I was nervous. Working for Mr. Blackwood had been easy, he rarely wanted to meet in person. The trust was something I felt proud of. It could all be gone now because one stupid barely there kiss. His email seemed normal, the average kind of email I received from the man. That he wanted to talk was different but it didn't make me want to run for the hills either. I was nervous because I wanted to impress the man. It was a weird need I had. I wanted the man to look at me with desire in his eyes. That he saw me as a woman and not just another employee. I was utterly screwed. My phone rang, it was barely over nine so I assumed it was either mom or Nick. Dad usually texted or emailed me. I grabbed my phone, answering it since it was Nick.

"Good morning," I answered hesitantly.

"Good morning, dear sister." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

"A little birdy told me you're meeting Mr. Blackwood today."

I sat down on the foot of my bed, staring at my black knee-high boots. I wore a burgundy colored skirt, a black turtleneck shirt tucked into it. It wasn't fancy but it wasn't casual either. It wouldn't look like I tried too hard.

"I haven't told anyone about this meeting. So does your little birdy work for Mr. Blackwood?"

"Maybe."

It sounded like we were kids again, the back and forth was fun and all but I wasn't in the mood. I needed to make fun of myself in the mirror some more. I had no idea where my confidence went but lately, I had none. I glanced down at my nails, my manicure still in place. I needed to keep it up this time, no slacking off and being lazy. My job was probably going to pick up after mom shared the news with her friends and co-workers about what I did. So it was a good thing to look put together. It showed professionalism not to mention showing that I actually knew what I was doing. People always talked about appearances being not important, that it was all about skills, but that was a fucking lie. People judged others by the way they looked. That was the way of life. We just pretended we didn't care about how others looked to make ourselves feel better about the person that we are.

"Is it his assistant? Are you getting cozy with them?" I asked.

"She is a friend." Nick confirmed, "I just wanted to wish you good luck. You can do this."

"Thank you."

"Okay, I'm going to let you go I have a meeting in ten."

I heard shuffling in the background, Nick was getting ready for his meeting. Always professional. Nick was dedicated to his job, I admired that. That he took time out of his busy day just to wish me luck was a sign that maybe we did grow a little closer these days. I loved it.

"Okay, thank you for calling. I appreciate it."

"Do you want to come over for dinner and a movie tonight?"

It sounded amazing but I had a prior engagement. Nick was going to love hearing about that.

I grinned, "I have a date tonight. Dinner and a movie, actually."

"Really?" He didn't sound surprised, but there was no way he could know about this. I definitely did not share the news with anyone and I was pretty sure Lucas didn't either, "With the tall guy?"

I chuckled, "I'm pretty sure Mr. Blackwood is taller than him, but yeah."

"I don't pay much attention to Mr. Blackwood."

"But you do pay attention to my dates? Are you being a cliché older brother right now?"

"Yes, I might be playing that part right now. Do you have a problem with that?" He asked.

He sounded unsure. We both didn't know what kind of sibling relationship we had. We were still trying to move from the kind of siblings who didn't care about each other to siblings who were friends and shared secrets.

"I think I'm okay with it. You should get back to work and I need to head out."

I ended the call and stared at the black screen. Things were going in the right direction of us becoming friends, I think. I got to my feet, grabbed my bag and dumped my phone in it. I made sure I also grabbed my keys and lipstick. Heading out the door I grabbed a cab to head to Mr. Blackwood's office. The nerves were still there, maybe a cup of coffee would help with it. No, that was a bad idea it would probably make things worse. I needed some tea.

"You okay, Miss?"

I glanced up, "Huh?"

"You okay?" The driver asked.

He was an older man with kind chocolate eyes and little crinkles around his eyes as he smiled at me in reassurance. It was as if he wanted me to know he wasn't one of those cranky drivers who wanted everyone to know they hated their job.

"I need some tea, I think."

"Okay." He nodded, "There is a little coffee shop close by. You want me to stop there first?"

"Yes, please."

He drove over to the place he mentioned. I bought a medium sized cup of tea. Some mint tea, it was fresh and helped me calm down. I felt better, tea was definitely better when I was already anxious. We arrived at Mr. Blackwood's office building.

"Oh, I see." The driver glanced over his shoulder, "I'd need to calm down too if I was going to meet that guy."

"Right," I whispered. I grabbed the money I owed him and paid the cab fare.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

I entered the fancy lobby with a white marble floor. I needed to be careful with my steps, I could slip and break my neck. With careful steps, I headed toward the reception desk but was intercepted by a ginger-haired woman. She stood before me with a smile spread across her perfectly made-up face. That cat wing with in your face eyelashes was gorgeous on her. She kept the rest of her make-up natural. Her hair was curled at the ends and swept to the side. She wore a dress which was tight on her body, black with short sleeves while it reached right above her knees. She also wore heels but she looked a lot more confident when she walked on these tiles.

Nick's friend.

She looked at me as if she knew me and maybe she did. I didn't know her though. It was unfair to stand before someone who was smiling so creepily at you.

"Miss Merigold." She greeted in a soft voice.

"Hello." I greeted back, tilting my head to the side the same way a curious puppy would do, "Friend of Nick's and Mr. Blackwood's assistant."

She chuckled, "You're so funny." The way she said it didn't sound like a compliment, "Will you follow me? I'll take you to Mr. Blackwood's office."

She didn't give me a chance to respond, she already started moving. She told the employees at the reception desk that I was with her and security should let us through. They listened to her. She stepped aside and gestured to me to head through the gates first. Security let me through and then she scanned her employees' card and walked through as well. Her heels clicked away, her hair staying completely in place as she made her way to the elevator bank.

"Mr. Blackwood scheduled you in for twenty minutes. That should be enough, right?"

