Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series) Read online

  “I know, but I keep forgetting.” Xander laughed at that because missing a meal was so foreign to him.

  “Help yourself.”

  Ava's stomach growled at the wonderful smell of the food. She helped herself to a fish taco as well as some black beans and rice. They silently ate. Ava concentrated on her food. Xander was paging through some notes on his laptop. It was several minutes before he said anything.

  He asked how her research was progressing. She told him it was going well, and she was just starting the notes on the fourth folder.

  He opened his desk drawer and handed her a sticky note with one more request. She put her unfinished plate of food on the corner of his desk and rose from the chair.

  “Where are you going? You haven’t finished eating.”

  “To put this on my laptop. I don’t want to lose it.”

  “Finish your food first!” She sat down quickly.

  “Ava let’s get one thing straight. You don’t need to be afraid of me.” Ava looked down at her plate.

  “I don’t bite unless you ask.” The thought of Xander biting her was intriguing. What would his mouth feel like on her? She pushed the thoughts out of her mind.

  “I’m sorry, I just want to be thorough.” She looked back up at him.

  “You are very thorough, and I appreciate the work you are doing. From now on if we both work late you will take a dinner break, and we will eat together. I don’t want you forgoing a meal because you have too much work to do. We will figure it out.”

  Ava smiled and dug into her leftover food.

  When they were finished, she helped him clean up the desk. He placed the food in his small refrigerator in the corner of his office

  Ava thanked him for dinner, took the sticky note and went back to the alcove to finish her work. When she was through transcribing, she packed up her things. Xander was still in his office, but he had the door closed. She heard him on the phone and decided not to bother him. She hadn’t checked her phone for hours and when she looked it was past 9:30 PM. She had three texts from Liam. He was on his way home on the train at 8:20. He was probably home to Westchester by now. She would text him when she was on her way home.

  She felt uncomfortable taking the subway by herself at this time of night. She hailed a cab instead and typed a reply to Liam.

  Sorry, I was working on research all day and wasn’t checking my phone. I miss you.

  Ava waited for him to text back but he didn’t. Riley was waiting for her in the foyer. He displayed his displeasure by scratching the runner. She shooed him away and headed for the kitchen. After he was fed, she went to her bedroom and set her alarm for tomorrow. No way she was going to be late. She got ready for bed. She was so tired and did need a shower, but she didn’t have the energy. Riley snuggled up against her back right after she shut out the light.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning she felt much better after sleeping straight through the night. She headed for a much-needed shower and looked at her body in the full-length mirror. She was losing muscle tone in her arms and stomach. She hadn’t worked out in almost two weeks.

  Her waist had gotten a bit smaller since she wasn’t eating regularly. Granola bars, yogurt and a few meals here and there were not going to sustain her. She pulled out the scale from the cabinet. She had lost six pounds in the last two weeks. She wasn’t complaining but her cousin (who was also her trainer), Robert, would not be happy with her nutrition. She promised herself that she would get back to form next week when Liam was away. She needed structure again.

  She stepped into the shower and put her head under the hot spray. The water felt good. She washed her hair twice and used the conditioner that her hairdresser had recommended. She used her favorite body wash that smelled like lavender. She soaped her body using a poof that she kept suctioned cupped to the wall. She was horny and realized that it had been many days since she had used her vibrator or masturbated. She needed to come. She might have been shy, but she had a healthy sexual appetite. She was hoping that Liam would help her with that. She put a dab of soap on her fingers and faced away from the water’s spray. She began rubbing her clit, moving her hips. Her other hand played with her nipples. She was getting close to orgasm in the matter of a minute. Her knees were turning to jelly, and when she came, she pressed herself against the shower wall to steady herself.

  She leaned against the wall for a couple of minutes before her legs felt steady enough to stand upright. She dried herself and wrapped another towel around her head while she put on her robe. Ava’s stomach growled, and she thought about having a bagel for breakfast, but when she opened the bag, they had turned moldy. She tried to think how long it had been since she had groceries delivered. She would have to see if she could take care of the order at lunch time. Riley’s canned food was getting low, and most of her perishables and bakery items were either out of date or moldy.

  She had been so busy that her apartment was also being neglected. Usually, she kept the place immaculate but things needed to be cleaned. She would have to get the place tidy before Liam came over on Saturday including ordering groceries. She went to her room to dress and realized that she had one clean bra, and the only remaining panties were ones that no longer fit or the elastic was old. She was not keeping track of her laundry either. She rarely went without panties, but she would have to go commando today. She had wanted to wear a skirt but no way in hell she was walking around with no panties wearing a skirt. Instead, she chose a pair of black slacks along with a light blue silk short sleeved blouse.

  She looked at her shelves of shoes and chose a pair of black Prada Mary Janes. She rarely was indulgent, but this was one area she didn’t skimp. She loved shoes and had many pairs. Sam would always say if they were the same size she would raid her closet. Sam was a nine and Ava was barely a six. She put on her spring jacket from the foyer closet. It was still early but the sooner she got in, the sooner she could get out of there. She didn’t care if she worked late tonight, but she was hoping she could leave before 9:00 PM.

