Damn

So this chapter continues the interview. And shows a bit more of Kayla and Dylan's relationship.

*

"Kayla Watson." He grasped her hand firmly, and she noticed how they seemed to fit nicely.

"Alec Prescott." He released her hand and stared into her eyes. She cleared her throat.

"It's a pleasure to be here for an interview." She said averting her eyes looking around the room at everything but him.

"The pleasure is all mine." He drawled softly. Her gaze snapped back towards him and a small smile tugged at her lips. He sighed for the millionth time that day but this time not from stress. He looked her over again and smiled.

The pleasure is definitely all mine.

He thought.

--

"Sorry, I'm late." She sat down trying to muster up a bit of a professional attitude. She crossed her legs and tried to sit as straight as possible.

Think professional. Think professional.

She chanted to herself.

What I wouldn't give for a nap and some chocolate. And maybe a steak. Yeah I definitely want a steak and chocolate cake.

"No worries, believe me." He said after a belated pause not stopping his eyes perusal of her body.

Why does he keep staring?

She shifted in her seat uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. She cast her eyes around the room to avoid his gaze. As she looked around, she almost shuddered.

This room is depressive even with all the lights on.

She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs and cast a glance at Alec. He unconsciously licked his lips and she felt her stomach clench in response.

He was staring. He knew he was staring, but he couldn't seem to look away. When she first shifted to cross her legs he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of black lace and he was gone after that. His mind taking him to what he liked to call an explosive journey. He coined the term in college when he realized erotic fantasy was a bit to light for what his mind was working on. When she uncrossed her legs his mind took off full speed.

He could see himself kneeling before her admiring her rich chocolate skin that was begging for his touch. He would start by pushing up her black skirt and kissing his way up her inner thigh. He would stop mere centimeters away from her heat. Close his eyes and breathe in the sweet scent of her arousal. She would shift in her seat slightly and bring her hands up to his head and bring him closer. He would kiss up and down on lace denying them what they both wanted.

He'd place a kill on the center of her heat only to find that he could taste her on the lace

. Alec drew in a raggedy breath and licked his lips as if he would find her taste on them. And then she did it again, re-crossing her legs.

"Would you like to see my portfolio?" she finally asked after what seemed like hours. Honestly it was more like 5 minutes, but his almost non-existent blinking stare unnerved her. She shifted uncomfortably again.

Do I really look that bad.

She scoffed softly looking at him.

I don't even think he knows I'm here anymore.

She tilted her head a bit and confirmed her suspicions, his eyes looked glazed over.

Yup, I might as well be the wall.

"Mr. Prescott?"

He wanted to pleasure her. Hear her moan his name as she rode his fingers, her hips pushing instinctively towards his lips.

"Mr. Prescott?" her soft voice coaxed him back to reality.

"Uh.. I'm sorry?" he shook his head as if to clear cobwebs. "What was that?"

Cute but not too bright. Shame!

"My portfolio." She explained. "For the interview." She cocked an eyebrow when it seemed he still wasn't listening. "You know I can come back because this obviously isn't a good time for you."

Shit maybe I should sound more like an ass. Who's not getting this job

. She sang sing-song like in her head.

Meeeeeeee.

"Not its fine." He cleared his throat. "I would love to see your work."

She uncrossed her legs again and bent to reach into her bag. He really wished she would stop doing that. He couldn't help but stare at her legs every time she shifted. Then again a part of him really wanted her to continue. The part of him that he was desperately wishing down so he could actually concentrate on the interview.

She pulled out a cd and two binders. As she walked over he was thankful for the distance between her and his desk, his heavy breathing probably would have scared her off. He took them as she handed them to him warily avoiding any further contact.

She must have caught me staring hard.

He smiled and did what he knew he was going to do after looking through her portfolio.

"You're hired." The look of shock on her face almost caused him to laugh. He struggled to keep his face stoic as he watched the emotions flit across her face.

There's confusion, there goes elation, quickly replaced by confusion, wariness, and there goes confusion again for the finish.

She couldn't breathe, did he just hire her.

He couldn't have, he doesn't even know what my work looks like.

She eyed him warily again and scrunched up her eyebrows.

