Dive into your power. Reach out and grab it.

Wednesday's mantra circulated my head when I entered the mirrored glass skyscraper, leaving behind the street noises to step into the peaceful quietness of the building. My heels clicked across the marble of the massive lobby as I crossed over to the security desk to slid my ID, and accepting my visitors' badge, I headed for the elevator.

My back hit the wall as I read the numbers go up, clutching the file I was carrying in my damp hands. It was only nine in the morning, and Robert had called me fifty times to remind me to charm them and not to give them any reason to turn our company down. Hanna volunteered to come along with me, but he had declined, stating that she would only be a distraction. As if I wasn't professional. Either way, I could not wait to make it out of here in one piece.

I stepped out of the fifteenth floor and was greeted by the glass entrance of Mogue, the company's name emblazoned in a large gold font across the double doors, which was buzzing around with people either waiting in the reception area or were casually walking in and out of the double doors. I buzzed through security doors and checked in with the receptionist, who told me the woman I was going to meet, Sabrina Young, would be with me shortly. She was running late.

Stepping away, I lowered myself into a cream chair and crossed my legs. Today, I was wearing a grey suit with pants. It wasn't what anyone would call sexy, but it made me look and feel powerful like I could indeed reach out and grab anything that I liked. Taking a deep breath, I took in a whiff of different perfumes that mixed together, oddly giving a nice smell.

Someone came and asked me if I needed anything. I declined, but she still came back with a bottle of water in case I was going to be waiting for a while. I liked the company's hospitality, and it made me relax a bit. I had nothing to worry about.

The sound of the elevator opening darted my eyes to it, and I found myself choking when four men stepped out of it. I took a moment to breathe and attempted to steady myself when the men hovered around the elevator, pausing to converse. I could not believe Hanna had lied straight to my face. My knees swayed despite being seated. Sweat beaded on my brow. It was like he was a trigger, and emotion overwhelmed me, and the funny thing was, it shouldn't have. There was nothing to be nervous about. We didn't know each other. But this was the first time I was seeing him other than in a magazine or tv. It was overwhelming.

Rogue Slade looked devastatingly handsome in a dark gray three-piece suit, the perfectly tailored suit that hugged and fit every curve in his body. His head turned, and our gazes accidentally smashed together. My breathing stopped. I couldn't look away. He didn't look away. His face was rugged with scruff, but his hair was short and a little curly, giving him a polished look.

He was still standing, dark, fierce, and gorgeous, looking at me like nothing else existed around us. He wasn't paying attention to what the other men were saying. His dark gaze burned right through me with a kind of enforced restraint. It imprinted me. I wanted to look away. God, I really did. A lump got stuck in my throat. My hand went to touch my neck, surprised to find a little bead of sweat there. The smallest furrow appeared between his dark brows as Rogue continued to gaze at me in inscrutable silence.

I crossed my legs, tightening them to stop the tingles I was feeling. If he caught that, it would explain why his eyes transmitted a warning I received loud and clear. Stay away from me. My brows arched. I couldn't stop them.

Rogue's tongue came out and swiped over his bottom lip. It was such a simple, mindless gesture, but it was so sexy I groaned out loud. Then I panicked because I was sure he must have heard it. In my head, he did. In reality, he wouldn't have. There were a lot of murmurs in the air that it was impossible to pick up my groan. I rushed to stand up, looking away from him. With weak legs, I managed to reach the receptionist without falling and asked for the direction of the restroom.

As soon as I was in the restroom, I had my back to the door and released the breath I had not known I had been holding. I closed my eyes and took in a few more deep breaths before I positioned myself in front of a mirror. I looked flushed. Running my fingers through my dark hair, I untangled a few knots but ended up messing it up. I slammed my bag on the sink and started digging inside for a hairbrush. I combed through my hair, but it still didn't feel right. Locating my hair tie, I raked my hair back, twisting it into a low bun and securing it at the nape of my neck.

Better? No. Ugh.

I washed my face, dried it before dabbing a little powder. I applied a bit of nude lipstick. I didn't look so bad anymore. Satisfied with my state, I left the restroom.

I was looking through my bag to find my phone while I made my way to the reception area. Next thing I knew, I was slamming into a hard body. The impact had me stumbling back, losing my footing, but a hand caught me on my back, stopping me from taking a fall. I clutched the stranger's arm in shock as he had me straightened. Then swiftly, he turned semi-circle, backing me into a wall as he caged me in.

It was the grey suit that told me who it was. I was so alarmed that I couldn't move. An electric golf car swept past us, realizing that he had saved us from getting run over. The musky scent of his maleness had my body reacting against my will. Every part of me tuned to him despite how my mind cried to resist him. His breath skated against my neck, hot, but I had to fight not to shiver. The wind slammed out of my lungs.

Then he was off me before I could blink again. He didn't speak. He didn't say anything. He walked away without turning around. He left me shaking against the wall.

The brief encounter with Rogue Slade had me shaking. Distracted. Freaked out. But thankfully, meeting with Sabrina Young took some edge off me.

I followed a young guy down the hall to a corner office with an open, unmanned reception area, and another set of double doors that led into Sabrina's office. As I passed through those doors, I was struck first by the cool modern vibe of the decor, then by the woman who sat behind a walnut desk that dwarfed her.

"Ms. Wallace." She stood up and stretched her hand out to shake mine. "It's very nice to meet you. Please have a seat, and I do apologize for my tardiness."

I moved across the cream-colored carpet and took one of the two leather chairs in front of her desk. My eyes immediately took notice of the cameras in the office, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wondering if someone was watching me right now. It felt like it.

The meeting with Sabrina concluded an hour later. We went over our ideas and finally came into an agreement. She was a sharp woman. Smart. She didn't let me feel intimidated or tried to exercise her power over me. She let me ran through with my suggestions, and by the time we were done, we were both satisfied.

