Trivial Pursuits Ch. 16

Hyun-Joong was quiet a moment. "Denny?" he guessed.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she slowly nodded.

He sat there quietly, assessing her. "I guess that explains it," he said at last.

Her eyes shifted up to him. "Explains what?"

Hyun-Joong gave a shrug. "I asked Denny if you'd be a good addition to the team. Wondered if you'd be able to come to Seoul and work in the office there. He very emphatically stated you weren't going anywhere," he shared, a grim smile on his face.

Alessa's spine straightened, her mouth setting a hard line. "He did, did he?" she asked angrily.

Hyun-Joong's eyes glittered as he watched her riled response. "Though, I can't say that I blame him," he confessed. When she looked puzzled, he explained. "If you were my girlfriend, I wouldn't want you traipsing off half-way across the world for a job."

"I never realized you and Denny shared such romantic opinions," she scathed angrily, standing up to leave.

Laughing, Hyun-Joong stood to stop her. "Hey, wait a minute," he said, touching her arm as she tried to walk past. "Cool down, a sec, will you? Let me explain-"

"What? That you're a nothing more than a chauvinist?" she spat at him as she kept walking out onto the street.

"I never said that," he denied, trailing behind her. "I simply said I understand not wanting to lose someone I cared about. And there's nothing wrong with that," he defended.

"There is when it sacrifices the dreams and ambition of the person you claim to care about."

"Alessa, will you stop, please?" he asked, wanting to make amends any way possible.

They had reached the steps of her building, so she did stop, an unhappy turn of her mouth as she faced him. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm not a chauvinist, just a guy who'd want to keep his girl."

She wasn't appeased, but she felt her steam toward him fade as she understood the sentiment behind his poorly worded defense. "Fine. You're not a chauvinist, just a little self-centered," she conceded.

"Thanks," he said smiling with a roll of his eyes.

"Listen, I've got to get back to work. I'll talk to you later. Thanks for the coffee," she said as she turned to head back into her building. She heard him call out his goodbyes, but didn't look back; her mind was already focused on skinning the rat she worked for.

Once she was off the elevator, she marched straight toward Denny's office. "Hi, Clare. Is Mr. Ashbury in?" she asked, attempting to keep her temper in check.

"Yes, you can go in," the secretary answered.

When she stepped into his office, she quietly shut the door, her jaw flexing as she felt her anger rising. Denny was eyeing her, his own mood seemingly equally dark.

"Ms. Allen," he said coolly, "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you had left the office," he observed with a slight edge to his voice.

"Yes, I left to have lunch with a friend."

"Is that so?"

"We were catching up when he told me of his conversation with you."

Denny's eyes narrowed. "And what conversation would that be?"

"He stated that he asked you if I would be an asset to the firm in Seoul; could I join the team there."

"Did he?" Denny's voice darkening.

"Yes, he did. And do you know what he told me your reply was?"

"I couldn't possibly know what he told you."

"I'm sure if you wracked that scary little brain of yours, you might have an inkling. But just in case you've recently received a sharp blow to the head and are suffering from memory loss, let me remind you. He said that you—and I quote—very emphatically stated I wasn't going anywhere."

Denny stared hard at her, his anger matching her own. There were several moments of silence before he spoke. "What are you telling me? You want to go to Seoul? You want to leave?"

"I will tell you what I don't want. I don't want to have worked as hard as I have worked to gain all the options possible, only to have the freedom to choose whichever one I want taken from me simply because I'm in a relationship," the last word sounding dirty. "Because, let's face it," she said through clenched teeth, her eyes becoming almost cruel, "if I was forced to choose between my career and a relationship, I would go with the sure bet."

Denny was out of his chair stalking to her rapidly. "And what does that mean?" he growled.

"You know damn well what it means," she hissed, looking up at him as he came to stop a breath away from her. "You made that decision because you're jealous. If I can't sleep with you for the purpose of moving up in the world, it sure as hell better not drag me down. I've worked too hard for opportunities like this just to have you unilaterally deny them to me because you're selfish!"

"Worked hard or flirted hard?" he accused.

Alessa's mouth tightened. "That is unfair. You already know I don't want to sleep my way to the top. And while you may think I have sex appeal, I sure as hell don't try to use it, and you know that."