"Twenty minutes should be good."

"Okay then." She eyed my cup, "Do you need some more tea or coffee?"

I pointed at it, "Mint tea and it is amazing." I sang the last part.

She smiled, "Are you really related to Nick?" She asked.

We let people step out of the elevator and moved inside once it was clear. I sipped my tea, it gave me something to do so us standing in the elevator didn't become too awkward. We were heading to the top floor which took ages. I lowered my cup and took the woman in from head to toe.

"So how do you know my brother?"

She turned to look at me, "A party, one of these social events I had to accompany Mr. Blackwood to." She smirked, "When he didn't have a date. It was boring, people trying to oversell themselves and the companies they work for. Nick was different though." I narrowed my eyes on her when I noticed the change in her voice, "He stayed at the bar, he only had one drink in hand and barely drank it. He was just there because he had to be there and he didn't try to hide it."

The small smile which followed said enough to me. She liked him. Maybe she didn't mock me. When you liked someone you didn't behave like a total ass to their sibling. I assumed.

"Sounds like my brother."

"I'm Fenna by the way."

She was being nice to me now. She was professional at first, like a woman on a mission. She was definitely into Nick. It would be hard to start anything with that man though. He just didn't have a romantic side to him. He wouldn't show up at your apartment just to confirm he liked you enough for an official date. Dating Nick meant that you had to take charge and really make an effort. She would have to work hard if she wanted to get anywhere with my brother. I could show her some kindness too.

"Nina."

When the elevator arrived at our floor she let me step out first. Fenna followed after and took charge again. There was another reception desk, the man sitting behind the desk opened the glass double doors for us with a push of a button. He greeted us politely. He looked like a Korean drama actor, he was freaking handsome. Mr. Blackwood was surrounded by people who worked part-time jobs as models or I assumed they did. We stopped at Mr. Blackwood's office. Through the big windows of his office, I could see him standing with his back to us, looking at the city skyline with his hands shoved in the pockets of his black slacks. I noticed the earpiece he was wearing so I assumed he was talking to someone. The glass door to his office was closed. Fenna knocked on the big window twice and then opened the door to his office for me.

"I'll leave you to it."

Once I was inside Mr. Blackwood's office she closed the door behind me and walked off. I jumped when the windows frosted along with the glass door. Mr. Blackwood had moved to his desk and probably pushed a button to give us some privacy in his office. The nerves were back again, but there wasn't any tea left.

"Have a seat, Miss Merigold."

I turned to look at him and smiled when he gestured to the armchairs by the floor to ceiling windows which showed off the amazing view of the city. I took a seat and so did he. Sitting so close to each other made that night come back to me. I kissed the sexy vampire and ran off. I was definitely thinking with my female part at the time. That was never a good thing.

"It's nice to meet you in person." He flashed me a half smirk, "Again."

I looked down, feeling a bit shy with his eyes on me like that, "About last time, I'm so sorry about that. I crossed a line I shouldn't have. You're like my boss and I like working for you. I want this to be a professional relationship and I messed that up by being weird. I'm so sorry." I looked at him, a little out of breath since I blurted that all out in one breath. I hoped he got it though because I cannot repeat myself.

He stared at me with a blank face, it made me stare at him with my bottom lip between my teeth, hoping he'd say something. Anything. After a few seconds of silence he laughed, he threw his head back and actually laughed at me.

"Don't worry about it." He wiped a tear away.

"I am worried about it." I threw back, a little offended he was making fun of me. I had been so nervous about saying all that and he treated it like a joke.

"Sweetheart, I barely noticed a thing."

Sweetheart? That was even more offensive than him treating my honesty like a freaking joke. And he barely noticed it? I mean it was a quick, soft kiss but it was still a kiss. I might not be as out there as his ex-girlfriends but that's why he needed to exchange them once every four weeks or so. That shit got old real fast.

"Yeah, you barely noticed it?" I asked to confirm what I just heard.

"Barely noticed it." He confirmed.

I placed my bag and my cup on the floor at my right. Mr. Blackwood straightened in his chair, probably thinking we were going to discuss my next job now. Without warning, I got to my feet, straddled his lap, placed my hands on his shoulders and kissed him full on. The kiss was harsh as if to punish him for making fun of me. He tensed up, I could feel it. He didn't expect that to happen. It shouldn't be happening. I wanted to pull away when all of the sudden he grabbed my waist and tightly held on, keeping me in place. We stared in each other's eyes while we kissed. He deepened the kiss, the kiss turning wet and deep. I cupped his face in my hands and closed my eyes. A moan was swallowed by him when he rolled his hips, letting me feel the growing erection in his pants. My breasts felt heavy in my lacy bra while my lace panties were getting wet. This was not supposed to happen. I got carried away by my damn pride. I didn't even know what I was trying to do here. I grabbed his bottom lip between my teeth and bit down. The bite was hard enough for him to let me go but not hard enough to draw blood. I pulled away and got to my feet, rushing out of his office.

"Nina!" I heard him call after me.

He didn't run after me though, he probably couldn't with his growing erection in his pants. I ran away not knowing how I should deal with the situation. Fenna noticed me, ringing me through so I wouldn't slam into the glass double doors.

That would be even more awkward than me running away from Mr. Blackwood as if he was a killer in a slasher movie.

I felt the Korean drama actor eye me, probably not knowing what to do. I attacked the elevator button, wishing the elevator would arrive already. When it did arrive I stepped inside and stared at Fenna and Korean drama actor in horror. They both watched me with the same look on their faces. The elevator doors closed and finally cut me off from the rest of the world. I ran away from Mr. Blackwood without my bag. It had my keys and everything else I needed to survive out there. I couldn't go home so there was only one person left I could run to in my current state. Nick knew what to do. I hoped.