Beyond Temptation

Chapter 1

JAMIE

Today was going to be my day.

The day I would finally get my dream job. The job I've been running after for about six months now, and that my father would so insistently remind me that I would never get. He had no faith in me and my capabilities and never failed to show me how much of a disappointment I was to him. Every time I got a new opportunity, he would always, but ALWAYS pull me down, and discourage me.

So, this time I didn’t even tell him I got thru the first round of interviews at a very prestigious architectural firm. This way he couldn’t, so masterfully, point out all my insecurities, making me doubt my worth. This was like a little bomb that he would implant in my brain in the shape of a small, almost innocent, comment, that would tic louder and louder as minutes and hours went by, ultimately exploding making me fail or give up because I just wasn’t good enough.

I learned to keep all the good things to myself. What no one knew, no one could ruin.

Times have been hard, and finding a job nowadays wasn't an easy task at all. Never mind the job you wanted or simply were qualified for. I mean A job. Whatever it was. So this was a really big deal. Even more so if you’re required to pay rent in New York City.

So I am psyched! I woke up with a confidence I didn't even know I owned, but that I'm surely going to need if I want to nail this second call interview this morning.

I’m going to own it.

I’m going to nail it.

I’m going to f*****g get it!

At 10 am today my future in this city would be dictated by whether or not I got this job. I can’t afford to continue to live here if I fail.

I even dressed to impress, to give me an extra boost to go in there and show no hint of insecurity or doubt.

My normal clumsiness in heels wasn't even an issue as I made my way through the busy streets of New York, obsessively clicking on my phone to check the time.

"WOW…9:30! I cannot be late!"

As it lit up for the hundredth time in ten minutes, I noticed an email from AD Architects had just come in, and quickly clicked the open button and started to read, never even minding to stop walking while I did. "Dear Jamie, we’re looking forward..."

I didn't even get to read the rest as I seemingly hit a rock. The impact was so violent and hard that I was thrown back, immediately stumbling to the floor, using my hand to soften the fall behind me. As I was starting to hit the ground, I felt a strong pull around my waist hoisting me up and off my feet. What the hell?

I was suddenly staring into a pair of hypnotizing long lash emerald green eyes. The kind that seemed to pierce your flesh and see straight into your soul, melting away all and any coherent thought one could try to muster up.

I was staring. I could even feel my mouth start to open involuntarily, completely mesmerized. Those eyes, the strong grip around my waist, the feeling of strong-arm muscles under my fingertips as I dug my nails into hard warm flesh. All of it was sending a strange feeling all the way down my spine making my stomach quiver with a funny tickling sensation. I was so close I could even feel the warmth of heavy breath on my face.

And in the middle of my daze, the grip loosened. He let go and I felt a tinge of discomfort for being free.

"Don't you watch where the f**k you're walking?" – he blurted out with palpable irritation. I was completely caught by surprise. After the stare off we just shared, I was counting on something... a little more charming? I had sensed the tension, and I was almost positive that I saw him shake his head before speaking as if he was trying to snap out of his thoughts.

"Oh right, Sure! The same way you did?" – I tried to be as harsh as I could.

"Great, now I'll have to go back to that never-ending line" – he grunted, pointing at the iced coffee stain on my white blouse. My eyes widened in disbelief. I would never have time to go back home to change, and I couldn't go like this to a possible life-changing interview. I pushed him out of my way and headed towards a cafe across the street.

"You ruined it! grr" – I shouted almost from the middle of the road, with rigid arms and clenched fists. I was trying hard not to tear up upon the possibility of losing this opportunity because of some asshole.

“Bathroom please?” – I ask the barista who just simply points to his left to a pair of black doors. The place was practically empty, thank God.

I quickly ran into the bathroom to try to clean up the mess that d**k head made all over my clothes. It’s politically correct to say that people shouldn’t judge you from your appearance only, but it’s not entirely true when you’re being reviewed like I’m going to be in a few minutes. First impressions last very long and arriving with a big fat coffee stain to a place that lives and breathes class, beauty, and exuberance, doesn’t play in my favor.

I take my blazer off, followed by my white silky blouse, and start trying to wash out the stain with water and soap, standing only in my lacy bra. I was talking to myself, outraged by the encounter outside, while I scrubbed soap into my blouse.

“I believe this is yours?” – A deep manly voice asks and I jump from the fright he gives me. I didn’t need to see his face to make out the grin he had on. He had a phone in his hand, stretched out to me. I clumsily try to cover myself up with my jacket that was further away than I wished it were.

“Don’t flatter yourself! You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before and better!”- he calmly says with an all high and mighty look on his face, followed by a smirk and a very subtle lip licking, that I barely caught.

“This is the ladies’ room! What the hell are you doing here? Don’t you know how to knock?” – I was in shock and completely embarrassed.

“Your little tantrum outside made you forget to pick up your phone from where you dropped it. It’s a really shitty one so I understand if you don’t want it back. I can just throw it away.”

“Give that to me. Now get the hell out!” – I yank the phone away with my free hand and turn my back to him.

“You’re welcome. And by the way, it’s a common bathroom, and not a ladies’ room.” – he says that last part mocking me with a poor imitation of my voice and pointing to a sign that says His and Hers. He then turns away and leaves.

The nerve on this guy! Sure, he was “doing a good deed” by returning my phone, but that arrogant tone of his just really got on my nerves. And the heavy pounding of my heart against my chest was even irritating me more, especially because it was accompanied by that tingly sensation in my stomach and knees that I felt earlier. Why was my body reacting this way to such a prick? I admit that he was undeniably good looking. He had a kind of bad boy vibe going on, even though he was wearing a very classy and expensive-looking black suit.

I don’t know, maybe it was because of his almost black hair, trimmed beard, and golden tanned skin. He almost looked Italian, like a mob boss or something. Or maybe it was just that stupid arrogant way he talked and the way he looked down on me like I was a nobody.

I shook my head to get him and his bad manners out of my mind. I had to clean this s**t up and run if I still even wanted a chance of nailing this interview. I decided to go top commando. I put on my suit jacket and fastened all the buttons. It gave me more cleavage than I wished for, but if I was careful enough it wouldn’t reveal more than what is appropriate for these situations. I wasn’t used to be showing off too much skin, and I think a conservative approach is always better for this kind of formal meetings. I rushed out of the cafe heading as fast as my heels would take me, towards AD’s headquarters hoping to make it there on time.