“Good morning Ryan!”

The beefy security guard looked up from the array of screens in front of him to give Ryan a perplexed grin and a raised eyebrow. “Trying to set a new record?”

Ryan let the revolving door bearing the company logo swing shut behind him, adjusted the strap of the laptop bag that hung from his shoulder and leaned on the security desk, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.

“Morning Trevor! What? Can't a man be in his office by -” he stole a quick glance at his watch and let out a surprised whistle. “ - a quarter to six?”

No wonder the poor man was surprised. In the seven years Ryan had worked at Silvercorp, he couldn't remember a time he'd been in this early. His usual hours began at seven or seven thirty, and since the BFD, much later, or sometimes never.

Still, after spending most of the night tossing around on his bed, his thoughts alternating between work and a certain brown eyed witch, he'd finally admitted defeat at three a.m and had gone for a quick run to clear his head, and when that had proved a failure, he'd decided he might as well put all his pent up frustrations to good use by coming in to work.

He glanced around, noting that save for Trevor and a cleaning lady busily wiping down the already gleaming massive reception counter, the lobby was deserted and looked completely different without the usual teeming mass of humanity hurrying to and fro punctuated by the sounds of heels striking white marble floors, electronic beeps and a hundred conversations.

“Nah, just never seen you here this early before,” Trevor replied with a chuckle. “Now, there's some I won't be surprised to see at this hour, but not you.”

“Is that an indirect way of calling me a lazy ass slacker?” Ryan demanded in mock outrage, unable to keep his face serious enough to carry the pretence.

“You said it dude, not me.” Trevor shot back, hands held up in a gesture of innocence, eyes twinkling merrily. Then he assumed a serious look. “By the way, the wife and I are really grateful for that vacation you gifted us last year. I never really got a chance to thank you properly…”

“Like I said before, there's no need to thank me,” Ryan cut in, uncomfortable with the gratitude and the memories it dredged up. “It was already paid for and would have been a wasted expense in any case.”

He'd planned a three month trip to several of the most romantic tourist destinations in the world, as a wedding surprise for the bride that never was. Bitter, hurt and devastated, Ryan had gifted the trip to Trevor and his new wife instead, along with a two month pay package while the guard was on vacation.

He pushed the memory of his failed relationship back into the dark room he'd imagined, noting oddly enough, that the pain hadn't brought him to his knees or sent him into a downward spiral of despair.

“Still,” Trevor continued, giving him a sheepish smile, “we enjoyed it and even got a permanent memento of the trip.”

It took a minute for the meaning to sink in, then Ryan got it and burst out laughing.

“You sly dog, you!” He gave the man a hearty thump on a shoulder. “Congrats man.”

“Thanks man, we're due sometime next month.”

The door swung open, admitting the chilly morning air and two front desk receptionists, who called out greetings to both men, while wearing mildly curious expressions at Ryan's presence.

Feeling less eager to sit in an empty office all alone with his wayward thoughts than he'd been earlier, Ryan lingered in the lobby, chatting with all three.

His flirting skills were a bit rusty, not that he intended to flirt with them - he had a strict no dating rule when it came to junior members of staff - but his charm more than made up for it and he soon had both girls giggling at his jokes.

A tingling in his spine made him glance up from where he'd been leaning on the marble top, hands tucked in pants pocket, to find the main cause of his sleepless night watching him, an unreadable look in her intense brown eyes.

His gaze flicked over her as she walked towards him, clad in a black pantsuit over a light green shirt. Unlike yesterday's outfit that had hugged her curves and showed off the greatest pair of legs he'd seen in a while, this one did her no favours, the loose jacket and pants hiding rather than flattering her figure.

Coupled with her luxurious hair which she wore pulled tight from her face, Sam looked severe, no nonsense.

And every bit the opposite of the sensual woman who'd stared at his package with more than a little interest.

It still didn't stop said package from responding to the sight of her, didn't stop his hands from itching to go to her and free that hair, to watch the silky mass tumble free, while he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, unleashed the passionate creature he was sure lay hidden underneath.

Oh yeah, he definitely needed to get laid before he did the unthinkable.

After their argument yesterday, he'd made sure to avoid her as much as possible, more for his sanity than any fear of further arguing. He'd gone so far as to remove himself from the office, meeting up with Halles for lunch where he'd done his best to hide this damned attraction from his twin.

Fortunately, his far too perceptive twin had been preoccupied with plans to convince their father to change his decision to notice his distracted thoughts, a situation for which he was immensely grateful for, because he sure as hell did not relish the thought of having to explain anything.

He’d gone home and forced himself to concentrate on his plans to get Caine back. He’d made some calls and made appointments, and for a while, he’d succeeded in excising Sam from his thoughts. Until bedtime.

