The Heart Thief

the heart thief- |07|

Millie

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"Good work today, Melanie," Gavin said as he patted my arm and walked out of the conference room. His retreating form caught the attention of several scowls in the room, including me. I knew what they were all thinking because we shared the same thoughts. For the entire two hours that we were seated in the meeting, Gavin bit at everyone, stressed us out with pointless views, stole plans, and pretended to be the one who came up with them. Poor, overworked Maggie nearly broke down in tears as a result. It took a lot out of us. Stress, too much work, and Gavin's abuse had us all on the verge of losing it.

Fortunately, things began to get a little easier. Everyone gets to leave work early today at Mr. Harley's request. I wouldn't say I disliked the notion of leaving work a bit early, but I knew he was just looking for an excuse to get out without having to explain why he always leaves early. I seemed to get irritated even more when I thought about Mr. Harley, but when Roman texted me to meet him, which I thought was brilliant timing, all the negative feelings that were evoked inside me disappeared.

Before heading out to meet him two blocks from the office, I reapplied my makeup and looked for stains in my jeans and blouse. The fact that it was so close to where I was made it far preferable to taking my car and getting stuck in traffic.

I had to stop by Starbucks first and ordered an overpriced Frappuccino. Roman was leaning against a dark-windowed, all-black convertible with a phone pressed to his ear. My heart rate accelerated as I stared at him. He covered his locks with a Yankees cap while sporting a shirt and jeans. Attractive without trying hard to be.

Roman motioned me over and reached for the passenger door handle, which he held open for me. He waited until I was in before walking around the car to the driver's side. Suddenly, two arms slid around my seat, hands resting on it.

"Hello, gorgeous," Isaac mused in greeting. I turned slightly, blushing as I caught his bright smile. He, too, was wearing a cap, but it was not the same as Roman's.

"Hey," I responded, turning to the man sitting next to him. He was buff, with tattoos covering a massive set of dark-skinned arms and wrists. With his raw and chiseled jaw, pale brown, almond-shaped eyes, and boyish grin, he exuded the same charming and playful aura as Roman and Isaac. "Hi."

He waved his hand with a smile.

"This is our best mate, Shane, the best linebacker who plays for the Cowboys," Isaac introduced. "Shane, this is Millie. She doesn't watch football, so don't get your hopes up about her being a fan or falling for your charms."

I laughed. Shane smacked his face with a magazine.

"We will see about that, won't we? I'm well known to change a woman's opinion. Nice to meet you, Millie. Roman didn't tell me we were picking up a gorgeous woman. I could have dressed to impress."

Isaac tapped Roman on the shoulder. "Shane is hitting on your woman," he snitched. Roman looked back through the rearview mirror, the phone still pressed to his ear. Nothing on his face explained what he thought of the remark.

"I'm not his woman," I squeaked out, cheeks tainted with red. Isaac and Shane both laughed at my expense, while Roman simply shook his head and remained silent. He was on the phone for another minute before he hung up, snatched my Frappuccino from my grasp, and sipped from the straw.