Lily

"Hey, it's Lily, right?"

Lily turned and looked up at the man who had held the door for her. He was familiar, but she didn't know him.

"Yes?"

"Hey, I'm Ryan. I work here too? In IT. I did the updates on your system last week?"

"Oh, that's right, I remember you now," she said with a vacant smile, wondering why he had stopped her. "Umm, it was good seeing you again, I have an Uber waiting on me." She turned and left before he could say more. She knew his look, his flirting smile, his hopeful eyes.

It was true she was recently single, but she had a thing for tall guys. A huge thing for tall guys. Tall and buff and hot. She knew it was shallow, but she didn't care, tall guys did it for her. She also didn't care that she was 4'10", she loved the height difference and how cute she looked with tall guys.

Short guys, nerdy guys, were a definite automatic no. Even nerd-cute guys like Ryan. He was still too short. Short guys always hit on her and it always made her uncomfortable. How do you explain to someone who is a foot taller that they are still too short? She wanted 6'4"and up.

The next morning, she saw him hovering in the lobby and she paused, watching him. He kept looking at his watch and looking at the doors in front of the front desk. She hadn't made it there yet. She let out a sigh and decided she would just have to bite the bullet and tell him no thanks.

She went in, pretending to be looking in her bag for something as she walked by him and hit the elevator button. It had already been pressed by one of the half dozen people waiting on it, but it was habit. She saw from her peripheral that he moved up next to her, as if waiting as well.

When the door opened, she got on, but turned into the front corner immediately. She was short enough that being in the back with so many people made her claustrophobic. Ryan got on last, standing next to her, but she was looking at her phone now, pretending not to notice him.

To her surprise, he said nothing before he got off on his floor and she relaxed. He was going to let it go after all? She let out a relieved breath and rode up to her floor feeling less dread.

When she got off on her floor, she paused, seeing everyone milling around instead of at their desks.

"What's up?" she asked Terri, one of her closer friends in the office.

"That new system they put in crashed. Overloaded the servers or something. Allan is on the phone now with IT."

Lily knew it had to be coincidence, but it felt odd to her that it would crash. Of course it didn't mean anything.

She went to her desk and sat down to a blue screen with a blinking command prompt. She ignored it as she opened her folders and got on her phone to make phone calls, ignoring the downed system and doing the work she could do.

"Hey again."

She looked up at Ryan and his awkward grin.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Uhhh..." his smile faltered a little at her cold tone. "I sort of need in here a minute?"

"Oh, right." She rolled her chair back out of the way and turned to work on the extension, ignoring the fact that she was shoulder to shoulder with the guy as he worked on her computer. She started dialing another number.

"Sorry about this. One of the janitors must have accidentally unplugged something in the server room."

"No big deal," she answered, phone to her ear as it rang.

"Yeah, we don't usually get..."

"I'm on the phone."

"Oh. Sorry."

Of course it rang to voicemail and she hung up without ever speaking. She dialed another number.

"Uhh, sorry. Can you enter your password?"

Annoyed, she hung up and entered her password.

"Cool beans. I'll have you up and running soon. You live near here?"

"Across town," she snapped, hoping that rudeness would make him leave her alone.

"Me too. Skyview Lofts on the edge of downtown. What about you?"

She didn't answer him, pretending that she was texting on her phone. She wasn't about to let him know that she lived a block down in the Redstone Lofts.

"Alright, it's all set. Umm, see you around I guess."

"See ya," she answered, rolling to her computer to log on.

By lunch, she had forgotten him. She was riding with Terri down to go have lunch when the elevator stopped on his floor and he got on. Her smile slid off her face. She didn't believe in that many coincidences. It didn't matter that he was looking at his phone and not her.

Did it? Was she overreacting? For all she knew, he rode with her every day and she never noticed because her and Terri were so engrossed in conversation.

"So, The Inferno tonight?" Terri asked her, bringing her back to their conversation.

"I don't know, maybe something less wild? I'm not feeling all out tonight."

"Blondies?"

"How about CiCi's? We can watch the drag show!"

"There are no straight guys at CiCi's! Come on, don't tell me you aren't over Blake. You broke up with him! It's been almost a whole month!"

"No, it's not that. Just not feeling it right now. Maybe I will be up for it later," she said as they got off the elevator. "If not, you can go without me. Katie would probably love to go."