I had to admit, during the meeting, I thought someone was going to walk in. Someone like Rogue. I thought he would be interested in what I had to say. He had seemed interested. When he never showed up, I had to admit that stung. I didn't want to captivate him, but I sure as hell thought he had been.

I needed to remember men like Rogue Slade didn't go for women like me. He was everything I wasn't. Sophisticated. Self-assured. Rich. But I got the feeling he was the kind of man who noticed things other people didn't. He observed. He sees right through you. All the things you try to hide, and then he makes a final conclusion. I guess what he saw didn't impress him enough. Not that I wanted him to. He looked like all those bad dreams from my childhood.

Coming back to the office was like the freedom I never thought I'd ever had. Managing to get out of the building felt like a dream. I practically and embarrassingly crawled on four on the street, touching the ground as though I was caressing a lover. People were looking at me like I was crazy. I felt like it. I never thought I would be able to escape, but I did.

Phew.

Note to self: slap myself in the mirror, so I'd forget I had stared at Rogue like I was ready to drop my panties for him.

I managed to forget about the disaster when I went back to the office.

A noise that sounded like choked laughter crawled out of my mouth when I stared at my computer. My legs were on my coffee table while I sipped on my protein shake. I was taking my fifteen minutes break, and I did what brought me joy every other day; watch The Inbetweeners.

Nothing could ever distract me from the sitcom, and that's what I thought before my phone started to ring. I almost didn't pick it up, but when my sister's name flashed on the screen, I hit pause and picked it up.

"I hit pause on The Inbetweeners. It better be worth it, Stephanie," I greeted as I started to chew absentmindedly on my straw.

"Geez, how are you, Stephanie? How's school? Classes? How are your friends? Literally, anything else could have come out of your mouth besides that."

"You're so demanding." I scoffed. "You forget that I don't live to please." Well, except for the long list of my favorite fictional characters I would love to please if they were real. And maybe throw in Lee Min Ho in the picture because, well, who on earth didn't like that hunky piece of man meat?

My sister lets out a laugh and then quickly seemed to cover it up with a hiss of annoyance. "No, you live to annoy me and the rest of the unfortunate people that have to deal with you."

I made a face. "If you have a complaint, call my assistant."

"You don't have an assistant anymore. Your weak choices in life landed you without one. I still can't believe you left your old job. You were a manager."

"Well, what can I say? I'm Beth The Dumb." I didn't tell her the whole story about how the boss I was working under was a sleaze bag. About how handsy he was. How he would grope a few female workers who couldn't say anything, and about how he groped me once and I gave him a black eye.

"Can Beth The Dumb not make an appearance? I need advice."

"We're a package deal, sis. You take me how you see me." I tilted back my head and made a soft drag of 'meeeee' toward the ceiling.

Stephanie snorted. "I see why you're still single."

My laughter was full of dark despair. "It's because I freak men out when I do my moves like I have no bones in my body. I'm a freak of nature." Or maybe I just wasn't ready to throw myself out there. Life was a little scary without my comfort zone. My best friend. But I needed to grow on my own.

"Ew, you're so disgusting." She sounded as disgusted as she felt, which made me laugh.

I remembered there was a reason why she called me, and my break was going to be over soon, so I asked, "What kind of help do you need, though?"

"There's this guy—"

"Jump him," I interjected quickly.

She gasped. "Beth!"

"What? If you like him, do something about it."

"You haven't even heard the rest of it!" she cried out in a tone of disbelief.

I rolled my eyes, but still said, "Sorry, continue." I waved my hand, even though she couldn't see it.

"I've been seeing this guy for a month now—"

"Seeing him, or hooking up with him?"

Her outraged response came fast. "Bethany Wallace, if you don't shut up, I swear to god, I'll have someone throttle you."

"You don't even know anyone here," I summarized, wanting to laugh.

"I know your roommate," Stephanie countered in triumph.

"Fallon won't do shit."

She groaned. "Lauren was a better listener than you."

"You called Lauren before me? Traitor!" I made a sound of displeasure, shaking my head.

"That's because you're sick, and she gives better advice than you. Anyway, I have to go now. My roommate and I are going to the library to get some work done."

Right. I was the one who gave the bad ideas and bad advice. I shouldn't be surprised that Stephanie would run to Lauren first. I wasn't even mad, but I would have been gutted had she ran to someone else. "This conversation isn't over," I told her, but I already knew it was.

"Oh, I think it is. Bye." She hung up on me, the little bitch.

The second the call was dropped, I closed my computer and got my feet down to the ground. With my shake in hand, I walked out of the break room and ran into Summer.

"Hey, have you seen Hanna?"

She shook her head. "Not since she came in. Robert is asking for her too. I just came to see if you know where she is."

I frowned. "I haven't seen her. Have you tried calling?" I looked down at my phone and scrolled through her name, pressing the call button.

"She didn't pick up."

The phone rang a couple of times, but Hanna didn't pick up. Weird. "Okay, thanks. I will keep trying." I walked past her to get to my cubicle. When I tried it five more times, I decided to call her friend, Annie. She picked up immediately. "Hey, Annie. Am I bothering you?"

"Oh, hi, Beth. I'm just finishing up the last canvas. How can I help?" she asked, and I could hear her shuffling around. Annie had been friends with Hanna for years, and the two met in art school. If there were anyone who would know where Hanna could be, it would be her.

"Is Hanna with you? We tried calling, and she didn't pick up."

"No, I'm sorry. I haven't spoken to her since morning. Is everything alright?"

I sighed and tried to keep the frown from my voice. "Yeah, it's fine. Thanks, Annie."

After I was done, I shot a few quick texts to Hanna again before getting back to work.