Free Watching Her by Scarlett Metal

Chapter
1

 
    I seriously can’t believe he did this
to me again. I settled into
my booth at Starbucks with mocha, my laptop, and my bag from work. Once again,
my boss Dave had given me some reports to do at the last minute. And he needed
them by tomorrow - at like 8:00 a.m. At least I could get out of the office and
do the work here.

 
    As
I was shuffling through my papers, I noticed him walk in. He was probably close to a foot
taller than me with broad shoulders, wearing a black leather jacket and snug
jeans.

 
    He
glanced over at me and smiled. My stomach did a flip-flop. He had gorgeous
brown hair, cut short, but long enough to run my fingers through. Why
am I thinking that? His
chocolate brown eyes sparkled when he smiled. I gave him a nervous smile in
return, turning my attention back to my work.

 
    I
stole glances at him as he stood in line for his drink. My gaze traveled down
his back, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his jeans fit his body. He
turned around, finding me watching him. My cheeks were warm, filled with
embarrassment as he walked over to me. Shit! He was going to sit next to me!

 
    “Hi
there.” His voice was a deep baritone, sending shivers down my spine.   I was suddenly sorry that I wasn’t
wearing something sexier than my jeans and sweatshirt.

 
    “Hi.”

 
    “Working?”
He nodded to the papers and laptop in front of me.

 
    I
rolled my eyes. “Yes, unfortunately.”

 
    “What
do you do?” He took off his jacket, and I was almost breathless at the sight of
his arms in his short-sleeved t-shirt. Not only was he ripped, he was covered
in sexy tattoos that disappeared under his shirt sleeves. I was guessing they
were some sort of tribal symbols, but I knew nothing about tattoos.   I had a serious phobia of needles.

 
    “I’m
a corporate accountant.” Man, did that sound boring when I actually said it out
loud.

 
    Grinning,
he said, “Sounds exciting.”

 
    I
smirked. “It’s so not. My boss is sort of a jerk too. He’s the CFO and he dumps
a lot of work on me, hence why I’m working here late at night.”

 
    “Well,
that’s a bummer. You shouldn’t let him take advantage of you,” he murmured,
leaning forward towards me.

 
    My
heart started pounding, and my mouth went dry. He smelled amazing - clean with
just a hint of soap and that woodsy, masculine smell. “I know....I just...” I
stammered.

 
    Why did I let him take advantage of me?

 
    “Can’t
say no?” he finished for me with a slight smile on his lips. Oh those sexy
lips. Suddenly all I could think about was kissing them.

 
    I
let out my breath, trying to shake the cobwebs from my brain. This was not like
me. Guys never had this effect on me. “I guess not. It’s not as if I had
anything else exciting planned anyway.”

 
    “No?
A pretty girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend to keep her busy?”

 
      Oh my god, he called me pretty! I shook my head. “Nope. Work keeps me
busy. I don’t have much time for anything else. I haven’t really had much luck
in the men department lately either.” Did I just say that? Why was I being so
open with him?

 
    “I
bet. Hmmm .. .Sounds like maybe you’re going out with
the wrong kind of guys. Maybe you need to change that.”

 
    “Probably.
But work keeps me so busy and I wouldn’t even know where to start to meet men,
and -” Nerves had me babbling now.

 
    He
held up a hand, chuckling. “Whoa, slow down. What about me? If you aren’t busy
tomorrow night, I would love to take you out to dinner.”

 
    My
jaw dropped slightly. Seriously? This hot, tattooed man was asking out boring
ole plain me? “But I don’t even know your name.”

 
    He
laughed again, holding out a hand. “Hi, my name is Brett.”

 
    I
took his hand, glad that I was sitting down as my knees weakened at his tight
grip. My hand seemed so tiny in his. “Hi, I’m Elizabeth. My friends call me
Lizzie though.”