1

EVE

Dallas runs his hands up my back and through my long black hair. The cold tile wall of the office bathroom presses against my bare shoulders as his kisses trail down my neck. A crowd of employees laughing walks past the bathroom door as I let out a soft sigh. Dallas covers my mouth with one of his hands and grips my hair in the other. His kisses turn into bites as he makes his way down my chest and into my cleavage. He removes his hand from my hair and mouth and then kisses my lips long and gently. 

“Turn around,” he whispers against my lips as I smile and turn my back to him. Within seconds, my light purple lace panties fall to my ankles and sit on top of my pink stilettos. The metal from Dallas’ belt fills the room with clinks as he undoes it. A smile plays on my face as I spread my legs further apart and lay my cheek against the cool tile wall, waiting for him. 

“Try to not be so loud this time,” he taunts me as he slides my dress up just enough. All at once his shaft enters me and I let out a high-pitched gasp. Dallas smiles as he pumps against me from behind, his black dress pants hanging by his knees. His motions get faster and my breathing gets louder. Dallas bites my ear and whispers shhh before quickening his pace even more. The constant reminder that we could be caught at any moment thrills me and aids in my climax. My body caves as he throbs inside me and my arousal consumes me. Dallas follows suit not long after and collapses against me, pressing my chest into the tiles. He pulls out and tosses the protection into the trash, before pulling his slacks up and fastening them at his waist. He then leans down and slides my panties back up and into place, covering them with my dress. He twirls me around and kisses me deep and heavy before pulling away and examining my face. 

“You’re beautiful,” he says, admiring me and searching my face for a response.

“Do you say that to all your bathroom fucks?” I smirk and giggle pushing past him and walk over to the sink. I fix my hair and adjust my dress in the mirror to make myself not look like I was just taken from behind in the bathroom. Dallas stands close behind me and tucks his white button-up back into his pants before fastening his belt and adjusting his tie. 

“You’re my only bathroom fuck. I fuck the others in different places.” He winks in the mirror and I turn to face him, fixing a few of his stray hairs back into place with the rest of them in his slicked-back style. Dallas’ jet-black hair shines from the amount of gel he uses. For a moment, I find myself missing how soft his hair is before he styles it in the morning. He pulls me close and kisses me slowly, rolling his tongue around mine while reaching for a paper towel from the dispenser. He pulls back, wipes my tinted red gloss from his lips, and slides his blazer over his shoulders. He opens the bathroom door, looks around, and vanishes out into the noisy office. 

I stay back for a few minutes like I always do and scroll through videos on social media. Until my phone buzzes and a notification slides down from the top of the screen. 

Vince: What time does your office party end? I got you something. 

I swipe the notification away and lock my phone before doing one last quick check in the mirror and head back out to join the rest of the crowd. Christmas decorations cover every possible table and open space in the room. A tall white tree with black and gold ornaments stands next to the main door and has a cluster of presents underneath it. A group of people huddle in the corner by the drinks table, sipping eggnog, and talking about the upcoming year and the projects that need to be worked on. Dallas and Marshall, one of the company’s project managers, are in the middle of the room looking over a model of the new law firm building the company is designing on Lyme Street. 

“Twelve stories high, black modern fixtures, and plenty of space for the company to grow. I think James is gonna like this one, man. It’s the best model we’ve done since the Smith Insurance building. That motherfucker was hard as a rock when he first saw that shit. Remember?” Marshall repeatedly hits Dallas’ upper bicep with the back of his hand to recall the memory. Dallas nods while smiling and sips on his drink. James, one of the CEOs of Morton & Barker INC, loved the Smith Insurance building so much that he gave both Dallas and Marshall a raise to congratulate them on their hard work and dedication. Dallas told me that after the owners saw the building they told James that his company would be designing any future buildings they may need in Seattle. 

I walk over to Alana, my interior design partner, and Jada, our office assistant, who are sitting at a small table near the Christmas tree. I hear Marshall go on a tangent about all the women the two of them will get when they get another raise as I pass them. Dallas’ dark green eyes glance up and connect with my stare, winking and then turning his attention back to Marshall. 

“Have you received those gold paint samples from Phillips yet?” Alana asks me as I sit down next to her. 

“No, not yet. The manufacturer told them that they are on backorder for the pigments and it would be a few more weeks.” I take a miniature Hershey bar from Alana’s paper bowl and unwrap it. 

“James agrees that it’s the best option for the law firm’s internal accents and metal fixtures,” I listen to her as I shake my head and toss the chocolate into my mouth. 

“Do you and Vince have any plans for Christmas this year, Evelyn?” Jada asks excitedly as my throat starts to dry out. I reach over and grab Alana’s glass of champagne and take a sip of it. 