"No! Do NOT bail on me again! We will have fun, I promise!"

"Ok, but dinner first. No drinking on an empty stomach," she answered as they went through the front doors. Ryan immediately peeled off from them and headed towards the parking lot and not to the green space where a lot of people ate lunch. She sat down with Terri and they talked through their salads.

She was surprised when she noticed Ryan coming back as they were finishing. Had she been subconsciously watching for him? Like a warning radar? Maybe.

"You ready?" Terri asked.

"Two more minutes. A little more vitamin D before I go back to the windowless oblivion."

He wasn't waiting this time as she got on the elevator, he had already gone up. Was she disappointed? No... she didn't want to date him or anything. Maybe she just liked the attention? A little? Even if it was from someone like him.

"Miss Evans!" her boss said, getting on the elevator on the second floor where the big wigs were. "I saw your report in the Carmichael account. Excellent job!"

Thank you sir," she said, smiling up at the man. He was tall enough for her, if he were a decade younger. He was still hot in an older man in a powerful position kind of way, but mostly it was his towering height.

"Do you think you could handle the Henderson account as well?"

"Yes! Absolutely. I am almost done with the Ruttledge account, I will be done by the end of the day."

"Efficient and good at your job! Double threat. Alright Miss Evans, it will be on your desk Monday morning. You have an excellent weekend!"

"You too," she said warmly as he got off on his floor.

Terri nudged her as the doors shut. "Holy shit he is hot!"

Lily nodded in agreement. "What do you think? 6'6"?"

"Something like that, what is your hangup with the tall dudes? I mean, I like a guy taller than me, but an inch is fine. I don't need a giant."

"I just like it. It's a thing for me."

She spent the afternoon focused on finishing her open account so she would be ready on Monday for a new one. Terri stopped by her desk.

"I'm cuttin out girly, you almost done?"

"Yeah, ten minutes, tops. I will meet you at Rosemonts at 7, k?"

"Ok, see you there!"

It took her fifteen to finish and she hastily shut everything down so she wouldn't be late. Twenty minutes home, at least thirty to get ready, maybe more if her hair wouldn't cooperate, then fifteen to get there? Yeah, she was going to be late.

She got on the elevator, opening her Uber app. "Twenty minutes? What the heck! There are always five out there waiting every evening!"

"Yeah, I guess they are already taken since you left late today?" Ryan said quietly.

She turned and looked up at him warily.

"I could give you a ride if you want? I have a car?"

"No, that's all right, I can wait for an Uber. Thanks though."

"It's no trouble and you live close to me anyway."

She froze, going cold. "How do you know where I live?" she demanded.

He had the grace to blush. "I... uhh... it's in the employee database. I looked. Sorry."

The doors opened and Lily turned and stalked out. Instead of walking out the front, she went and stood by the security desk, near the huge guard until Ryan had left. Still, she waited inside until her Uber arrived as she texted Terri to say she would be late.

They sat at dinner and she told Terri about Ryan. Asked her opinion.

"Well, maybe he is being kinda stalkery, or maybe it's coincidence. He seems nice enough though. Just say you aren't interested. I mean, we work in a building with people, we are bound to see the same people every day if we pay attention. Maybe you only notice him now because he said hi?"

"I wondered that, but he also looked up where I lived?"

"Yeah, and you have never looked into a guy you thought was cute? Waited in a grocery store aisle for him to get close so you could cross paths and he'd notice you? Girls do it too, it's just a way to meet people. If he gets close again, just say you aren't interested."

"Yeah..."

She let it go, but by Sunday she was fretting about it all over again. She didn't really like confrontation, just thinking about it made her nauseous. She made herself focus on the fact that she had been given an important account. And maybe her boss would hand deliver it? Or ask her to come to his private office to get it. She liked that idea better. She fell asleep fantasizing about naughty boss things.

She got up early, wore a nice dress when she usually wore slacks and a blouse. She did her hair and make-up perfectly without being over the top. She even wore her sexiest black lacy underwear and bra, keeping the fantasy going in her head.

When she got to work, the file was sitting on her desk waiting and she sighed. She allowed herself a minute to consider going to his office to ask questions about it, then pushed the fantasy away to work on the case. Two hours into the morning, a delivery boy showed up with two dozen pink roses and a box of chocolates. She had been thinking so much about her fantasy, that for a moment she was sure she knew who they were from.

