The Client

3

I locked my eyes on hers, on the impossible blue of them. I’d been trying to come up with a suitable adjective to describe their dazzling color but they were all inadequate.

“It’s not something I can talk about, I’m afraid.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Confidentiality and all that.”

She nodded her understanding, but a sly smile played around her lips. “What were you thinking about earlier? When you were distracted?” She deposited her glass back on the table and curled her fingers into air quotes.

A flush spread from my neck up to my cheeks. I sipped from my drink and twirled the glass between my fingers before glancing at her again. She’d taken off her glasses and her eyes seemed too close, too knowing. “Do you really want to know?”

“I do.” The tone of her voice, even in those two short words, indicated that she already did.

I cleared my throat and swallowed the sudden dryness out of my mouth. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman to ever set foot in this office.” I resisted the urge to look away. I witnessed how a small sigh escaped from her lips.

“Apart from yourself, you mean?” She picked up her glass from the table again and drank from it without losing eye contact. Our glances stayed connected over the rim. The skin of my arms pricked, the hairs reaching up. I sat stock-still for an instant, listening to the furious beat of my heart. Her face broke out into a smile.

“It would be foolish to compare.” My voice came out strangled. “Such a waste of time.”

She slanted her body backwards. “What are we going to do about this?”

Wet heat gathered between my legs. Would it be better if I waited for her to make the first move? Or just plain silly because the time for considerations like that had surely passed?

I drained the last of my drink and stood up. My knees felt weak as I bridged the small distance to where she sat. I extended my hand to hers, fingers shaking slightly. She gripped me by the wrist and the sensation of her fingers curling against my skin made me dizzy with delight.