"You haven't even looked at my work." He finally let out a chuckle.

"Has anyone ever told you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?"

She sighed and sat back down nodding.

"Yeah and I thought it was as stupid then as it is now." She mumbled and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He smiled inwardly.

"Oh, I thought you said something."

"No that was just me… breathing?" He looked away and tried not to choke on his laugher. So this beauty was a bad liar, which probably meant she didn't do it often. A blessed break from the blue-blooded sycophants he dealt with everyday.

"I can go over your portfolio if it makes you feel better." He watched as she relaxed a little bit. She was still hired, but somehow he knew that she wanted to earn it. He flipped through a few of the pages of both binders.

"Damn these are really good."

"Thanks."

"Well now that I have looked at your portfolio," she smiled slightly "I just need to get your name in the system and you'll be able to start tomorrow."

She cocked her eyebrow again. "Isn't tomorrow Saturday? Do you really want me to start that bad?" she teased.

"I meant Monday." He felt himself blushing slightly and turned to pick up the phone and called Bambi.

"Hey please send Maria a message…..that she should be in my office first thing Monday morning…. First thing… 8:00am the time work always starts…."

While he conducted the call Kayla felt light. These types of things never happen to her. She thought back and grimaced. They did but there was always a catch, a dirty trick somewhere waiting to ruin the happiness she felt. Upon her inner musing her cell rang.

Dylan probably. Hopefully.

She checked, it was.

"Dylan… sweetheart." She heard the deep chuckle and smiled a bit.

"Whatever you want…. I am not doing." Her smile widened.

"I love you…" he laughed again.

"Fine, what is it?"

"Come get me and can you call Tim to come get my metal contraption from the street?" As her conversation continued, she neglected to notice Alec who had finished his call, staring at her.

She has a boyfriend?

He mentally kicked himself. It wasn't that hard do believe but,

he

wanted her.

I better throw down some Prescott charm, come next week.

As she ended her call, she noticed him watching her.

"Sorry, I was just making sure I had a ride back from here." She smiled shyly not sure why she felt the need to explain herself. He nodded slightly.

"Would you mind if I kept your portfolio over the weekend." He asked breaking the silence. He continued on when he noticed her brow furrowing. "It'll give me an idea of what I can expect from you… And some things could be mix and matched to the Prescott taste."

Kayla walked towards Alec with a wide smile and stretched out her hand.

"Thank you Mr. Prescott. I'll see you bright and early on Monday."

He grasped her hand and nodded.

"You're welcome. Good bye." He would have gotten up to see her to the door, but her smile of pure joy only managed to increase his dilemma. He watched her hips swish as she walked to the door unconscious of the feminine sway that had him glued to his seat.

---

Kayla was so ecstatic she practically skipped out of the office and nearly ran into Bambi, who was standing a few feet from the door brooding. Feeling generous and more like herself Kayla blew her kisses and bounded for the door happier than she had been in years. As the doors shut she wiggled her fingers at the annoyed secretary and laughed at the evil glare she sent her.

The elevator pinged starting its decent and Kayla couldn't help but dance spastically throwing her arms in the air screaming 'Yes'. She closed her eyes and kept up her elated act and missed when the doors opened on the last floor. After a few moments she noticed the lack of movement and opened her eyes. Only to stare into the shocked and slightly appalled faces of men in upper class business suits.

"Hi." She said loud and awkwardly, pushing past them and laughing at their obvious distaste for her actions in a public area. Pushing past the exit she stepped outside and took a deep breath. She turned on her mp3 player and leaned against a parking meter, shutting her eyes waiting for Dylan to come and get her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand grasped her shoulder roughly. She spun around to confront whoever it was. The person was Dylan and his amused face made her angry.

"What the hell. You almost gave me a heart attack you ass." She poked him hard in the chest. He laughed loudly and gave her his winning smile as he deflected another blow to his chest. She tried to glare harder but only managed to smile. She looked him over and smiled inwardly. He looked good, his black hair tousled about with the just rolled out of bed look, indicating he did just get out of bed. 6'foot, green eyes, and a smile that drove women crazy, it drove her crazy too, in a way that made her want to kick his ass up and down a block.