She pulled the card out, grinning, then her smile fell.

'Will you have dinner with me? -Ryan'

Scowling, she shoved them back at the delivery boy. "I don't want these. Take them back down to the 9th floor to an IT dude named Ryan and tell him to leave me alone. My age, medium height and build. Glasses. Here, a twenty will cover it?"

She handed the wide eyed delivery boy a twenty and he nodded, looking sick.

Terri came over after the kid left. "What was that?"

"That IT guy I told you about."

"That was kind of sweet though? Sending you flowers? Guys never do that shit anymore."

"Not interested."

"Because he isn't a basketball player?"

"I like tall guys. I can't help it. It's like... a fetish or something. I don't know. I just like it."

She stayed in her office that day for lunch, telling Terri she needed to work on the account. If she busted her ass she could finish it by Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, there was a single red rose on her desk with a small note that said 'sorry - R'. She threw it away but Terri rescued it and put it on her desk. Wednesday brought a vase of wildflowers and she didn't bother with the card, she handed them to Terri without looking at it. Terri did.

"I want you to know that you are more beautiful than any flower I could find to send," she read aloud, then started to go on.

"No. I don't want to hear it. Is this considered harassment? Should I turn it in?"

"Have you told him to stop?"

"I haven't seen him since last week."

"He is just wooing you or whatever. When you see him say stop. If he doesn't, that's harassment."

"Can't I call his boss and tell him to tell him?"

"You can do this. You look hot today by the way. That a new dress?"

"Maybe," Lily answered, blushing. She didn't want to tell her friend she had a crush on her boss and was going to hand deliver the finished case to him later. "I need to get this done," she said breathlessly, sitting and turning in her chair.

She finished with an hour to spare and was smiling ear to ear when she stepped off the elevator. "Is Mr McMillan in?" she asked his secretary.

"You are?"

"Miss Evans."

The secretary nodded and picked up the phone, then waved her back.

He was leaning over his laptop, typing, but he sat back and smiled when she stepped in and closed the door. "You can't be done already?!?"

"Yes sir,"she answered, closing the distance and handing it to him.

"Jeremy bungled this for two weeks before I took it from him to give to someone else," he said, flipping through it to make sure it all looked right. "I'll be damned. And wow, look at you! Hot date tonight?"

"Oh, no sir," she answered, blushing.

"I haven't seen you in that one. New?"

"Yes?" she answered, shocked that he had noticed her and what clothes she wore.

"That color suits you. Do a spin for me? I like it, I like the old fashioned pinup look. You do any modeling?"

"Oh, no. Way too short."

"Nonsense, look at you. My brother has an old chevy, you with that dress... You should let me do some photos."

Lily was shocked and a little in awe. Was he hitting on her or just being nice? "Umm, sure."

"Tonight? After work? I can call now and get him to get the car out and set up."

"Oh! Uhh, sure. I guess that will work? Umm, what time and where?"

"Right after, you can ride with me. You usually take a cab, right? I will take you home after."

Lily was excited and nervous as she rode back up to her floor, smiling and giddy. She immediately pulled Terri aside to whisper to her what had happened.

Instead of looking excited, Terri looked wary and nervous. "He wants to take pictures?" she said flatly. "You know that is a line, right? Pictures lead to nude pics and those lead to sex."

"I'm not an idiot! It will be fine. Besides... maybe I want things to go a little further?" she whispered, giggling.

"I knew it! Just... be careful, ok?"

"Of course!"

Lily was on cloud nine as she got on the elevator that evening. 'Luke' had just texted her to say he was done and to meet him downstairs. He pulled up in his Lexus and she got in, accidentally meeting Ryans eyes as he came out the front doors. His look was crushed, but she blew it off as she sat down and pulled the door shut.

"All set?"

"All set!"

"It's about forty five minutes away, that cool? We can grab dinner on the way home."

"Oh, yeah, sounds perfect!"

He looked over at her several times, his eyes roving. "I looked over the case, you really do do good work Lily. I am impressed. Very impressed. I think you may need to be moved up in the company with the sort of drive and capabilities you have."

"Yeah? There are people who have been there longer..."

"Who aren't nearly as good or as passionate about what you do. Are you passionate like that with everything you do?"

"Umm. I mean, I love my job? I don't know about everything, but if I like it then sure."

"So how about when you are with a partner? Intimately? Still passionate?"

