Early March

At last. Two minutes of peace in my private "office" away from my office.

"Doop. Da doo doo, doop, da doo doo." I hummed to the tunes of an annoyingly sticky television advertisement that managed to gaffer-tape itself around my limbic system.

I, Eva King, a proud Australian feminist, sat on my favorite porcelain throne at the end of the women's restroom. It was no iron throne that ruled the seven kingdoms, but it was my sanctuary for a few minutes of peace on the top floor of the Hudson Engineering building.

Coated with faux gold trimmings along the marbled walls, and scented with lavender, the women's restroom was a forgotten and unused space on this floor. Each morning, the cleaners came with freshly rolled hand towels and stocked the Molton Brown liquid soaps and moisturizers.

It was a pity that much effort was made to keep up the pristine condition of this graveyard of a restroom because it was rarely used-except by one other woman and me.

Most of my colleagues were men, and the only other woman on the top floor was Mary McQueen, who handled administrative tasks for the global management team. After five years of grueling, hard work, and weekends dedicated to working on tenders to win contracts, I had been promoted to the global management team a few months ago.

I moved from the second floor to the top floor, and thanked my old boss, Derek Chang, for pushing my promotion. He was the man who hired me when I was a penniless graduate looking for work. Judged by both men and women, I was on a lonely road, but Derek was my mentor who kept me strong.

As Hudson's new marketing and communications director, I dissected the company's product lines and looked at the stars, cash cows, question marks, and dogs. As a team, my colleagues and I discovered that the product line with the biggest market potential lacked a strong brand, so we ran a re-branding campaign and scared the competition.

I got along with most co-workers except Larry Holden, who despised me. That was fair because I didn't think much of him either. His animosity began when I dared to speak up during one of his presentations. I saw a lack of strategy in the company's sales plan and reiterated that his objectives needed to be measurable and realistic.

He didn't have a clue about the art, science, or strategy of sales. According to my colleagues, clients refused to deal directly with him. Yet, he was Hudson Engineering's head of sales. He spent enough time licking the asses of top management to get his job. The color of his tongue was brown.

Ah, Larry, Larry.

Quite contrary.

Smiles one way and frowns the other.

If looks could kill, I'd murder him with my silent smother.

Larry, Larry...

The porcelain throne was a great place to escape from Larry.

"Eva! Eva, are you in here?" Mary McQueen's shrill voice disrupted my moment of peace.

"Eva?"

I groaned.

"Mary, give me a minute!" I rolled my eyes and let out a loud sigh of exasperation.

A few minutes later, I stood across from Mary after washing my hands and slathering a dash of Molton Brown on my dry hands. My arms folded, and I stared directly at her, with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm so sorry," Mary mumbled apologetically. Her eyes gave away a blend of fear and desperation.

"Well, you're here now, so please go ahead," I commanded.

"Larry's having a meltdown, and he told Mr. Cross that you refused to cooperate with him on the Emder project."

"What the heck?" I stared at Mary. Her timid eyes, now wide and round, revealed the truth.

Gary Cross was the company's CEO and my boss. He was a formidable man and someone many workers feared. I respected Gary, who taught me what you don't learn in college to run a good business-the stuff that comes with experience. I was the new kid on the block in Gary's team.

"Eva, I tried to reason with Larry that your week is full, but he's helpless-" Mary was babbling, so I started to zone out.

"Mary, it's fine. I'll sort it out." I touched her shoulder to assure her not to worry, before walking out of the bathroom and down the corridor to see Larry standing in Gary's office.

Larry and Gary, kinda like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

You'd expect the company's sales director to be tall, dashing, fit, and handsome, but it was the contrary. As for the CEO, he was no Christian Grey. What you got were two short, stout, aging men with big, fat paychecks.

That, my loves, is reality. Trust me. I'd rather stick my finger to gag my throat than hook up with the clowns that reality presented. I made my own money, and I didn't need a rich clown.

I didn't need to find someone to take me to company dinners, balls, and social gatherings. It would take a special man to accompany me to a company event that allowed partners.

Back to Tweedledum and Tweedledee...

"Hey, what's up?" I popped my head into Gary's office and peered at the men.

