Burning Desire

Chapter 16

"Damn, you look nice," I blurted out in awe and shamelessly let my eyes linger on his body before I realized how stupid I probably looked, standing there, gawking at my handsome coworker. "I... I mean... hi."

Well, that couldn't have come across more lame if I'd planned it that way.

Alex flashed me a lopsided smile and ran a hand through his sandy hair. "Good morning to you, too, Kate."

His voice was a bit coarse and lazy, as if he'd just rolled out of bed. I bit my lip to keep from groaning. Few things were sexier than a man's deep, gruff sleepy voice.

"What are you all dressed up for?" I asked, desperately trying to keep my eyes focused on his and not let my gaze travel any lower.

He shrugged and leaned against the wall beside the elevator. His jacket sleeves tightened around his biceps when he crossed his arms and I just knew my cheeks were reddening.

"I guess I thought I'd try something new since I seem to be the only employee with an affinity for plaid shirts and Wranglers," he chuckled. "Some of our coworkers have started referring to me as Urban Cowboy. I figured I'd try blending in for a change and see how I like it."

I like it! The voice in my head shouted.

"Well, I think you clean up really nice," I said generically, trying not to make it any more obvious that his attire was stroking my libido.

Alex walked alongside me as I made my way to my office and he waited in the doorway while I started up my computer and shuffled some paperwork around on my desk.

"Do you need something?" I looked up from a pile of drafts.

He wasn't looking at me so much as he was glancing around the room with a puzzled look on his face like he wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

I gestured to one of the chairs on the opposite side of my desk. "Why don't you come sit down?"

Alex's green orbs met mine and he smiled softly, shutting the door behind him and sauntering over to the chair. He looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"Something on your mind?" I cocked a brow, taking my seat.

"Too much," he breathed and shook his head. A few unruly strands of his hair fell across his forehead. "I'm stressing over this job and I haven't even worked here more than a few days."

I remembered Selena saying that she and Alex were going to go over some ideas in the boardroom yesterday afternoon. Maybe that had something to do with his moodiness.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He nodded, staring a hole through the wall behind me. "Yeah. I think I just need to vent."

"Fire away."

I flopped back in my chair and crossed my legs, waiting for him to lay it on me. He'd been through a lot over the last two weeks, what with Now You Know going under, starting a new job with Satisfaction, and then getting picked to write current affairs before he'd even written his first article with us. It had to be a lot for him to take in. I'd be stressed, too, if I were him.

"I had a meeting with Selena yesterday to brainstorm the current affairs situation," he began. "I honestly have no idea where to start, Kate. Current affairs was easy when I worked for the paper in Georgia. International news was practically all I wrote about. But after working for Now You Know and writing music and agriculture for a while, I think I've gotten too used to those subjects and now current affairs feels foreign to me. It's almost like I forgot how to write it. I used to think I was pretty damn good at it."