Dante

T h i r t y T w o

Skye's POV

"Where are you taking me?"

"Did you bring a pen?" He takes his eyes off the road to look over at me.

"You didn't tell me where we are going. Why would I take a pen?"

"Rule number one of working for me, always carry a pen."

I pull out an imaginary pen and pretend to make notes. "Yes, sir. Duly noted."

"Sir?" He repeats, drawing the word out like it's something he wants to preserve in his memory. His jaw clenches.

"Señor." I grin. Hopefully I'll be able to learn more Spanish now. A few of the workers in Dante's home offered to assist me with learning the language if I need it. They're so kind.

"I'm going in to the office. I'll show you around, give you an idea of what you would need to do."

I glance down at my blue jeans and t-shirt. "You could have told me where we are going."

"You could have asked." He takes a turn, pulling into the parking lot of a huge office block. It's a tall, grey monster. It spans up far into the sky, the top of it gleaming in the sunlight. There must be over seventy floors.

He stops his car right by the front doors of the building. His name is placed on a small reserved sign.

Unlike myself, everyone is dressed in suits and pencil skirts. Each of them carry a briefcase or files, all looking like they have something to do or somewhere to go. There are no slackers here.

"I'm not dressed for this," I tell him.

At least he is wearing a white button up shirt. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing chorded muscle along his forearms. "Don't worry. Nobody is going to be looking at you." Ouch?

His words are proven to be untrue. Every person we pass on the ground floor glances over at Dante with glittering admiration, and then turn to me with a look that screams 'what the hell is someone like her doing next to him?'.

I wonder what their faces would look like if I told them I'm a homeless stripper.

Dante keeps a professional distance from me, but his eyes constantly shift over to watch me. He presses the button for the elevator and turns his body towards me.

"They're all looking." I cross my arms across my body. "You lied."

"I knew you wouldn't leave the car otherwise. Don't worry about people looking. None of them matter. If they make you uncomfortable, let me know and I'll have them fired."

He takes my arm and leads me into the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. "You can do that?" I ask. The doors shift closed behind us. 

He watches me with a casual expression, and the corners of his lips turn upwards. I know what he is thinking: I can do whatever I want.

The way he watches me in the elevator makes me squirm. It makes me wish we didn't have to travel all the way up to the eightieth floor.

"What are you looking at?" I narrow my eyes at him, challenging him.

He steps closer, his eyes flickering to the emergency stop button and back to me. "Take a wild guess."

"What do you want?"

He pushes me against the elevator wall. One hand rests beside my head. "Stop asking stupid questions. I want you."

My eyes immediately avert to the ground. Then, without my permission, they glance at the emergency stop.

That is all Dante needs to press him thumb against the red button. The elevator comes to a halt. His jaw clenches. "Say no, and I will press it again and let the elevator continue."

"What about the other people who need to use the elevator?"

"We have three." His body is tense. "Say no."

I know what I should do in this situation. But it is very different to what I want to do. I stay silent.

He steps in front of me and holds my waist. My hands slide up to his chest, unsure whether to pull him closer or pull him away.

All thoughts have left my mind except one: get his lips on mine.

He groans lowly in my ear and his hands grip onto my waist. The way he is looking at me is like a starved predator.

He dips his head to my neck and nuzzles his nose against my lip before gently brushing his lips against my skin. It doesn't give me the satisfaction I need.

I need more. I need his—He pulls back, clearing his throat presses the emergency stop again. The elevator lurches upwards and he turns to the elevator doors as we come to a stop and the doors slide open.

I force myself off the elevator wall before anyone can look in our direction, and brush down my hair so that there is no visible signs of . . .

As soon as he steps out the elevator, everyone's attention turns to him. They drink him in slowly, taking in the broad-shoulders, the dark hair, the bit of chest hair peeking from his slightly unbuttoned shirt. And then their attention shifts to me. I try to stand tall, but it feels strange having people stare outright like this.

Several people walk over, all dressed in polished clothing, and begin reciting data and analytics and all of the exciting things. I zone out and take in the top level of the office.

It's gigantic, to say the least. However, there aren't many offices. Three, to be precise. The rest of it is made of a lounging empty area, a break room and empty space, where everyone is loitering for some reason. As if they're waiting to see Dante, even for a second.

Seeing them so intimidating by him, all of them scurrying off to get work done, makes me smile. His eyes shift to me for a moment, before focusing back on his employees.

The view from up here, through the glass floor-to-ceiling windows, is like nothing I have ever seen. For miles and miles, there are tall buildings that shine in the warm sun. It makes me realise how small I am. How much of the world I have to see. How many people are out there, with stories I want to learn about.

And it makes me wonder about how these buildings might sparkle at night.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A husky voice says. A familiar voice that isn't Dante's.

•=•=•

Thank you guys for being patient <3 I'm still updating Hit List at the moment, but I decided to give you a new update because I didn't want you to wait too long. I'll be back with another update soon. Love you guys.

T w i t t e r : xPineappleGirlx
I n s t a g r a m : laylaawrites
Y o u t u b e : xThePineappleGirlx

Lots of love and jelly tots - xThePineappleGirlx