10 Things I Hate About You

Chapter 10

One of Claire's favorite things lately was the feeling of Owen's strong arm around her neck, pulling her close for a kiss as they walked through Main Street.

They both had just finished lunch at Margaritaville and Owen was walking her back to her office before the 2PM phone call she had scheduled, as he had promised.

He held the door to the Innovation Center open so she could step in first and then his arm slid around her right away. It had been a couple of weeks since they had first kissed, and they still couldn't get enough of it. They were both always finding a little moment to steal a peck, just like the one Claire requested that exact second, after pouting her lips for him to kiss them.

"Look at that, it's five minutes to two." Owen grinned once they were in front of her office. His hands gently hugged her waist as she faced him. "And I don't give my time away."

Claire's green eyes were lovingly fixed on his, her hands resting over his shoulders. "Then come and get it." She bit on her lower lip, curving her body against his before a chuckle escaped him and Owen kissed her gently.

Zara, who was at the reception desk, had to clock them and sit there while the couple stood by Claire's office door, making out for the whole five minutes, only briefly pulling apart for oxygen from time to time, before they dived back to devour each other's mouths again.

The English assistant cleared her throat to let her boss know it was time for her call. Claire moaned softly before offering one last peck, kissing him soundly. "Five minutes are up! I have to go." She smiled and, turning around, she bumped into the old lady who cleaned her office.

"Sorry~" Claire blushed feeling the janitor cart hitting her legs. "Oh, espera... He estado juntando monedas para tu tarro." She smiled and motioned for Owen to follow her into her office, to say goodbye properly (like a five-minute make out sessions hadn't been enough).

Claire started looking for the change she had saved to give the lady once she saw her. The redhead had a small plastic bag with pennies, nickels, and quarters for her.

"You've been giving them your change?" Owen cleared his throat.

"Yeah...that jar is so cute and they deserve it." She smiled while emptying the bag into the jar. "Plus, I hate leaving coins around so why not?" She shrugged.

"Gracias señorita Dearing." The lady smiled, there were at least ten dollars of change there. The lady janitor nodded her head and started pushing her cart over to the next office.

"Yeah...don't do that, please." He brushed the back of his head.

"Why not?" She asked while walking around and dialling the WebEx call ID and password into her Avaya so she could join the call. She was about three minutes late already, but when wasn't she really?

"Because it's not... right." He looked away and stood by her, resting his back on the edge of her desk.

"It's just for their stupid soccer thing. Plus, it's a way to let them know I'm not against their ridiculous passion...just against them being unproductive and watching those games during work hours." She smiled.

"It's all messed up, actually." He mumbled. Claire was technically paying him to date her.

Claire hated wearing headsets, so she let the call run on speaker like she always did. It wasn't anything classified, but some marketing related to the Mosasaurus and potential sponsors for the asset. Owen shouldn't be there, but she knew nothing too sensitive would be discussed and she trusted him.

"Anyways..." The redhead didn't let him talk her into stopping this and changed the subject. Once she introduced herself into the call, she muted it from her end and slid herself between his legs. "Where were we?" She nibbled on her lower lip and ran her hands across his chest.