"Don't smile at me you ass." She said trying to hold onto a bit of her anger.

"Fine.. be that way." He pushed out his bottom lip pouting like a child. "I take it the interview went badly then?" he said sobering up and looking concerned.

"Dylan…." She broke off wanting to postpone the moment.

"Yes.."

"I got the job." She said jumping up and down. "I got the job." She chanted laughing as she saw his shocked face.

"Ah I told ya sweet.. I knew you could do it." His smile brightened his entire face and he swooped to grab her into a hug. He picked her up and spun her around until they where to giddy and dizzy to do anything else but fall on the sidewalk. They looked around and noticed the attention they brought onto themselves and laughed. Kayla grabbed his hand and headed towards his car.

"You're taking me out to dinner and buying me a steak… and dessert… something chocolaty." She situated herself in the car and leaned her head against the window.

"Aye, aye Capitán." He touched his brow in mock salute. "And since I'm buying you have to keep up the dinner conversation. I want to know all about how you charmed your way into a job at the prestigious Prescott Firm."

With that he started the engine and drove them back to their apartment.

--

Alec groaned and let out a deep breath after she left his office. He didn't even know her and she was wreaking havoc on his body. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

I wonder if they have a Guinness record for the most amount of unconscious sighing. I would totally win.

He thought ruefully.

He glimpsed at his table and ran a hand over her binders. She was really talented which was great. Not so great that she had a boyfriend or whatever. He waited a while before he walked over to the window and opened up the shades to see if he could still see her. Well not just see her, he wanted to size up his competition as much as one could cast first impressions of someone from the 10

th

floor of a building.

His eyes searched the sidewalk in front of the building. He almost gave up, but he finally caught sight of her, and at that moment he really wished he hadn't even opened his window. He watched as the man, Dylan, picked her up and swung her around on the sidewalk. He would have laughed when he saw the people avoiding being hit by the spinning couple if he hadn't felt like an empty weight dropped in his stomach. He wanted to look away, but it was like a car crash, he couldn't help but stare. The rest of the scene unfolded before him, and he watched as she grabbed his hand and rushed towards the car. That did it. He officially hated Dylan, and decided under no circumstances was he to call him anything other than 'that guy'.

"Alec darling." Bambi's voice rang over the intercom interrupting his thoughts. He cringed, he really hated when people called him that.

"Yes Miss White."

"I wanted to remind you of your dinner tonight at Amante Di Alimento. You're reservations are at 6:30."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome darling."

He couldn't remember booking a reservation for there. In fact he didn't need to, he was the proud owner of that restaurant. It was one of those things he did subtly, when he was younger, as to not raise alarm to his parents. Food places, according to his father, were not part of the Prescott legacy and would never be. On another note he couldn't even remember the last time Bambi gave him an accurate time and date. She only ever did that when he had to meet….

"Shit!" he said heading out of his office. He'd have to go change and get ready; he was on his way to an interrogation.

--

Dylan was true to his word and took Kayla out to one of the best restaurants in town. It was not everyday that his best friend gets an amazing job and to top it off, is happy. Over dinner he watched her as she sat across from him eating and relating all of her day. Effectively placing the 'really now's, 'seriously's', and 'you're shitting me's'. He could tell by the way she Kayla said Alec's name that he had already managed to get under her skin. He was glad that she was happy. He didn't think he could handle her breaking down again without attacking someone. As he listened to her he couldn't help but feel that she got hired for more than her artistic talent.

"… And I laughed and pushed through them. And that's my story." Kayla finished finally breathing. She smiled dreamily. He didn't know that he was spacing out until he saw her fingers snapping in front of him. "What? What is it D?"

Shit. How do I bring this up gently?

"He just gave you a job? Without looking at your stuff?"

"Yeah… I said that." Kayla said eyeing him.

"And he was staring."

"Yeah… I also said that." The tone of her voice belayed her annoyance.

"I think he hired you cause you're…. how shall I put it" he snapped his fingers as if a light bulb went off in his head. "Innocently sexy." He smiled as she glared daggers at him. "What?" he shrugged his shoulders. "It's true."