"Yeah," she answered, blushing again and smiling shyly.

"I bet. You strike me as the kind of girl who is a wildfire in bed. Maybe we should skip the photos and stop in down here. Have a few drinks and talk?"

"Ok, sure," she answered, squirming slightly at how excited she was getting.

He pulled into a little bar that was attached to a Holiday Inn and ordered them some wine. One their second glass, he moved to her side of the booth and put his arm around her, talking to her up close. She was feeling heady with the wine and how excited she was about what she knew was going to happen. She bit her lip as she watched his mouth moving, not even hearing what he was saying.

He took his finger to her chin and lifted her face so she was looking at his eyes. "I said, does that suit you?"

"Yes! Umm... what?"

"How about we get a bottle of wine and take it to a room?"

"Umm... yeah. I would like that."

It took him five minutes to check in, then he was leading her to a room where their wine would be delivered by room service. He pulled off his jacket and tie, tossing them over a chair and looked over her from a distance.

"Sit there, on the bed," he said, pointing.

She sat down and he circled her, pacing back and forth in half circles, looking her over.

"Get up on the bed and roll over to your stomach, but put your chin in your hands and put your feet up. Cross your ankles... mmm. Kick your shoes off," he demanded as he pulled out his phone. He began taking pictures of her and she blushed, but tried to smile and act playful. She was actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable with his demands. Not asking, telling her what to do.

"Bite your thumb for me, look seductive. Now roll to your back, your head over the edge and look at me. One knee bent. It's fine, let the skirt fall. You can't see anything. These are really hot, babe. That's our wine, you stay put, I will get it for us."

Lily sat up, making sure she was covered as she arrayed the full skirts around her on the bed. She heard him pouring the wine and she leaned up, trying to see around the corner. He came around, then offered her a glass, smirking down at her.

"You look adorable. I want a pic just like you are," he said, pulling out his phone again. He took more pics, then looked at her critically. "Some without the glass. Drink up so I can set it aside. Good girl. Nice to know you swallow so well," he teased. "Untie the belt, let the dress fall open a little."

"Umm... only if you put the phone up. No pics of anything naughty."

"It'll be just for me. I won't show anyone else. It will give me something to look at later when I am needing you so badly again."

Her head swam and she blinked, shaking her head. He moved closer and leaned in, kissing her softly and her heart hammered in her chest as he drove her down to the bed. She felt his hands on her belt, but she didn't care. His hands were hot on her bare tummy and one of his huge hands squeezed her breast almost painfully.

"I like these. Matching set even, very nice babe," he said, running a thumb under her edge of her panties. "Here. One more glass."

"Oh," she slurred as he sat her up and tipped a glass to her mouth. "I don't..." It was swallow or choke and she swallowed instinctually.

"There's my good girl," he whispered.

She was feeling light headed and drowsy as he pulled her dress off. He moved her limbs and she heard the shutter of the camera, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Not even when he pulled her panties off and spread her legs wide. She passed out.

She woke in the morning to a phone ringing. She winced at the bright light and her pounding head as she looked around the motel room and fumbled for the phone.

"Good morning, this is your ten AM wakeup call."

Lily sat up, feeling sick to her stomach and awful. She had no clothes on and she tried to remember the night before. Where was Luke? What had happened?

She made it to the bathroom before she vomited, but barely, then she curled up on the floor of the shower, wishing her head would stop throbbing. She went back out in a towel in search of her clothes. She found her dress and shoes, but not her underwear. They were nowhere to be found, even after she shook out the sheets and blankets. She noticed then, a glass of water and two tylenol sitting on the nightstand, along with a note.

'Let you sleep in, I'm sure your boss won't mind. Set a wake-up call for 10, here's something for your headache. See you soon, -Luke'

She smiled, but she also felt odd. She couldn't remember the night before, just bits and pieces. And had he taken her underwear with him? And her bra? Had they... had sex? She knew they had, actually, now that she was paying attention to something besides her head. She was sore. Sore in her pussy and her ass. She frowned at that... she was adamantly against anal. There was no way she said yes to that, even drunk. Had she? She tried to remember, but all she really remembered was posing for him on the bed and having more wine. She remembered a kiss and his warm hands and the thrill of him kissing her... but then it went hazy. That they had sex was obvious though. She looked in the trash can, hoping to see a condom or wrapper, but it was empty.