Free Stranded by J. C. Valentine

features.
    Smoothing a stray hair behind her ear, Poppy forced herself to stand up straight. “Um, yes, I’m here for an interview with Mr. Bradshaw.”
    A blond eyebrow arched in response and a smug look stole across the receptionist’s face. “You’re late, and Mr. Bradshaw is a very busy man,” she said sternly.
    Poppy bristled. She didn’t like being talked down to and had to force herself not to bite the woman’s head off. Taking a measured breath, Poppy forced a bright smile. “I apologize for being late. But if you would please tell Mr. Bradshaw that I am here, I am sure he will want to see me.”
    When she had talked to him on the phone, Mr. Bradshaw seemed very eager to meet with her. He had said that she was just what they were looking for. This was a great opportunity and Poppy had been looking forward to meeting the man. She wasn’t about to turn around and leave over a few lost minutes.
    “Regardless, I’m afraid I can’t do that. Mr. Bradshaw is in a very important meeting and cannot be interrupted,” the receptionist informed her.
    “Then I’ll wait for Mr. Bradshaw to finish with his meeting,” Poppy replied and took a seat in one of the comfortable looking leather seats behind her.
    Shrugging, the receptionist went back to the stack of papers she had been working on. “Suit yourself.”
     
     
    “Lucky Mac was just finishing his repairs when we came in, huh?” Katherine said beside him as the elevator jolted into motion.
                  Felix nodded. “Saved me from having to hike over thirty flights, that’s for sure.”
                  Katherine stepped into him, a seductive smile playing on her red painted lips. “Tonight. My place. Eight o’clock?”
                  Felix shrugged off the finely boned hand that had been working its way across his chest and under his blazer. One good thing about Katherine: you could always count on her cutting to the chase.
    The redhead’s lips pushed out in a pretty pout, but she took the hint and stepped back.
                  “Sorry, Katherine, but I’m busy tonight.” And tomorrow night, and the next night, and the next…. Felix hadn’t been with a woman since that night . He had tried, oh, he had tried, but each time when it came down to it, he ended up saying goodnight. Spending the night with random women just wasn’t doing it for him anymore. Once he sat down to a quiet dinner for two and they opened their mouth, he would inevitably find something lacking. Oh, they were nice people, eloquent and educated, but they weren’t Poppy.
    The women seemed mildly disappointed, but considering they’d gotten a free dinner out of it and his complete lack of interest, they seemed perfectly fine with cutting it off early. He didn’t even know why he bothered. It seemed Poppy had gotten into his blood like an infection, and he wouldn’t be any good to anyone until he ridded himself of her.
    The problem was he didn’ t know where to begin, and seeing Poppy again was out of the question. The way he saw it, he could do one of two things. Either he could try to burn her out of his system by taking as many women as possible, or he could remove himself from the dating pool all together and throw himself into work so there wouldn’t be time to think of her.
    He liked the latter best.
    The elevator dinged its arrival and Katherine stepped off. As the door slid shut, she turned back to him and said, “Felix, if you change your mind, you know how to get ahold of me,” then she was gone.
    Felix stared at the buttons overhead, a tick starting in his jaw as he watched each one light up and darken as the elevator climbed higher. He had dated probably half the women in the company and had made quite a reputation for himself. Women no longer looked at him as a man, but a conquest. He never thought something like that would bother him, but it did now.
    He studied his reflection in the polished metal doors and