Denny stared down at her, his jaw clenching. But as she glared up at him, she saw him eventually soften. He let out a frustrated growl, and raked his fingers through his hair as he turned away from her to stalk to his window. He knew she was right. He had responded to Hyun-Joong's interest like a kid who didn't want to share, possessive and thoughtless of anyone but himself. And that behavior had forced her to do the very thing he feared, choose her career over him. The irony was not lost on him, and had he not been upset, he might have smiled.

At length, when he felt in control of his ire, he turned back toward her and leaned against the window sill, crossing his arms. "I suppose an apology is due."

She took an irritated stance and cocked an eyebrow. "One would think for as much time as you waste on apologizing you would learn to circumvent the need by not acting like an ass," she bit out.

Denny's jaw clenched, but he kept his annoyance in check. He nodded once. "You are probably correct." After another moment of glaring at one another, he sighed and walked to her. As he reached for her, she stiffened but didn't move away. Her eyes were wary as she peered up at him.

"Well?" she prompted, uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

"While it is my decision who works with my clients," he said meaningful, reminding her that he would have a say in her involvement in Hyun-Joong Park's company simply because he was Denny's client, "I made my decision primarily to keep you here. For myself. I will endeavor to not let my personal feelings for you influence my decisions as your supervisor in the future.

"Now, if after a year you are still interested in a different placement, such as at the Seoul office, we can discuss that, but for the time, it would be best for your career—and not just because it's what I want—if you stayed here at the head office. You may be talented, but you're also young and lack experience that you could gain here. Alright?"

Though his answer was reasonable, she still felt miffed and a little uneasy about the amount of control he had over professional life. Denny must have sensed the mistrust because he devised a plan to ameliorate her wariness. "Listen, if you don't have too much on your plate, I actually was handed a new case this morning. I was going to pass it off to Jeff, but if it would help mend our professional relationship, then I can let you take it." He watched her eyes slowly light up. "It's a straightforward defense for a wrongful eviction suit. What do you say?" he offered.

Alessa felt giddy inside, but kept her straining emotions masked. "Would I have to appear in court?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up, but he suppressed the smile. "I doubt it. You can meet with the client and see if they want to settle out of court or pursue a defense. But these things rarely make it to court."

She was slowly coming around. "Very well," she accepted almost begrudgingly, "I'll take it." But then her eyes narrowed. "But don't think you can buy me off with a small little case every time you muck up," she warned.

He finally smiled fully. "Don't worry, I don't plan on making too many mistakes." And then before she could react, he leaned down and kissed her. She quickly pulled away and looked about, despite the fact they were in the closed office alone.

"You shouldn't do that," she whispered. When he only smiled and raised an eyebrow, she explained. "For one, someone could walk in and two, I'm still angry with you."

Denny reached out and pulled her close, taking her by the hands and wrapping them around the small of her back to hold her in place. "Sweetheart," he began as his lips drifted closer, "you have to forgive people when they screw up. You can't go around holding grudges. Not only is it bad for a relationship, it's bad for you. You'll be miserable and unhappy until you forgive my stupid ass," he instructed before finally kissing her.

For a moment, Alessa allowed him to kiss her, the pleasure of his mouth nothing she could deny, but when she pulled away and looked up into his eyes she was glaring. "Stop telling me how to feel," she demanded.

"I'm only sharing my experience," he sighed, slowly letting her body go. "Trust me; holding onto your anger only hurts yourself."

She still eyed him with annoyance, but something in her expression softened slightly. "I'll think about it."

Denny seemed satisfied enough, understanding nothing with Alessa came immediately, but with time and thought and care.

He informed her she could pick up the case file from Clare when she left. She paused before departing, however. "Thank you, I suppose, for the case, I mean."

"Of course. I know you will do an excellent job." And then he turned to go back to his desk, silently dismissing her.

Alessa left his office shouldering not only her irritation with him, but the excitement of a new case. Clare handed off the file to her and she quickly read through the pertinent information at her desk. After calling the client and arranging a time for him to come to the office to meet, she turned her buzzing mind back to the other assignments that were always waiting to be completed.

