Free Just One Night. Part 3 by Elle Casey

direction, intended to prompt me forward. “Ms. Moorehouse? You can follow me this way.”
    I walk up and turn sideways to get past Ingrid. “Excuse me,” I say, making sure I’m not gloating. I don’t know this woman at all, really, but I can see why people enjoy pissing her off. She’s begging for it.
    As soon as the door shuts behind us, the redhead blows out a loud gust of air. “Can you believe that woman? Nervy bitch.”
    I bark out a laugh before I can stop myself.
    “I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I couldn’t help it. She just gets on my very last nerve and then she wears it out.” Her pantyhose swish as she walks between some cubicles.
    “I can see that. I’m sorry I kind of got in the middle there.”
    “You weren’t in the middle. She was in the middle. And I’ll bet you a bag of Red Vines she doesn’t have a dinner date with him either.” She lowers her voice and turns to look at me over her shoulder. “He despises her.”
    Unfortunately, William’s assistant or whoever she is has a small problem with walking, talking, and not looking where she’s going. Before I can call out for her to watch out, she’s run into the side of a cubicle and knocked over a stack of paper trays that were stuck to the side on hangers. She tries to rescue them but ends up getting tangled instead.
    I start talking before I can think straight. “Oh my … holy shi … p … can I help you?” I hold my free hand out, trying to stop the cascade of awful from completing its cycle, but it’s not going to help. She’s doomed. The clatter she’s making is embarrassingly loud.
    “Dammit! This is the third time this has happened!” She has a handful of hair in her grip and is trying to free it from a piece of metal that was sticking out of the top of the cubicle. There’s a metal basket hanging on the other side of the clip.
    I stand there watching in silence. I’ve never seen anything like it before. What a catastrophe. I’m not even sure how it happened, she’s so completely stuck.
    “Jennifer.”
    His voice catches me by surprise and I jump a little at the sound of it.
    William is standing across the room, looking at me. He’s wearing a suit and as trim and gorgeous as I’ve ever seen him. My heartbeat goes into overdrive and my flight or fight instinct flicks on. Run! Run far and fast before you make a fool of yourself! The most eligible bachelor in the city is staring at you!
    No one else is around, just him, me, and the woman wrestling with the paper trays, but I feel like the world is watching.
    “Won’t you follow me?” he says, turning and going in the opposite direction. He’s so completely cool and unaffected it nearly blows my mind. I am such a weirdo, falling apart over nothing. I really need to get a grip on myself.
    I’m torn. I want to go, but I can’t leave this poor girl on her own. I’m almost grateful that she’s in such a mess. At least I can take a few seconds to help her and get my head on straight in the meantime. When I reach out to assist, she waves me off.
    “Go, go, don’t worry about me. I’ve dealt with this before. These are attack-trays. They get me every time.”
    “Um. Okay. Are you sure?” I glance over at William. His back is rapidly disappearing down a hall on the far side of the open space. I still have the instinct to run, but now it’s in his direction instead of out of the office. I don’t want to lose this opportunity for anything. So what if he’s gorgeous? I’ve seen him naked. I can handle him. I’m either on the edge of greatness or doom, and at this point I just want to find out which one it is and get it over with. No more acting like a dork. No more being a wienie.
    “Yes, yes, go. I’ll be fine. Just hand me those scissors over there.”
    I look at her mass of gorgeous hair and know that I cannot let her do what I think she’s going to do, even if it does mean William will think I’m an idiot. Putting my briefcase down on the