Sam’s gaze flicked to the receptionists and back to him, then gave him a cool nod of acknowledgement.

“Good morning,” her voice was even cooler, without a hint of emotion. She paused long enough to nod at the girls, then continued on to the bank of elevators.

Ryan straightened, adjusted the lapels of his suit and followed, barely managing to catch the doors before they slid closed.

A tug of annoyance hit him that Sam had made no move to hold the car for him though he knew damn well she’d seen him coming. He stepped in beside her, not missing the flash of irritation that crossed her face before she covered it up with a fake smile, lips widened just enough to be polite, or the way her fingers tightened on her black bag.

“Thanks for holding the elevator,” he said, shooting her a grin.

She deigned to glance at him, still wearing that damned smile and shrugged off his sarcasm. “You seemed perfectly capable of holding the doors all on your own. Besides, you looked to be enjoying the company you were with.”

Ryan gave a bark of laughter at the snarky reply. “Jealous, Princess?”

“Hardly. To be jealous would imply interest and attraction, and I feel neither of those things. I was simply telling you what I observed.”

“So, you’re still in denial. That's okay, I'm a patient man.”

She shot him a inscrutable look. “You're a delusional one at best.”

“Ouch!” Ryan placed a hand over his heart and assumed a wounded expression. “We’re in a mood this morning. Rough night?”

“I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed, but, thank you for asking.” Her gaze was now fixed on the flashing buttons indicating what floor they were currently passing, lips tight, body tense.

She was probably praying for the damn lift to stop moving.

“Hmm…” he stroked his chin, feeling the soft hairs of his recently trimmed beard. “Then you're still upset about yesterday, hence the cool greeting.”

Taking her stony silence as confirmation, he continued in a softer tone. “Look, I apologize for the things I said. It was uncalled for and I should have handled things better.”

She turned and searched his face, as though needing to prove he wasn't joking.

Seeing nothing but absolute sincerity in his expression, a genuine smile lit up her face and eyes, and Ryan's blood pulsed faster at the transformation.

He inhaled, hoping an influx of oxygen would help him focus, but that quickly turned into a mistake as instead, the tangy floral scent of her perfume invaded his senses, turning his thoughts to mush.

Thank fuck she was officially off limits or he would have given in to the temptation to taste those soft, inviting lips. Right now, the fact that Sam was engaged was the only thing acting as a brake on an imagination that was now firing at full gear.

“Thank you,” she replied. “I apologise as well for mishandling the situation.”

“Apology accepted.” The doors slid open and he quickly stepped through, wanting to put some distance between Sam and his raging libido.

“Ryan, wait.”

He nearly groaned out loud in frustration as she touched his shoulder, and even through the double layer of his jacket and shirt, he could feel her touch burning his skin and his shoulder muscles formed a tense knot.

She must have felt him stiffen and incorrectly assumed he didn't like her touch. Her hand fell away, and he caught a brief flash of disappointment cross her rather expressive face.

“Sorry.” Sam muttered, and Ryan chose not to correct the impression. Better she thought he didn't want her touching him than know the full extent of how much he craved her touch.

“What did you want to say?” The words came out harsh and he saw her start at his tone.

“I...we really need to talk about the upcoming appraisals. Mr. Silverton was very specific in his order that you be the one to interview the staff, and I'm just wondering if you have any possible questions prepared so we can go through them together.”

The thought of spending more time alone with Sam sent conflicting emotions running through him. He ruthlessly squashed said emotions and forced his mind into work mode.

For fuck's sake, his job was on the line and all he could think of was sex? What the hell was wrong with him?

Ryan pulled out his phone and opened the planner app, scanning through the tasks he'd lined up for the day.

“I have back to back meetings from eight till noon. If you're free by then, we can talk. My office or yours?”

“Noon is fine, and I'll come to you then.” her tone was brisk and all business, his earlier attitude having wiped all trace of lightness between them.

I’ll come to you.

The simple words should have meant nothing but of course, his damn imagination sparked an image of Sam, showing up at his office with a ‘come hither’ look in her eyes and no sign of that ill-fitting suit.

Shut the fuck up, brain.

“Good,” he keyed in the appointment, though there was no way in hell he was going to forget meeting Sam. “Anything else?”

“Nothing that can't wait until noon.” She stepped past him to lead the way through the lobby, her steps quick, echoing through the deserted room.

Ryan tore his gaze from the mesmerizing sway of her hips by reminding himself of the fact that his mother would be ashamed if she knew he'd forgotten the values she'd drilled into him from childhood.Gentlemen did not stare at a woman's ass, no matter how lucious said ass looked even in that frumpy suit.

He glanced down at the notation he'd made for the appointment and swore softly.

A quick tap of keys erased the word ‘date’ and changed the note to say instead ‘meeting with Sam’.