  She quickly walked to the subway, and it was still early enough that she was able to get a seat. While she waited for her stop, she texted Liam.

  Good morning. I am missing you very much

  I miss you, too. I’m just going into a meeting. I will text you later.

  Ava didn’t bother texting him back because she would be getting off the subway soon. She walked the two blocks to her office. The weather was getting warmer, and she was happy. Soon she could discard her jacket. She loved Manhattan in the summertime. When she got to the building, the lobby was not yet filled with people. The café had a small line for coffee and breakfast items. The elevator only had four other people. She hadn’t even bothered to check the time; it was only 7:12. She had plenty of time to get started. She was one of the few people in the office at this time. Jessica, who sat the front desk, was not even there yet.

  Upon arriving at her desk, booted up her laptop and checked to see if she uploaded the files to the server. She checked Xander’s electronic folder and saw the two files she previously loaded on there and one other, a JPEG. She didn’t remember doing it, and when she clicked on it, it was the New Years Eve picture she was missing. How weird is that? How did I manage to move this file on to the electronic folder? She must have been exhausted that night and accidentally done it. She removed the file from the network and added the one she had transcribed last night. When she was done, she checked her email. There were a few things in there but mostly jokes from Samantha, her brother, and Jacob. There was also an email from Xander.

  Ava,

  Please ask Jacob for the spare master key for my office to get the files you need. I will be in court today and will not be back until later this afternoon. Thank you.

  Xander

  Ava went down to Jacob’s office. When she got there, he was on the phone and held up the key. She went to his desk, and as she reached out to him, he pulled the key away from her. Every time she reached
for it, he pulled it away. She finally grabbed his arm and hung on to grab the key out of his hand. She mouthed “Idiot” and walked out of his office. She unlocked Xander’s office and found the files on his desk. He had left his laptop on, and the screen saver was scrolling pictures. It would briefly stop on each picture and then continue to the next. She saw some pictures of Xander and his girlfriend, his parents, siblings, friends and then she froze.

  It had a picture of her. The picture that was missing from her laptop and she found in Xander’s electronic folder on the network. How did he get it? Her mind had a thousand thoughts, but she couldn’t think of a single reason why he should have the picture. She had two choices, remove the picture or leave it alone. She decided not to touch it. Maybe he just wanted to include her as one of his friends. She took the files, locked his office and returned the master key to Jacob.

  She was able to complete the research in four hours, but she still had to transcribe her notes on her laptop. She went to her desk, got her laptop and went to the alcove to work. But she was having trouble concentrating because of the picture. She wanted to talk to someone, but Sam couldn’t keep a secret. If Ava told her, Sam would make assumptions. She decided to keep it to herself and when she saw Xander she would act like she saw nothing. It was only 12:40 PM and when she passed by Xander’s office, the light was still off. She figured he wasn’t back from the courthouse. His email had said later this afternoon. She continued to transcribe, and by the time she heard his door open, she was finished. She loaded the file onto the server and shut down her laptop.

  She knocked softly on Xander’s door and when he said, “Come,” Ava opened his door and saw him sitting at his desk. He had taken off his jacket, loosened his tie and rolled his shirt sleeves up. His forearms were thickly muscled and tan.

  He took a thick folder out of his desk.

  “I need you to do a trial brief for me. I would appreciate if you could finish this by the end of day tomorrow. I need to get this into the judge by Monday morning. I’m sorry I am piling all this work on you, but most of this was dropped in my lap because I took over for David Townsend.”

  Ava smiled. “It’s no problem; I don’t have much happening.” Deep down Ava was not pleased. Briefs could often take awhile to write, and she wanted to be out of here by five tomorrow so she could clean her apartment. She would have to work late tonight so she could finish the brief as early as possible tomorrow. Hopefully, Xander would not pile anything else on her.

  Ava sat down in the alcove with the file and went through it. She had always used a template for each brief she wrote, and she located the appropriate one on her laptop. After several hours of typing, she needed to take a break. Her neck was hurting from bending down, and she was thirsty. Since it was Thursday, the break room would be well stocked with snacks and drinks.

  She put her laptop on the nearby glass end table and went to get a bottle of water. The cleaning crew was vacuuming, dusting and emptying wastebaskets. She carefully stepped over the vacuum cords to enter the kitchen. The refrigerator was full, and the snacks had been replenished. Once again, she had skipped lunch, and her stomach was gurgling. She got herself a strawberry smoothie and a protein bar. Not exactly the greatest dinner but it would have to do.

  When she got back to the alcove, she noticed that her laptop had shut down. Panicked, Ava hit the power button, and the laptop would not boot up. The battery must have been low, and she had forgotten to plug in the power cord. She went to her desk and got the power cord then ran back and plugged it into the outlet. Then pressed the power button, the laptop came to life, and she breathed a momentary sigh of relief. However, when she checked the template, it was empty. She was having trouble breathing and tears were forming in her eyes. All that time I spent, and it’s gone.