“No, we’re just going to stay home. His parents are going to Amsterdam to visit his Dad’s family. And Jada, please call me Eve.” She smiles and nods, brushing her strawberry-blonde hair behind her ear. Marshall plops down in the chair next to Alana and throws his arm around her before stealing a few chips off her plate.

“Hey Lana, wanna blow this joint and come back to my place?” Alana scuffs and pushes his hand off of her then gets up and walks away. Marshall turns his attention to Jada and nods at her. 

“Sorry, my dog is allergic to men that think their dicks are bigger than they actually are.” Jada gets up and fixes her short baby blue dress. Marshall looks her up and down and watches as she walks away. He picks up Alana’s almost empty glass of champagne and downs the rest of it. 

“How’s Vince, Eve? I haven’t seen him in a bit. He keeps blowing us off for poker night.” Marshall leans back in his chair scoping out the room for more available women.

“He’s fine. He got a promotion so they moved him to a new office downtown,” I try to add excitement to my voice and not act like talking about him makes me uncomfortable. I’ve worked for Morton & Barker for a few years, so almost everyone in the office knows Vince. He used to come to all of the office parties and business dinners. He even became close enough with some of the guys to where he was invited to poker nights and boy's nights out. 

“I miss that man. He’s a great wingman. The married ones always are. They never try to steal the girls you're after.” Marshall laughs and I do my best to fake laugh with him. I scan the room and search for Dallas, but he’s nowhere to be found. Marshall must sense something is off because he’s just about to ask if I'm okay when James walks in with an old office box that was once used to ship paper.

“Gather around everyone!” His deep voice echoes through the room, halting everyone’s personal conversations. Marshall and I stand up and walk closer to where he is. The door opens again and Dallas walks in carrying another box as Jonathan, the other CEO, holds the door open for him. Dallas sets the small box down next to James’ box and glances in my direction. He looks me up and down and causes me to start blushing like a teenager. He notices and chuckles, switching his attention back to James. 

“As you all know, this year we made record numbers and designed some beautiful builds that will change the city of Seattle forever. This year, Jonathan and I asked all of you,” he waves his hands over the crowd “to vote on the ten awards that we sent out a few weeks ago. We tallied up the votes and now we’re going to announce those winners.” James moves behind the boxes of awards and opens the old paper box first. Inside are five trophy heads standing tall with engraved plates on the front. After working here for so long, we all know by now the trophies with the gold men are the personality awards, not the ones we really care about. 

“Now, for our first award, we have the Office Barista,” James grabs the trophy out of the box and holds it up for everyone to see. “This person is always in the breakroom making a new pot of coffee, the second it’s empty. Making sure our fellow co-workers are awake and ready for the day.” James steps to the side and Jonathan comes up next to him with a stack of envelopes. He opens the first one and James makes a drumroll on the table. 

“The award goes to,” Jonathan pauses to add suspense, “Chelsea Dawson!” A roar of clapping fills the room as Chelsea rushes to the front and dramatically bows to everyone applauding her. She accepts her award and then returns to her spot next to her boyfriend. James moves on to the next award, the On-A-Call award which goes to Tom Richards who never makes our meetings because he’s always on the phone with clients. The Early Bird award goes to Renee Flor because she’s always the first one in the door every morning. The Pop Culture award goes to Kristin Kelly because she’s the youngest in the office and is always talking about celebrity relationships and new slang terms. 

“Alright, now for the serious stuff,” James opens the other box, and inside sits plaques and framed documents. My heart starts to pick up pace as they name Jada as the Office Administrator of the year. I clap for her and she rushes over to show me her award and her framed documentation. Marshall wins Manager of the Year, and Morgan Hill wins Partner of the Year. 

“Two more to go. Designer of the year goes to,” James waits for Jonathan to open the envelope and then they both get wide grins on their faces. “Designer of the Year, Dallas Reed.” Dallas shakes his head smiling from ear to ear as Marshall grabs him by the shoulders and playfully shakes him. I keep my smile to a friendly level and clap softly even though in my head I’m jumping up and down. Dallas takes the award and thanks everyone before stepping back into his spot next to Marshall. Marshall whispers something to him that I can only assume has to do with getting laid and celebrating. James grabs the last award out of the box and my breathing becomes shallow. Jonathan struggles with the envelope and James makes a joke about building suspense. Alana reappears next to me and holds onto my arm, squeezing it slightly. We have both had amazing years and incredible feedback from our clients and contractors, so we know it could be either one of us. 