Her evening run was exactly what she needed, as she had opted to head out to the fort and back instead of the treadmill. And as the acid burned her muscles, which she had neglected in favor of time with Denny, she breathed out all the toxic emotions that had been slowly encroaching on the edge of her brain.

She didn't see him for the remainder of the day, but as she slunk into bed at midnight, her phone buzzed with a text.

Sorry again about today. Promise to behave better in the future.

At first she was tempted to ignore it, but he was right; the negative feelings she was holding onto only vexed her.

Promises promises, she teased, though she didn't quite feel playful. When he didn't reply within a minute, she closed her eyes, and felt herself dropping into sleep when her phone buzzed again.

I do promise. See you tomorrow. She read it several times, feeling the solemnity of his words like a handful of heavy stones.

The rest of the week was uneventful as far as their relationship was concerned. Much to her surprising disappointment, she didn't see him much, though he had managed to steal a few kisses in empty hallways. It was just as well, she had sighed standing over the copier, the new case he had given her was not within her comfort zone and she was spending hours on research. The client had decided to fight the lawsuit, claiming he had done nothing outside of the guidelines for building managers. The case seemed to be riddled with drama as he purported the ex-tenant was an unemployed drug user. Through learning of the parties' long history, Alessa gleaned neither party was a mature adult, but resorted to petty tactics and name calling. What had seemed like a straightforward matter was quickly spiraling outside her depth.

Lou had been helpful in pointing her to resources and sharing her limited experiences, but the advice did little to ease her nerves. Thursday afternoon Denny asked if she would spend the night with him Friday. At first she wanted to beg off, feeling not only was she not making satisfactory gain in the new case, but that she was neglecting her sister and her mom. When she tried to make an excuse, he promised not to keep her forever. She agreed contingent upon being able to hang out with her sister on Sunday. Later that afternoon, when the plans were in place for her to pick Octo up for brunch late Sunday morning, she stopped by his office to deliver papers for the Mingo case and to give him the answer he wanted.

He merely looked up at her as if he had devious things running through his mind and smiled. "Good. Dinner out?"

But her uneasy expression silently stated she still wasn't comfortable being in public with a boyfriend, let alone her boss.

"Then we can get it to go," he compromised.

"Or order it in for here? I have a feeling if I'm going to be wasting time with you this weekend I need to work as long as I can on Friday," she stated.

"Wasting time?" he repeated in mock offense.

She rolled her eyes. "Spending time, you know what I mean," she struggled to recover.

"I know what Freud would think," he stated drily.

She lifted her hands in exasperation. "You can interpret my words however you want. That doesn't change the fact that I probably should work late Friday if I'm not going to be able to make it into the office Saturday because I'll be with you."

He smiled. "Fine. We can order in. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to get a little more work out of the way." He looked up at her with that hungry glint. "After all, I'll be far too busy doing other delightful things once I get you in my clutches."

Alessa gave an uncomfortable chortle at that. "That sounds rather ominous," but she couldn't stop the slight blushing spreading over her cheeks at the thought of what delightful, ominous things he had in mind.

"Only in the best of ways."

She contained her smile, but only barely. "Right. Well, I suppose I should to get back to work." Denny only nodded with a smirk, watching her as she scurried from his office.

Friday evening, he was in the middle of drafting a licensing agreement for one of Silicon Valley's latest technology start-ups when a knock on his door drew his attention. Alessa was back from her run, her hair now up in a ponytail, though she had put back on her light-gray pencil skirt and cream blouse.

Denny smiled as she approached, basking in her lovely appearance. He then noticed she had a largish paper sack in one hand and manila folders in the other. "Whatchya got there?" he asked, sitting up and placing his elbows on the desk.

"Well, I know you said you wanted to order out, but I've really been craving my grandmother's butternut squash soup. So I made us some," she explained, removing the various containers storing the hand crafted goodness. "I also made these crescent squares stuffed with cheese to go with them," she added, handing him his. "Careful, I just heated it up; it might be a little hot."

