When Morning Comes

They walked down the carpeted hallway, in the opposite direction from where Isaac had run, and through a small corridor. A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a door with no nameplate. It was constructed of heavy wood and there was a thin plane of glass running vertically down one side of the door, the view through which was obstructed by cardboard.

“I think my father has made a mistake. We use this room for file storage.”

Felicia’s hand shook a little as she placed it on the knob and turned. “I don’t understand this,” she shrieked.

Autumn stepped into the small but clean room. Two rusty gray file cabinets lined one wall, one of which was graced with a plastic houseplant that had lost most of its leaves. The old-fashioned metal desk had a couple of beat-up chairs in front of it. On the desk was one of those spotlight lamps, the kind with the lightbulb that burned so hot it could singe anything that got to close to it.

Clearly, the room had been hastily furnished with some vintage finds from somebody’s attic or basement. A laptop was the only modern thing in the whole place.

Autumn walked around the desk and set down the stack of papers she was lugging around, as well as her purse. Then she sat in the vintage wooden chair and spun around to face Felicia, who was still by the door.

“It’s perfect!” she exclaimed with a broad smile. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s...it’s...ugly,” Felicia sputtered. “The furnishings are horrendous, not at all what we have in the other offices. Not to mention the fact that this is a file room and no one but me is supposed to be in here.”

Felicia looked out into the hallway before she moved deeper inside the room and looked around. “But where are all the files?” she wailed, her eyes wide to the whites. “This room was nearly filled with boxes and now there are only about half left.”

Hopefully, only the ones I need for the investigation, Autumn thought, snickering inwardly.

Sterling may be a grump, but he was turning out to be very, very handy.

Felicia walked up to the desk and planted her hands on her hips. “I’m sure this is only a temporary office,” she said with a note of derision. “There must be some issue with getting your cubicle ready on the second floor. I’ll speak to my father and we’ll get this matter straightened out right away.”

Autumn nodded and tugged on the middle drawer of her desk. “Sounds good.” The drawer stuck, so she tugged even harder and when she finally managed to pull it open, the metal on metal scraped together so loudly that Felicia covered her ears.

The drawer was well stocked with office supplies. Another plus for Sterling. She grabbed the first pen she saw and quickly uncapped it. “I’ll get started on that paperwork now and will have it to you by lunch, okay?”

“Fine,” Felicia snapped, looking over her shoulder again, as if she was expecting someone. “I should have this work space issue corrected by then.”

Autumn rose and went to the door, feigning eagerness to finally start her first day on the job, in the hopes that Felicia would leave. “Thanks for all your help. I’ll drop by your office in a couple of hours.”

She leaned against the jamb and watched as Felicia suddenly hurried down the hall as fast as her stiletto heels could take her. The woman seemed genuinely distraught and confused about the whole situation. She was about to shut the door when she looked up and suddenly realized why.

Isaac Mason’s office was directly opposite hers.

* * *

Isaac smoothed one hand over his close-cropped hair and then got to work reknotting his tie. It was almost noon and he’d made it through his morning meetings, his clients were happy, and there were no frantic phone calls from his children.

Like one of his favorite rappers once said, “It’s been a good day.” But Isaac knew it was long from over.

He wasn’t happy about what Sterling had asked him to do, but if he wanted to make partner, he had no choice.

With his tie neatened to his satisfaction, he took one last glance in the mirror, ignoring the rumble in his belly and hammering of his heart.

It’s just lunch, he told himself, and Autumn’s just another coworker. But he knew she was more than that, or at least he wished she could be.

Isaac walked over to his desk and password-protected his computer. After glancing out his office window, he opened the door and was shrugging into his coat when Autumn stepped out of the opposite office.

“Well, hello!” she greeted him.

Isaac pulled on the lapels of his coat. “What are you doing in there?” he asked, pointing his finger at the closed door. “That’s the file room.”

She gave him a cheery smile. “It’s my office now.”

Before he could ask any more questions, she started to walk away.

“Where are we going to lunch? The cafeteria? Because I’m starved.”

The thought of food was distracting enough without having to watch her sumptuous bottom sway down the hall and not be able to cradle it in his hands. During his morning meetings, his mind had wandered into random thoughts of her—a kind of subtle curiosity that would only be satisfied by seeing and feeling this woman who could never be his, except in his dreams.

“Um. N-no,” he stuttered, feeling a little like Clark Kent chasing Lois as he quickly moved beside her. “I thought we’d go somewhere a little quieter. I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Sounds serious. Is everything all right?”

“No, but it will be.”

It has to be, Isaac thought. He had to find a way to get back into Sterling’s good graces again. If he could pull this off, he’d make partner for sure.

He leaned against the wall as they waited for the elevator and admired the clean lines of the soft gray coat she wore. Tailored at the waist, it accentuated her trim figure and ended midthigh, which suited him just fine. The more leg she revealed the better, and from where he stood, Lord knows she had two mighty fine ones.

Damn.

There were thousands of women in New York, and the only one that had piqued his interest was off-limits and off-the-chain gorgeous.

Isaac cleared his throat and turned away before his lower body gave away his thoughts.

“It was snowing earlier. Better button up.”

Autumn nodded. “Good idea.”

Except for the occasional screech from the elevator cables, they rode down in silence until Autumn started to giggle.

He shifted his feet. “What’s so funny?”

Autumn pressed her lips together and finished buttoning her coat. “I was just remembering the look on Felicia’s face when she saw I had the office opposite yours. She was so pissed. I wonder why?”

Isaac knew why, but he wasn’t about to say anything. It was embarrassing enough how Felicia had thrown herself at him, luring him into that very room, where she was hidden among the boxes, stark naked.

He shuddered at the memory. Although he didn’t have a type, per se, Felicia definitely wasn’t it.

Now Autumn, on the other hand, was a different story. He’d only met her a few hours ago and already he was entertaining fantasies of a hot and heavy office romance. Whether this sudden lust was the result of a lack of coffee, fumes of sleep or zero sex, he couldn’t pinpoint. But if it involved two hearts possibly getting broken, one of them being his, he wasn’t about to take the risk.

The cold January air was like a rude slap in the face as they walked out of the Paxton Building. The winds didn’t help, either. The weatherman that morning had said they were blowing out of the northeast, but they felt like they were from Antarctica and their new home was in the bones of everyone who had ventured outside.

“Wh-where are we headed? I—I’m freezing already!” Autumn ground out through chattering teeth.

Isaac pulled up the collar of his black wool coat.