“Interior Designer of the Year goes to,” I don’t hear James say my name. All I hear is a roar of applause and then Alana squeezes the hell out of me. Dallas claps his hands loudly together above his head and Marshall uses his fingers to whistle. I walk up and shake Jonathan and James' hands, accepting the award in the most professional way possible. The feeling of pride radiates inside me and it's like I’m fourteen and the football quarterback just asked me out. 

“Great job everyone, and Tom. Thank you for making it to the party and not being on the phone.” Jonathan shoots finger guns at Tom and everyone starts laughing. 

“We should go out and celebrate this weekend!” Alana tells me and Jada as we walk down the hall to put our awards in the interior design office. James and Jonathan designed this building themselves with the intent of us all having our own spaces. Interior designers, partners, and managers all have their own offices off the main area. Design and architects have their own office space in the opposite direction. Jonathan and James’ offices are in the far back. Both have their own and are tailored to each individual man’s preferred working environment. The office administrators are the only ones who stay in the main office area and are all assigned to different department types. 

“I’m free on Saturday night this week. I have a date on Friday though,” Alana continues as she opens the wooden door that leads to our office space. She plops down in the white leather chair that sits in front of my large dark mahogany desk. I place the award on one of the bookshelves in the corner, perfectly turned so that all of my clients will see it during future meetings. 

“Who do you have a date with?” Jada asks curiously and is a little shocked as she sits down in the other leather chair.

“Don’t sound so surprised, Jada. He’s a doctor that I met on Tinder. He’s tall, dark, and sweet. Just like I like my coffee.” She playfully slaps Jada’s knee and they both chuckle. 

“Alana, are you sure he’s a doctor? You know men on Tinder say anything to get a girl into bed.” I say as I sit down and face them from behind the desk. 

“Maybe, maybe not. Even if he isn't, I’m still gonna go and see if he’s the man in the picture. Because if he is, I’m going to do a split on his face.” Alana fakes fans herself with her hand and cracks up. My phone buzzes against my desk and I pick it up noticing the time. 

“Shit, it’s almost midnight. I’ve got to get home,” I say as I stand up and grab my jacket off the back of my chair. Alana and Jada say goodbye as I collect the rest of my things. As I walk through the main area I notice that the only light left on is the design and architecture office. Marshall, Dallas, and a few of the other architects are still drinking and celebrating the few awards that their team has won. Dallas looks up as I approach the door and I give him a small wave. He smiles and then turns back to the group of guys surrounding him. 

I take the elevator down to the main lobby, unlock the front door, push it open, and immediately get hit with a swirl of snow falling from the sky. I rush over and unlock my Nissan Versa, thankful the snow hasn’t had the time to ruin the roads. While my car heats up I check my phone and have two new messages waiting for me since the last time I checked.  

Vince: Drive safe, the snow is really coming down. 

I open his message and send him a quick reply to assure him that I'm leaving and not dead in a ditch somewhere. 

Me: Leaving now, be home soon. 

I click on the next message and start to blush immediately. 

Dallas: Congratulations, you deserve it. I can’t wait to celebrate. 

Butterflies rise in my stomach as I read the message over and over again. Then a strong wave of guilt consumes me as Vince sends a quick I love you. I lock my phone without responding to either of the messages and pull out of the parking space. The roads aren’t bad yet, but the county has already laid down salt to prevent ice. Traffic is nonexistent and the streets are quiet my entire way home. When I pull into the driveway, the living room and kitchen lights are both on despite it being closer to ten past midnight. From the car, I can see Vince sitting in the living room watching something on the flatscreen. I grab everything and take a deep breath before getting out of the car and heading for the front door. 

When I walk inside, Vince pauses the recording of the Seahawks game from earlier that day. He gets up and meets me in the foyer as I put my purse down on the entry table and start to slide my heels off. Vince leans against the archway watching me as his shaggy dirty blonde hair hangs in his face, framing his crystal blue eyes. I force a smile as I meet his gaze and Vince’s perfect teeth peek through his lips. 

“Merry Christmas,” he says as he moves closer and kisses me softly, moving a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. He slides a small bright blue box wrapped in a white bow into my hand. Beneath the bow the words Tiffany & Co are imprinted into the lid. A gasp catches in my throat as Vince’s smile grows wider. I strip the bow off the box and take the top off within seconds. Inside a delicate white gold chain carries a haloed diamond. 

“Vince this is-” he shushes me then grabs the box from my hand and pulls the necklace free. With his free hand, he spins me around before draping the chain around my neck. He clasps it closed and the diamond pendant rests against my bare chest. His lips meet the back of my head, nestling in my hair. I turn around and face him as he cups my face in his hands. 

“I love you,” he says while searching my eyes.

“I love you too,” I admit before hugging him tightly.