Denny simply smiled at the thoughtful gesture and watched as she set it all out before them. The aroma from the soup was rich and earthy with a touch of sweetness. He also thought he smelled rosemary, but wasn't sure. Once she had sat down, he took a tentative bite, heeding the warning of the dangerous temperature. But it was just right, he thought, slurping it up. He had been correct; he could just taste a hint of rosemary.

"Alessa, this is delicious," he murmured, taking in spoonfuls.

She had a bashful smile and gave a shrug. "Well, I can't really take credit for it. It was my grandmother's recipe. I just followed it."

He smiled as he watched her eat. "To the T, I bet."

She looked up and then smiled ruefully but held her tongue. As they ate in silence, they each continued on with their respective work, pauses as they shared smiles whenever Denny moaned in delight at the food. At some point, he heard her sigh in exasperation and looked up to see her scowling over the papers on her lap.

"Something the matter?"

She only squinted her eyes and frowned as she shook her head.

Denny watched her continue on in her displeasure with whatever she was reading, and when ten-thirty came and went, he declared their workweek over.

"But I-"

"Shouldn't argue with your boss," he interjected, closing his laptop and standing up. "Whatever you're working on can wait until at least Sunday afternoon, and that's if you have to work on it at all over the weekend. Now, let's get your things and go. I have something waiting for you back at my place."

She looked up at that to find his sharp eyes glinting at her. She held a mildly skeptical expression. "I don't know, it's not another video game console is it?"

He barked out a laugh at that. "No, nothing so wholesome."

She bit back a smile. "Video games? Wholesome?"

"In comparison to the gift I have for you, yeah, I'd say wholesome. Innocent. Banal. Platonic. Harmless."

She swallowed. "Really. And just what is this little gift you have for me?"

Denny kept his wolfish smile subdued. "You'll just have to unwrap it to find out."

Alessa felt a breathy laugh escape her chest, but not quite make it past her lips. "How can I possibly say no to that?" she murmured holding his gaze a second longer than she thought possible as she struggled to keep the blush off her cheeks. If Denny knew of her inner turmoil, he said nothing, but ushered them out of the office and into his car. The drive to his home was quiet, if a little fast, and Alessa was internalizing his silence when he opened the door to his condo and let her in.

Before she was able to take two steps, he had grabbed her in the dimmed entryway and pinned her to the wall. Alessa let out a gasp of surprise, and for the briefest of moments, fear shot up her spine. But the intensity of his eyes had nothing to do with mortal danger, and everything to do with devastating desire. Her breathing hitched as he held her there, almost suspended, his body slowly pressing into hers.

"You have no idea how badly I want to destroy you with pleasure," he growled as held her face, turning it to take in the beautiful lines of her face and neck. "How many times I think about you naked. Bent over my desk, or on your knees with your hands tied behind your back," he continued to harshly whisper.

The dark and dangerous images he painted in her mind caused a shiver to run down her spine only to pool in her loins.

"No fucking idea how many times I ache during the day." He skimmed the sensitive skin of her neck as he pressed his heavy erection into her. "And all because of you. I can't seem to think straight when I'm not touching you," he confessed, his harsh breathing heating her skin. And then he turned his face to hers and claimed her mouth for a fierce kiss that stole her breath away.

Alessa was quivering with the thick and heady desire coursing through her veins. His words enlivened her, stoking her need for him. Arms held her tightly to him as though he were a buoy to keep her afloat in a tempestuous sea. Denny aggressively slid his hand down her hip and hiked her leg up as he insinuated his own hard thigh between her legs. She moaned into his mouth as he ground against her. For several minutes he plundered her over and over, elevating her passion higher and higher until she was ready for him to enter her and finish her.

His mouth tore from hers, his head falling past her own to lean against the wall behind her. Denny's harsh breath stirred the wisps of hair at the nape of her neck. His hand still cupped the side of her neck, and feeling a pulse of desire push through her, she undulated her body against him. "Why'd you stop?" she gasped as her hands dug harder into flesh.

Denny's eyes were closed tight as he continued to cage his passion to allow him to focus on his objective. "Because, Sweetheart, as much as I want to fuck you against the wall right here and now, I have something special planned for you tonight." And then he placed a chaste kiss against the beating pulse of her neck. As he pulled away, he took her by the hand. "Come on. I think I need some wine. You?"