so close to Howard Associates." She was only half interested. Trying to make small talk so it wasn't awkward. She hated awkward. And this situation between the two of them was a crap ton of awkward.