The Other Woman

Chapter 1

Brenna took a sip of her iced coffee as she stepped through the front door of the office building. She had been working at New Horizon's mental health center for about 2 weeks now as a case manager. She absolutely loved her job and loved the people that she worked with. It made her feel a sense of importance and fulfillment by working with people who are struggling and helping them to get their lives back on track. It was also the perfect job for the degree that she was working towards in social work. She smiled to herself and sighed contently as she sat at her desk. She knew that she was much farther ahead in her life than most 22 year olds and she wasn't afraid to admit that she was proud of herself and her accomplishments thus far. 

Brenna ran her fingers through her long dark hair and took her small compact mirror out of her purse, checking that her eye liner was winged perfectly and pursed her red lips together. Today was Monday, which means that the team was meeting for their mandatory Monday morning meeting. This was only her second one and she wanted to continue to make a good impression on her co-workers. 

"You ready for the meeting?" Megan, Brenna's coworker, poked her head through the office door.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."

Megan gave Brenna a genuine smile and whispered "I'll save you the good seat next to me."

Brenna laughed and gathered her notepad and pen. Brenna loved all of her coworkers. She got along with them great so far and found them all to be easy going people who genuinely wanted to help the clients. The only person that Brenna had not met yet was the CEO and Executive Director - Adam McClintock. She had heard everyone in the office speak of him at least once, especially the women. They all told Brenna how handsome and charming he was and how endearing it was that he opened this company in an effort to help people improve their lives. She would always roll her eyes at her coworkers that swooned over him. Brenna rarely found any man to be special and was never phased by a handsome guy. 

"Adam will be in the meeting this morning," Megan said as they walked down the hallway together. "He's been traveling around the country for the last few weeks. He does that a lot. He'll disappear for weeks on end working on marketing stuff, speaking at conventions, you know, being an all around awesome guy," Megan said with a dreamy smile. Brenna couldn't help but chuckle to herself. 

"I have a feeling that I'm going to be extremely disappointed since you guys are hyping him up so much." 

"Oh trust me," Megan said, "you won't be disappointed. It's too bad he's married. But at the same time it's a good thing because every red blooded female in this building would be fighting for him. And I have a feeling you'd win," Megan stated, nudging Brenna in the side.

"Why would you think that?" Brenna asked curiously.

"Oh, don't play stupid," Megan said. "You're easily the hottest one in this office."

Brenna blushed at the compliment as they walked into the spacious office in which the staff meeting was being held. Brenna and Megan sat on the two plush couches by the large window that overlooked the Portland cityscape. It was a gloomy and rainy day, but Brenna loved the weather like this. It made her feel cozy and warm. 

Brenna brought her attention to her notebook as she began writing down her to-do list for the day. 

"There he is!" She heard the Clinical Director's voice boom with enthusiasm. Brenna picked her head up as she heard all of her colleagues saying their hellos to this infamous man. Brenna gulped loudly as her eyes landed on him. He was tall and impeccably dressed - his suit was shiny and didn't have a single wrinkle or flaw in it. His light brown hair had a slight curl to it and sat perfectly upon his head. His jaw was strong and masculine, but his eyes were soft and gentle. The color of his eyes was a deep hazel color and his smile was genuine and radiated from his eyes. Brenna's heart continued to beat faster the longer she looked at him. She silently cursed herself for allowing herself to react this way. She had never in her life let a man phase her, yet upon Adam's presence she suddenly felt very small. 

Brenna unconsciously bit her lower lip and quivered under his gaze as his eyes locked with hers. She saw a flash of curiosity and then realization as he smiled at her.

"You must be Brenna," he stated as he stepped towards her and held his strong hand out. Brenna hesitantly took it and couldn't help but notice how small and fragile her hand was in his. He gave a gentle squeeze as she somehow was able to mutter the word "Hi" from between her lips. He gave a small chuckle and continued to hold onto her hand. The room grew silent and awkward as their hands stayed clasped and his eyes linger on her face for far longer than was appropriate. Brenna felt like her hand was burning from the electricity of their skin touching. 

Abruptly, Adam shook his head to bring him back to the present moment and removed his grasp. Adam sat in the chair directly across from Brenna, but she kept her eyes downcast, not daring to look back up at him. 

"So," Adam stated as he cleared his throat and regained his composure. "I hear a lot has happened while I've been gone. Fill me in!"

--- 

The group filed out of the room slowly as soon as the meeting was over. Brenna walked quietly back to her office as quickly as she could to get away from the magnetic force pulling her towards Adam. The feelings that she was experiencing were completely foreign to her and made her extremely uncomfortable. 

Brenna got into the safety of her office and closed the door behind her. She took a heavy seat in her desk chair and exhaled a breath that felt like she had been holding it for the whole meeting. She tried so hard to keep her eyes off of Adam, but she couldn't. He was so charismatic, charming, smart...and sexy. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head furiously, trying to get those thoughts out of her head. Damnit, he is your boss! Stop thinking like that! She held her head in her hands and attempted to control her breathing until the sound of a soft knock on the door bought her out of her trance.

"Come in," she stated, clearing her throat and sitting up straight. Much to her dismay, when the door opened, Adam was standing on the other side. 

"Sorry to bother you," he said with a charming smile as he leaned against the door frame, "I just wanted to say that I'm very excited to have you on the team."

"Oh, thanks," Brenna said softly, bowing her head down in an effort to hide her flushed cheeks. 

"I've heard great things about you. Anyway, I'll be in town for a few weeks, so I look forward to seeing you around the office. Have a good day." He flashed a final, knee weakening smile and closed the door behind him. Brenna let out another exasperated sigh upon his exit, but was startled again when seconds later the door flew open.

"Hate to say I told ya so," Megan stated as she rushed through the door, closing it behind her and leaning against it. 

"What are you talking about?" Brenna asked, trying her best to be discreet. 

"Oh, stop. You can't fool me. That man is a walking sex God and you can't deny it."

"Sex God?" Brenna asked, unable to hide her shocked smile. 

"Like I said, its too bad he's married. Welcome to the club of every woman in the office who stares at him when he's around."