Kayla felt her anger bubbling. "So I'm not talented, is that what you are saying. Sometimes Dylan I just want to…"

He shook his head and stuck out his hand to stop her tirade.

"All I'm saying is you have no idea when you do things that a guy likes." She opened her mouth to speak. "No KayKay" he said using his other pet name for her. "I am not hitting on you. We know how well us dating turned out." It was his turn to glare at her as she snickered. "And you are talented. You know you're like my little sister… from different parents, which is great because I can give you back." She smiled. "I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"Dylan, I don't want to talk about it. Can you at least pretend to be happy for me?" Her sad face almost broke his heart. Kayla stiffened waiting on his response. He felt like an heel trying to get her to talk about the past. He knew it would make her feel better but she never did.

"God KayKay, I'm happy you're happy I swear. But I'm doing my brotherly duties. Besides its been a while since I've had to kick some ass on behalf. I must be going through withdrawals." At this she smiled brightly.

"That's it Kayla smile." She laughed and tossed a spoonful of water at him. "There's my little hellion."

Suddenly it hit him. He knew exactly what to do to figure out what Alec wanted.

"Kayla darling.." he said in a sugary tone.

"No Dylan. You are not going to work with me on Monday."

Damn. How does she always know what I am thinking? This must be karma biting me in the ass.

"But…"

"No Dylan!" He pouted and started sniveling. "Don't you dare Dylan." She said her voice taking on a motherly tone. He let out a tiny sob causing the people around them to turn to see what was happening. "Dylan stop." She hissed, kicking him under the table. He started to sob louder and Kayla tried to ignore him.

I am going to kill him.

She stared at her plate trying not to notice the attention he was drawing. He started to sob louder. "I'm going to kill you." She hissed through clenched teeth.

"B-b-b-but Kayla.." He let out a wail.

"Fine.. Fine you can go. But just to let you know. My foot your ass when we leave here." He stopped immediately and smiled his eyes twinkling.

"I should have been an actor." He blew kisses at her.

"I hate you." Kayla sighed fighting a smile.

"Say it!"

"No"

"Saayy it! Or no turtle cheesecake." Kayla gasped.

"You cheat."

"Say it."

"Fine." She said exasperated slinking in her seat. "Dylan Adam Montgomery Jr. you are a god among men."

"And."

"And… I want to be as amazing as you. But since that's impossible, I'll just stick with following in your shadow." She glared at him as she spoke and watched as he mouthed the words along with her.

"See, now was that so hard?" he said smiling and gesturing to a waiter. He whispered in the waiters' ear and sent him off.

"You are an incorrigible ass." She laughed. Dylan couldn't have been happier Kayla had been through too much to not have good things happen to her. He shot her a smile.

"What did you order?" she asked after a few moments of companionable silence.

"There it goes." He pointed to the waiter coming back with a large covered tray.

It better be cheesecake

. She thought as the platter was placed down.

Or I am really kicking his ass up and down the block.

The waiter uncovered the platter and revealed an entire cheesecake in a box, and a slice on a plate. Kayla couldn't help it, she squealed and clapped her hands.

Some women like diamonds, some like rubies, and I love cheesecake. Ah delicious artery clogging.

Dylan smiled and watched as she ooh'ed and aah'ed over her cheesecake. Thanking him profusely.

"Stop saying thank you. And eat your damn cheesecake so we can leave and watch one of your stupid Sci-fi movies." Kayla gasped dramatically and covered her mouth in mock anger.

"You're just jealous, that you don't have a dragon for transportation." She tried to keep a straight face and failed when he started to shake his head.

"See this…. This is why you are so lame. Now hurry up and eat."

----

The man sobbing a few tables behind his was annoying. But it was nothing compared to the inane ramblings of the woman sitting in front of him.

"Can you believe that?" The woman asked Alec pointing her finger at the man openly crying. She tsked. "All that ruckus and in a public area."

Alec ignored her finger ant turned back to the binder.

"Mom can you please just pay attention instead of judging people." He grimaced and sighed.

That would be 81 sighs.

He pushed the binder closer to the older feminine version of him. "Look through the images and tell me what style you like."