She watched the clock loudly clicking with each passing second, in the small meeting in her office. Somehow it was late afternoon already. She'd assumed the people she'd seen leaving had been heading for lunch, but it was clearly much later than she'd realised. The walls were paper white, and she knew from experience, also paper thin. A large desk sat in the middle of the room, simply made but sturdy, with two thick legs at either side and a wide space underneath. The handful of chairs that circled it could have easily sat over ten around the table comfortably, though they wouldn't be required for this meeting, with only her and her manager in attendance, it'd be a little more intimate.
She waited, her leg bouncing gently, part-nerves, part-excitement spurring its bob. She took a deep breath to settle herself, smoothing a wrinkle out of her top as she did. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a blue cotton t-shirt, fairly low-cut, both of good quality and tailoring that complimented her athletic body. Icy blue eyes and a strikingly beautiful face was framed by long red hair that fell in a gentle wave, lit like embers by the lazy afternoon sun shining through the full-length windows on the western wall.
Ever since he'd taken over as her manager, she looked forward to these moments immensely, though she always felt this tight knot of nerves and excitement inside of her. Each time it had unravelled slowly as they spoke, the feelings ebbing away, and she'd leave feeling positive and questioning the nervous energy. Yet here it was again coiled tight within.
There was definitely a tension in the meetings, a fierce undercurrent that she found distracted her at times. There was a lot unsaid behind the glances they shared, the lingering eye contact. It was clear they were attracted to one another. It felt to her like fire danced in his eyes, and when he looked at her, she felt it ignite something inside of her that left her breath short. She felt like he was restraining that fire, tempering it and that effort hardened an edge to how they interacted. It wasn't an unpleasant edge, but an edge all the same. It excited her. She was lost in these thoughts when the door opened, and he walked in.
"Hey," he smiled, clearly taking the time to admire her, "it's always so nice to see you."
She smiled back, her words faltering as she pulled herself from her thoughts and took a moment to appreciate him. Dark waves of hair fell to his shoulders, a neatly trimmed beard dressed a well-defined jaw. He was smartly dressed, royal blue dress trousers and a matching waistcoat, both tailored neatly to his figure. A slim-cut shirt with an exaggerated floral pattern matched the shade, finally a brown belt and brogues completed the look. He kept himself in shape, it was clear that he worked on his body. His shoulders and arms looked strong without being bulky and they'd spoken about running and cycling before. They'd even gone so far as to discuss meeting on a waterfront bike ride, she'd thought about it a lot.
He took a seat directly opposite her, placing his laptop on the table and glancing towards the window, his eyes shone stony blue in the sunlight. She could smell soft scents of his gentle cologne drifting into the air.
"How are we today?" he asked with another easy smile.
They chatted, the way they usually did. She felt the knot unravel, as it usually did. Yet she still felt the edge to the conversation, as she usually did. Whenever their eyes caught each other's, she felt a flare of energy and the edge cut more keenly. There was something there, and it was intoxicating. Ensnaring her senses and her attention. She found herself fixated on his lips as he talked to her. They looked soft, his mouth moved with such grace, like each syllable was somehow formed deliberately, crafted to be evocative. His eyes caught hers again and her heart thumped. Her mind was adrift. Lost in surging flashes of hungry lips and hungry hearts, hot mouths, sweat-soaked bodies, ragged breathlessness and desperate touches.
"Are you listening?" his words brought her back in the room with a jump. "It felt like your mind was elsewhere, I would hope I had nothing less than your full attention."
"I, eh..." her mind caught up, "You most certainly do."
His eyes were focused on hers now, piercing through. She felt like he could surely read her expression. Intensity burned in his gaze, the tension in the room was thick and thrumming with energy. He looked like he was trying to read something in her, his eyes penetrating her thoughts, searching for the images that had flashed through her mind just moments before. His eventually looked away, though she was sure they drifted slowly across her body before they returned to his laptop.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said finally.
The conversation continued on, the glow in the room changed as the sun slowly descended into evening, golden light turned to fire as time passed quickly. Despite her efforts to stay focused, her thoughts drifted occasionally, though not as intensely as the first time. He never felt the need to address it again, though his eyes seemed to be searching for something still.
"There's only one more thing, I'd like to cover" he said in a firm voice, "and it's something I think is quite important we address."
She stirred at the change in tone, the edge was there, harder now. He stood up and stepped around to her side of the table, his crystalline eyes locked on hers. She felt her pulse quicken.
"I'm sure you'll have felt this as well," he continued, "there's undoubtedly some kind of tension between us, and I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on how we could release it."