Gary sported a look of pained concern in his eyes, while Larry looked... well, desperate.

"Eva," Gary began, while his eyes locked into mine, like a strong bull locking horns with its opponent.

"Gary, what's going on?" I encouraged him to continue the conversation.

"Larry needs your help. We need your help. Would you please cooperate with Larry on the Emder project? It's due this week."

I glanced at Larry, whose shoulders were sloped, and his five-o-clock shadow was prominent. His receding hairline was greasy, and his clothes smelled of sweat.

My eyes darted back to Gary, who reminded me of a high school principal, primly dressed to perfection. His mustached mouth twitched, which elicited a shiver of fear running down my spine. When Gary's mouth twitched, and he stared directly at you, he meant business. He fired more people than he hired in the global management team.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Sure, I'll help out. I can stay back with Larry this evening, and we'll have the project done for your review tomorrow by lunch," I replied with a smile.

"That's great," Gary boomed and clapped my shoulder so hard that I nearly stumbled.

"Larry, I'd like to have a byline for this project," I responded, still smiling, right in front of Gary.

"Uh, sure, yeah." He nodded all too fast.

"Great! It's teamwork, and we're a team." I smiled at Larry.

It was a big project, and I was getting my name to it. Larry had no choice but to agree, in front of Gary, who beamed like a proud father of two kids who reconciled.

I was a cheeky young gun, I know, but trust me, it was worth it. I put the extra hours into the work to review, fix, and turn the project into something worthwhile for the clients. If there was a bonus to this project or any accolade, I was getting my slice too.

***

Toward the end of the week, I noticed a tall, broad-shouldered college student standing in the hallway of the Graduate School of Business building at QUT, a city-based university in Brisbane, Australia, where I attended evening classes for my MBA.

I wasn't running late for class, so I slowed down to a gentle halt and admired the change of scenery in the business school hallway.

Wow. Just wow.

This guy was talking with a non-descript friend-I sure as heck didn't notice that friend because I was all eyes on Mr. Tall.

He was at least six feet tall, with strawberry-blond hair and beautiful, golden highlights blessed by the sun. He wore a fitted T-shirt that showed off his muscled arms and a pair of jeans that accentuated his fit physique.

Hot dang, did he have to look so good in those jeans? He looked like a model from a Tommy Hilfiger ad.

My heart raced rapidly, and my knees melted to the ground. I felt a sudden adrenaline rush, worse than the sugar rush you get in your veins after drinking three cans of Red Bull and eating a block of sugar chocolate fudge (don't try it!).

I wanted to jump that guy and smother him with electrifying kisses. I considered stuffing him in my handbag and taking him home to snack on him later. I had an urgent desire to tie and chain him to my bed and do all sorts of crazy shit with him. That was the effect this guy had on me. It's crazy, I know.

At that exact moment, two gorgeous girls walked past him and sang out, "Hiiii, Sven!"

Mr. Tall waved back at them and flashed a smile that could light up the whole city.

Shit, he had perfect white teeth and a pair of dimples to match.

The beauties walked past me, while I ogled at "Sven" and his Colgate smile. I bet he never had a cavity in his life. He must have been every dentist's dream.

I straightened my shoulders and strolled towards Mr. Beefcake, hoping that he would glance at me.

In an ideal world, we would make eye contact, and it would be instant chemistry. Ping!

I kept walking, and Sven kept ignoring me while talking to his buddy.

I walked slower as I brushed past him.

Nothing.

I had already walked past him.

Shit. Absolutely nothing.

What was it going to take to get this guy to notice me?

I should have worn my pink elephant suit.

I had to get to class.

Focus on the prize, Eva.

This guy was just a distraction in life, like a donkey on the side of a bumpy road.

I planned on attaining a scholarship exchange to study for a semester in Sweden, India, or the UK, and travel to Italy on vacation, where I would indulge in food, wine, and maybe add a dash of romance peppered into the mix.

As I made my way to the back of the lecture theater and sat on one of the seats, I kept thinking of Mr. Sexy.

A Polaroid photo of him was now pinned in my memory.

Maybe I would see him standing at the same spot at the same time on the same day next week.

What would the odds be?