  She searched all her files to see if she could locate it but it was nowhere. She had a save feature in the program that was supposed to kick in every two minutes, but when she checked, it had been turned off. She was about to have a major panic attack. Xander came around the corner, startling her.

  “Ava, can you take a look at…” Xander noticed her tears. “Ava, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

  She ducked her head down. She didn’t want him to see the tears as they started to flow down her face.

  “Hey, hey,” Xander said as he sat down next to her. “It can’t be that bad.” He took the laptop out of her hands and placed it on the table. Then he pulled her into his chest. “Don’t cry Ava; I’m sure whatever it is we can figure it out.”

  She cried silently, and he just held her. She smelled his cologne, his laundry detergent and him. She clung to his strong muscular arms. After a few minutes, he removed his arms from around her and gently pushed her back so he could look at her face. Tears had left track marks on her cheeks. Xander reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped at them.

  “Now, tell me the problem?”

  Ava didn’t want to tell him since it concerned him, but she blurted it out “I was typing the brief, working on it for a few hours and was thirsty and hungry. I forgot to eat lunch today. When I came back from the break room, my laptop was off. My battery died, and I had forgotten to plug in the charger. I thought I had the save feature on the program, but I didn’t, and now it’s gone. All that work and it’s just gone.”

  Xander pursed his lips and became her boss again. “I’m sorry that happened, but you will have to redo it and get it to me by tomorrow. However you want to do it, whether you work later tonight or come in early tomorrow, I need it finished.”

  He rose to go back to his office, handing her his handkerchief. She checked her watch and saw that it was almost 8:00 PM. She didn’t want to stay later than this, but she worried that if she left this until tomorrow she might not complete it by 5:00 PM. She needed to get out of here by that time. Ava had to make a decision, and she decided that she needed to stay even if she left at midnight. She opened her laptop and got to work. As she typed, her mind wandered as to why Xander had switched gears so quickly. One minute he was kind and tender and the next he was all business. When she noticed she had typed the same sentence three times, she put all of that out of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She continued to work even when she heard the few people in the office leave for the night, including Xander. He didn’t come to say goodbye, and that was just fine with her. She was still a little put off by his attitude. But she had a job to do, and she was going to get the bulk of it finished before she left.

  At one in the morning, she had done enough. The brief was nearly finished, but she liked to proofread her work before she turned it in. She saved the document to Xander’s electronic folder and shut down her laptop. Her neck was sore and her backside numb from sitting so long. She walked down to her desk and got her belongings and went to the elevator. When it opened, Xander was inside.

  “Ahhh!” Ava yelped. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be here this late.

  “I thought you went home hours ago.”

  “No, I wanted to get the bulk of the brief done so I can leave at a proper hour tomorrow, well today actually.”

  “I’m glad to see that you are putting in top effort. Thank you.” He pressed the M button, stepped out of the elevator and held the door for her. “Goodnight.”

  She yawned and mumbled, “Goodnight,” and the doors closed.

  Riley was in rare form when she got home. He was barreling around the apartment, yowling. He was not thrilled that he was left alone all day and a good chunk of the night. Ava barely had the energy to feed him, but she knew if she left him to his dry food he would never let her sleep. He happily downed his food as soon as she put the bowl on the floor.

  Then she went to her bedroom, stripped off her clothing, dropped it all on the floor and fell into bed naked. She didn’t care that she hadn’t washed her face or brushed her teeth. She was exhausted. Before she fell asleep, she clicked the alarm button on her clock.

  BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ.
BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ. BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ.

  She was awakened by the fire alarm on her floor; her clock read 4:51. Oh my gosh, what was going on? She quickly jumped out of bed and realized that she was naked. She scrambled around for something to wear, and her robe was the nearest thing. She heard voices in the hall and someone was banging on the door.

  “Wake up; you need to get out.” She ran to the door and almost bumped into a man clad in fire gear. The hall was filled with light smoke.

  “There is a fire emergency down the hall. Please exit the building using the stairs until we assess the situation” the firefighter said. She slipped on the closest pair of shoes she could reach, her Prada heels. She felt ridiculous wearing a bathrobe and heels, but she had no choice. She ran down to the hall closet to get Riley’s carrier. She scooped him off her bed and put him in the carrier and snatched her purse. She went to the nearest stairway and walked down the stairwell with many other residents. She was directed by the firefighters to go outside onto the sidewalk once she reached the lobby.

  She felt the cold early morning air push up under her bathrobe. She was naked underneath, and there was more than a slight breeze blowing. She pulled the tie on the knee length robe as tight as she could get it and clung to the opening near her chest. This was not the best robe to wear outside. It was of thin terry fabric and showed every line and curve she had. The chill was making her nipples hard, and she had to cross her arms to hide them. What a predicament. To top it off, Mrs. Tremaine was looking at her and shaking her head.

  Some of the other residents had taken shelter in the lobby of the building next door, but the doorman had said that due to fire regulations, they could not stay. She was beginning to shiver slightly, and she was worried about Riley. A fireman had just exited the building, and she grabbed his sleeve.