Pressure

Chapter 6

Valentina's POV

Holy Fuck.

What the hell is going on with me?

Sure she might be a bit attractive and yes I do catch my eyes lingering a little too long at times, but she is the enemy.

I'm not going to let her sweep me off of my feet like I'm some bimbo.

I have too much self respect for that.

I take a deep breath to compose myself and gather everything I'll need for my meeting.

She may have distracted me for a moment but I'm back on my game.

There's no way I'm going to let her get in the way of what I have going here.

I am making moves.

After that little hiccup with her in that one meeting I've started to really grind.

I attend conferences, network around the building, and even do my own research off the clock.

My goal is to earn a quarterly award so that I can be a candidate for my own office.

Working in the cubicle is fine, but even having a small office like Drew's would be better.

I'd have space to work and there wouldn't be people crowding around me all do the time.

During the meeting, I get my points across and take my seat so that others can present.

While I'm waiting patiently, I receive a text.

It's from drew.

We unfortunately had to exchange number early on since we do technically work together, but this is the first time she's reached out to me via text.

Drew: So no lunch?

I roll my eyes and don't even give her the satisfaction of a reply.

I'm not going to play this stupid little game of hers.

Once the meeting ends, I check my watch and see that it is actually lunch time.

I missed breakfast so I'm actually starving.

When I get back to my desk, I glance over at Drew's door and I can feel a rush go through me.

Memories of her toned body pressing me up against the wall sending waves down to my core instantly.

No.

I can't.

I grab my purse and head out to the cafe across the street.

The moment I bite into the warm panini I feel a bit better.

Maybe I was just hangry this morning.

And of course, drew had to come and make things complicated.

She teases me constantly and always has some kind of smart ass comment to add, but it's not the worst thing ever.

As I'm walking back to my desk after lunch, I see Drew's door opening.

I roll my eyes and prepare myself to hear some snarky remark about how I didn't join her but to my surprise, a woman steps out.

She's slender and a little bit taller than me with bouncy blonde hair and light blue eyes.

Her face is a bit flushed as she makes her way towards her own work space and I can feel my chest tighten from the sight of her.

Seriously?

Annoyed, I grab a stack of files but before bursting inside, I compose myself enough to atleast knock.

"Yes?"

I step inside and see her starting to roll her sleeves back down but she stops when she sees me.

"Oh. What's up?"

That's a good question.

I didn't need to storm in here like this but I'm not going to complain about the view either.

Before her sleeves were down and usually when she leaves her office they are due to the policy but, seeing her now with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the colorful tattoos on her arms revealed, I seem to have forgotten why I was upset.

I clear my throat.

"These need your signature. Just put them on my desk when you're done."

I set them down on the corner of hers and turn to leave when I hear a quick shuffle followed by the feeling of her hand wrapping around my arm.

"H-hold on."

She stutters out.

Funny. I don't think I've heard that before.

I turn to look at her and she has this sheepish look on her face.

Almost as if she's nervous.

"Something wrong?"

She shakes her head.

I look down at her hand on my arm and she quickly releases me, stuffing both of her hands in her pockets.

"Umm sorry. Did you get my text? I was hoping we could have had lunch today to uhh...settle things?"

I raise an eyebrow at her and cross my arms as she speaks.

"Ha. Umm...listen. We started off on the wrong foot. I know I can be an ass but I'm past that now. I want a fresh start and I would like for us to be civil with one another."

I don't even notice that our position has shifted until my ass hits the edge of her desk.

"And why on earth would you want to do that? Am I not fun anymore?"

That was bold of me.

I bite my lip as her eyes flick between mine and my lips.

She has that look again and it makes me feel as if she would just devour me if I gave her the chance.

"Oh trust me princess, you're plenty of fun. I just don't want you to actually hate me. I'm really not that bad."

She laughs and places a hand on her desk effectively trapping me where I am.

I understand where she's coming from.

The tension between us is eventually going to interfere with our careers and it's better for us to just bury the Hatchet now.

I look down at her chest and notice that she never finished fixing her tie.

Then the whole reason I came in here floods my mind and I start to become annoyed again.

"I suppose you're not all bad."

I reach up and tug on her tie a little before fixing it.

A slight groan comes from her throat and I take a mental note of that for later.

"So is that a yes?"

I look into her eyes and smile before pushing her back a little.

"I'll humor you for now. Just don't get in my way."

With that, I hop off of her desk and make my way back to my own section without giving her a second glance.

So we're not enemies anymore.

That's a relief i suppose but, what does this mean now?