I Dare You

Elisabeth walked through the spinning doors of the business complex careful not to drop any of the papers she was carrying. As her briefcase toppled to the ground, she wondered if she was going to have one of those days. She bent to retrieve it, cursing under her breath when the lock popped and some papers fell out. A long list of meetings she had to go to and work she had to do made her wish today was a vacation day for her. Stopping at Starbucks for a latte was looking like the best decision she could have made.

“Mornin’, Ms. St. Claire.” The security guy called as she hustled by the monitored desk to the elevator. “You late?”

“You can call me Libby, Rodney, and I'm not late.” She said over her shoulder as she pressed the up button.  They had that conversation every time she arrived at work and he insisted on calling her Ms. St. Claire anyway. 

She turned to speak with him while she waited on an elevator to reach the lobby.  The guard was a stout black man well into his sixties with a head full of thick gray hair and a face full of wrinkles.  He had worked for the building forever and always had a smile for everyone who walked in. 

“Just got my hands full.” Libby showed him the large amount of stuff she had.  “How’s your wife doing?”

“She’s doing great. Thanks for sending those flowers, she sure did appreciate it.” Rodney’s weathered old face creased with a kind smile.

Libby smiled back at him. "It was my pleasure! I know you said Mona loved Dahlias and that happens to be my favorite flower, too. I figured she'd love the colors."

The ding of the elevator let her know a car was there so she tossed a wave at Rodney. Libby stood back just in case there were a lot of people about to exit. The door slid open and Richard Criss stepped out. Her heart skipped a beat when he smiled at her warmly in greeting.

"Hey, Lib." His deep voice was just as sexy and direct as his stare.

"Hey, Rich." She smiled back as she stepped into the empty elevator. "Where you off to?"

Richard was the owner of Criss Inc. a business that specialized in a variety of things from professional shopping to party planning. His passion was life management specialty. He is noted for saying someone always needed help managing some aspect of his or her life. It must be true because he was the fastest growing business in the nation. He had a tendency to rub elbows with the rich and famous. There were enough pictures of him in New York Times to make her wonder if he paid them to take pictures of him for advertising. He certainly had enough female fans to attest to that. 

Libby’s eyes scanned his body and she realized he didn’t need the extra publicity with the way he looked.  His dark hair, warm chocolate colored eyes, and gorgeous body did all the talking for him.  The black two-button tailored suit was wearing fit his lean body like a glove.  Everything about him screamed sexy.  Rich did it for ninety-five percent of the women in Manhattan.  She felt the steady pulse of her body and knew he did it for her.

Rich ran his fingers through his dark hair signaling his irritation. He sighed before meeting her eyes. "Unfortunately, I have a merger meeting to go to. I'd send one of you lawyer types, but I feel like I needed to show my face."

"Are you going to be back in time for lunch or should I plan on eating alone today?" She shifted some things around so she could put out her hand to hold the elevator open.

His winked and smiled at her playfully. "Of course. I'd hate to leave you to fend for yourself because I know you won't eat if I'm not there. You need me, Lib, or you'd starve."

She scoffed at his comment. "I would not!"

"Really? Because the last time I couldn't make lunch, I came back to find you almost passed out on your desk because your sugar had dropped." He arched his dark eyebrow at her.

She hated to admit how right he was. Sometimes she got really focused on what she was doing and didn't feel like eating.  It embarrassed her to admit it, but she probably wouldn't if he didn't make her eat. He had this tendency to stride arrogantly in, drag her out of her office, away from her work, and make her relax and talk.

"You're a great friend, Rich." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that he either didn’t get or intentionally ignored.

"The best you have." He smiled at her. "I'll see ya at noon with Chipotle."

"Oh, Rich, you're a really good friend! I'd kiss you if it wasn't so inappropriate."

His face perked up at the thought and he even took a step toward her a look in his blue eyes. "It’s my office building, my rules. Go nuts.” He glanced down at his watch and stopped his progress. "Uh oh, gotta go. Rain check and reconvene later."

His eyes scanned her body quickly. Libby knew she looked frumpy; her dress to her ankles, collar to her chin, and everything too big. It was left over self-confidence issues from her past. She figured she looked better in this anyway. It was comfortable, she thought defensively.

He shook his head as if to clear something out before speaking again. "Don't work to hard, Lib."

"Have fun at your merger meeting! Hope you dominate!" The door shut cutting off his laughter.

The forty-fifth floor was where her office was. She waved to her co-workers as she made her way through. Libby was polite with everyone, but she'd never been great at forming relationships so she wasn't close to anyone. Rich was the only person she felt comfortable around which was huge for her.

"Libby, can I get your help with the documents for this merger?" Thomas stopped her before she made it to her door.

"Sure. Let me put my things down and I'll come see you in a bit."

He nodded absently before making his way by her.  She watched his back as he retreated a twinge of regret filling her that he didn’t even notice her.  He was tall with blonde hair and the nicest a*s she’d ever seen in dress pants.  Well, second only to Rich’s, but there wasn’t anyway she’d ever get anywhere with him.  From Thomas’ lack of attention, there was no way she’d get anywhere with him either.  Shaking off her thoughts, she made it the rest of the way to her door.  Impressively, she managed to get inside her office without dropping anything. 

Libby couldn't help smiling when she saw what was sitting in top. There was a Milky Way and a note. She grabbed the note to read sinking down into her seat as she read.  The strong block letters of Rich’s handwriting jumped up at her.

"Libby.  Left you a snack. Please eat so I won't have to worry about you fainting before lunch. I know what you're thinking. 'Rich is so thoughtful.' I know, I am. See ya soon."

Man, he was ridiculous and conceited. And she was incredibly attracted to him. Lusting after the boss, that was like something out of a cheesy romance novel. Libby needed to stop before her appreciation of him morphed into a full-blown crush. He was her best friend, too. Those two things alone made him completely unavailable to her. She thought that was incredibly unfortunate considering how sexy he was.

Libby never did anything right so why not have a crush on her boss? She sighed and tossed the Milky Way in her drawer for later. Time to get to work, she thought as she rose to her feet.

Author's Note

A just finished this first rough draft. First impressions would be nice. Ignoring grammar of course.