Page 160 of Should the Sky Fall

The lift is slower than the one in his apartment building, and when the doors open, a blond woman in a pantsuit is waiting for him.

“Hi,” she says, flashing him a grin.

He steps out. “Hello. Amanda?”

“The one and only.” She studies him with interest. It’s not hard to guess what she’s thinking.

“You used to be my PA.”

Her grin widens. “Correct. Now I’m bossing your equally neurotic brother around.”

“Shouldn’t he be bossing you around?” Cal doesn’t know much about running a company, but he thought he understood that.

Throwing her head back, Amanda laughs. “Oh, honey.”

Did he say something funny? He doesn’t dwell on it, following Amanda when she beckons him down the hallway. She leads him to the very end, then uses her card to open the door with Ellis’ nameplate on it.

The office isn’t as big as he’d expected, but it’s neat and bright, the large window in place of a wall giving it plenty of natural light.

“This is nice.” So, this is the place where he was spending most of his time instead of being with Dawson? What was he thinking?

Amanda chuckles. “I’d say so. It used to be yours. Tickles your memory?”

He takes the room in, waiting for something to click. “Not really, no.”

“Hm. Fascinating.” She gives him a once-over. “Not gonna lie—you’ve been the main source of gossip here lately.”

Not surprising. “That’s fair.” He looks Amanda over. From their short interaction, he got the impression she’s rather straightforward and isn’t trying to handle Cal with kid gloves just because he doesn’t remember things. “Can I ask you something?”

She opens her palms. “Shoot.”

“Was I a good boss?”

She snorts. “Before or after you had your coffee?”

At the mention of coffee, Cal’s stomach rebels. “Was there a difference?”

“Oh yeah,” she says, snickering, then shrugs. “You were fine. We got along, at least. You were pretty generous with Christmas bonuses, but acted like a dick when things didn’t go your way.”

“Oh.” That’s actually much nicer than what he’d expected to hear.

Amanda pats his shoulder. “I have to make some phone calls. You gonna be okay here?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Holler if you need me.”

Cal acknowledges her with a nod before she disappears, closing the door behind her. He makes his way around the meticulously organized desk. God, Ellis is a neat freak. He flops down into the chair, spinning it around to face the window. The view is nice. Not as nice as the one from their apartment, since their apartment overlooks the ocean, but still. Cal checks the clock. If he knew he’d be waiting, he’d have brought his e-reader.

Thinking of what he can do with the time, his thoughts inevitably steer towards Dawson and last night. God, last night…

The reaction of his body is instantaneous. His skin flushes hot and he needs to undo the top button of his shirt, even though the air in the office is quite cool. His lips start to tingle, remembering what it felt like to kiss Dawson so passionately, so thoroughly. Remembering what his skin tasted like, and how much he wanted to taste him everywhere.

If he closes his eyes, he can still feel Dawson, the weight of him as he straddled Cal, gyrating his hips and taking Cal to heights he never thought possible.

All the while Cal lay there like a log, doing absolutely nothing to make Dawson feel the same pleasure he felt. Although Dawson seemed to enjoy himself, it wasn’t Cal’s doing. It’s just…Cal didn’t knowwhat to do. He followed his instincts, and at first it was easy, but once Dawson took charge, he was lost.

Maybe there’s a manual?