The workday had been a long and tedious one, but five o'clock was fast approaching and Phoebe was getting more and more anxious with each passing minute. It wasn't that she didn't like her job at Tech Business Inc. She had, in fact, been very lucky six short weeks ago to be chosen out of a roomful of secretary temp hopefuls. But that did not erase the fact that she was counting down the minutes until she could soak her sore feet in a bubble covered bathtub.
Phoebe closed her eyes and rolled her neck in an effort to relieve the stress brought on by her hectic schedule. Thoughts of the numerous errands she had yet to run began to flow through her mind.
"I know an even better way to relax."
Startled out of her reverie by the familiar teasing voice, Phoebe jerked her head around and found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of none other than Cole Jargen. Often referred to by the other female employees as the "office playboy", Cole was one of the three partners who owned and controlled Business Tech Inc.
"If it involves you asking me out again, I don't really want to hear it," she dryly replied.
"Well, I am stunned, Ms. Losste. After all of the meetings that we have attended together. I really thought that we were making progress," teased a grinning Cole.
With a look of exasperation, Phoebe turned away from his all too confident smirk and began to gather together the ever—increasing folders piled like towers atop her desk. She wasn't as irritated by his teasing and flirting as she was by her own attraction to him. Cole was a difficult man to ignore. The day that she had started working for this company, she had taken an immediate notice of him. With his brightly colored polo shirts and faded blue jeans, he should have look uncomfortable and out of place, but he didn't. His lack of formality only added to his allure.
It wasn't long after her initial hire when Cole had begun his relentless pursuit. He had flirted, teased and flashed his gleaming grin all in an attempt to persuade her into accepting a date. The scary part was, give years ago she might have agreed. But this wasn't five years ago and Phoebe had more than just herself to think about now. Everything she did had to be for her son, Jake, the four—year—old light of her life. That did not, however, stop her from conjuring up images of steamy interludes while she attempted sleep at night. Just the thought of Cole's muscular physique wrapped around her slender frame was causing Phoebe to ache in a way that she had long since forgotten.
In a hurry to escape Cole's attentions, and before her own body could betray her, Phoebe threw her oversized purse over her shoulder and hurried towards the elevator.
Unfortunately, Cole was not ready to end the conversation and lazily followed her to the elevator. While Phoebe waited for the doors to open, she calmly ignored Cole's presence in the hope that he would go away. This hope, however, was shattered when he began to speak.
"So, what do you say, Phoebe? Are you ready to let your hair down and experience a night out on the town with a man who can make your toes tingle?"
Much to Phoebe's relief, it was at that very moment that the elevator doors chose to open, releasing a throng of scurrying occupants onto the floor. Squeezing through the bustling bodies – not unlike a trout trying to swim upstream— Phoebe stepped into the elevator and pressed the button indicating the first floor.
Just before the metal doors clanged shut, she smiled and – with a cheeky grin reserved just for such a moment – replied to Cole's tempting offer, "I would say thanks, but no thanks."
Cole, not one to be easily discouraged, grinned and began walking towards his office, already plotting and planning his next move in his quest to conquer Phoebe's defensive walls. He loved a challenge and Phoebe was definitely a challenge.
