I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. My eyes felt heavy but I could not stop my racing mind. What were the odds that the man I kissed from the bar would be Elias Castellano?

It was naïve of me not to have researched the CEO of Castellano Enterprises. But the lack of notice before the interview made it impossible to look into the company.

I wanted to be prepped for my first day and figured right now was the perfect time since I couldn't sleep anyways.

I opened up my laptop, my eyes take some time to adjust before I typed into the search bar. I started off with Castellano Enterprises. Nothing out of the ordinary just the usual Stock price, Headquarter information, and subsidiaries.

I then searched for Elias Castellano. Again nothing, other than his general information. I keep scrolling until I saw the article "Elias Castellano breaks Emily Harper's Heart." This didn't pertain to his company but I couldn't help myself and clicked the article.

Apparently a year ago, Mr. Castellano broke things off with Emily his first public relationship after only 6 months together. I wondered what had happened.

I'm sure Elias had women swarming left and right for him but this woman was his first public relationship. She must have been special to him. I sighed, why did I care? Elias and I just shared a kiss. An amazing, breathtaking, soul-crushing kiss but nevertheless just a kiss.

I hit my face with the palm of my hand. He was going to be my boss. Nothing could ever blossom between us. Futile, that our remain strictly professional.

Metaphorically, if things did happen, what if things were to end badly? I would be out of a job again. I've already dated one CEO. I can only imagine the gossip and rumors that will spread about me behind my back if I were to date another.

'Did you hear that she sleeps with the CEO's just to get hired?'

'Her only qualifications is that she's good in bed.'

''Must be nice, two CEO's..what's so special about her anyway?'

Even more, reason I loathed these feelings of attraction towards him. Figuring out a way to work with him while keeping my wild thoughts tamed seemed like no easy task. But it had to be done... I would not jeopardize my career for one lustful night or even a couple of nights.

Maybe, I could find a hobby to distract myself something like hot yoga. See, that wouldn't be too bad.

                                        ****
Jolting from my bed, I threw my comforter to the floor. Impressed that I had risen a minute before my alarm sounded off. Elias advised me to arrive at 8 am sharp and the last thing I wanted was to disappoint him.

I hurried to get ready, my goal was to be there thirty minutes earlier and in order to do so I had to beat LA morning traffic. I finished applying my nude lipstick and sprinted out the front door.

It took me ages to find an empty parking spot but when I did I snapped a photo just in case I forgot where I parked. I had seen enough horror movies to know that parking garages at night aren't the most pleasant places to be at, add finding your vehicle and it was a hell no situation.

Pressing the button for the 65th floor, I took a deep breath.

This is it, my first day.

Surprisingly, I was not a nervous wreck but I knew as soon as I saw Elias I would be. The elevator doors jarred open and proceeded to exit until I carelessly crashed onto a hard chest. Distracted with the rich rosewood scent, the man spoke.

"Are you always this careless Ms. Delacruz?"

Of course, the hard chest had to be of my boss.

"No, my apologies I didn't see you there. Are you going somewhere?" I could not help but wonder why he was by the elevator.

"No, I was waiting for you. I knew you'd be here any minute."

"Mr. Castellano, How did you know I would be here? It's not even 8 am yet?"

"Ms. Delacruz, A good employee always shows up at least thirty minutes before needed."

My mouth remained shut with nothing to say.I gave him a quick smile as he extended his hand for me to lead the way.

He gave me a tour of the entire floor showing me where everything was located. He introduced me to the staff, everyone seemed friendly and showed admiration for their boss. Which was a good sign, that meant Elias kept his employees happy.

We proceeded down the hallway where Elias's office was located and right beside his door was a shiny plaque with Scarlett Delacruz etched on.

Great, my office was next to his.

Opening the door, my mouth gaped open, completely in awe. The office was spacious with a breathtaking view of the city. At Anderson's all I had was a tiny cubicle, and now I had this.

It was perfect.

"I take it that you like it?" He peered at me with a look of satisfaction.

"Elias – Mr. Castellano I love it."

"Well, I'll let you get started, Ms. Delacruz. Everything you need to start will be on the computer."

I shot him a thumbs up, smiling widely. My cheeks went red.

Did I really do that? Kill me now.

From biting his lip to giving him a 'thumbs up' what a wild turn of events. Thankfully, he seemed unbothered by my awkwardness and exited out like a man with a plan.

Being in an office alone was heaven. There were no distractions and no one around to bug me with small talk. What more could a girl ask for?

I turned on the computer and set up my password. Luckily, everything was self-explanatory, Elias had synchronized the tasks he wanted to be completed by the end of the day. I put in my headphones and began working right away.

****
Engrossed into the work, my eyes never left the computer screen. My lower back ached but I had one more file to do and I would be done. Not with just today's task, but with all my tasks for the entire week. A sense of satisfaction washed over me as I clicked on the next file.

Wrapped up in the moment, I hadn't noticed my earphones were now laying on my desk.

How I didn't take them out?

I jumped up from my chair when I saw the reflection of a tall man on the computer screen. The man was dressed in an all dark blue suit, his olive skin paired with 5 o clock shadow. His cheeks were hollow giving him a natural contour that would make any woman jealous. He was was lean unlike Elias's who was more toned and muscular. Piercing me with his green eyes as he scanned up and down my body.

"You must be Scarlett Delacruz. I'm Alexander Marquez, the second in charge of Castellano Enterprises."

I extended my hand out but instead of shaking it he kissed it. I laughed awkwardly trying not to turn red from the gesture.

"Hello, Mr. Marquez, do you scare the crap out of all new hires?"

"Nope, Just the drop dead gorgeous ones. " He ran his hand through his hair as he half sat on the edge of my desk. "You wouldn't have been scared if you had your earphones out morenita I was knocking for 10 minutes before I decided to walk in and make sure you didn't faint on your first day."

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

He patted my thigh "Don't worry, I'm not Elias who gets worked up about everything."

"Anyways, I thought we could just cut the formalities. We will be working together frequently even after hours."

My eyebrows furrowed. "After hours?"

"No, not like what you're thinking. Unless you take me out on a date first."
He winked, "I'm only kidding, don't get any ideas, when we have big clients coming in we have to prepare and it takes a while."

Right when I was going to respond, Elias came in with an annoyed expression.

He adjusted his tie shooting Alexander a cold glare. "I see that you met Mr. Marquez, try not to pay attention to his foolishness, Ms. Delacruz."

Alexander gave Elias a puzzled look then turned to me. "It was nice to meet you, Scarlett."

Elias quickly corrected him. "Ms. Delacruz."

Alexander looked at me again "Nice to meet you, Ms. Delacruz" as he stormed out the office.

"Ms. Delacruz, you should start heading home it's getting late," Elias said undaunted by Alexander's departure.

I glanced over my office window, seeing the mixtures of oranges and pinks. The sunset always put me at peace. I must have lost track of time. Signing off the computer, I looked to my side surprised Elias was still standing near my desk.

Putting his hand on my back he smiled. "I'll walk you to your vehicle."

Butterflies took over my stomach with his touch. Entering the elevator, my body craved what it couldn't have. Imagining him, pushing me against the elevator wall, feeling his lips against mine. I couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking the same since he diverted his attention deliberately to everything but me.

The elevator dinged open, getting us both out of our thoughts. He let me lead the way to my car never falling too behind.

His presence nerved me; My thoughts before did nothing but cause the nerves to rise to an uncomfortable level. A level, I felt a tad embarrassed about.

Get your head out of the gutter, Scarlett. Professionalism, remember?

I unlocked the door to my jeep but Before I could even reach the driver door to open it myself, he had beat me to it.

His brown eyes stared into mine with such intensity that chills ran up my spine. "Goodnight Ms. Delacruz."

I smiled, "Goodnight, Mr. Castellano."