Zoe woke up feeling incredibly warm and comfortable. As soon as she turned her head, she knew something was very, very wrong.
Marco was holding her close as he slept and Zoe buried her head on his chest, wondering how she was going to extricate herself from this situation. She’d only had one other “morning after” but it had been with a guy she’d been dating for over a month. The sex had been difficult and the next morning, she’d broken up with him, slipping out the door as he’d reacted to her statement that she didn’t want to see him anymore.
With a sigh, Zoe knew that wasn’t the case with Marco. She definitely wanted to see him again. In fact, she wanted to curl up closer to him and fall back to sleep. She loved the way he smelled, the way his chest hair tickled her nose and she felt very secure and loved with his muscular arms wrapped around her like this. She hated moving, but she knew she’d hate the awkward moments after he woke up even more.
She could imagine him trying to quickly dress and get out of her loft as if she were some sort of murderer, scrambling for clothes, not even bothering to shower in his haste to “get back to work”.
Ducking under his arm, she slipped out of bed and grabbed her robe, then tip-toed to the bathroom to shower. She wanted to be quiet, but after last night’s activities, there was no way she could leave without a shower. She made it fast though, hoping not to wake him up.
She dried off and twisted her hair into a towel, intending to let it air dry since a hair dryer would definitely wake that man up. She dressed as quietly as she could, pulling on a pair of jeans and a soft, pink sweater, then headed down the back stairs.
The others were already in full work mode as she entered through the back door. Debbie was on the phone and waved as Zoe slipped into her office. As she stared at the mess of paperwork and orders, she knew she’d have to prioritize this mess. Unfortunately, she simply couldn’t do it today.
Stacking everything up and stuffing it into a bag, she cleared off her work table and sharpened all of her pencils. Pulling her sketch pad closer, she focused on creating unique, exciting designs for the next season’s line up. With her hair pulled into a twist at the back of her neck and no makeup on, she knew she couldn’t go out into public so she focused all of her attention on the designs, only looking at the clock ten or twelve times in the next hour, wondering if Marco had woken up and realized she wasn’t there.
Should she have left a note? Woken him up as she was leaving out the back door?
Zoe had only been in this situation once before and so she wasn’t exactly sure what the protocol should be when one woke up in a lover’s arms. And could she even claim Marco as her lover? She knew Marco probably wasn’t a one woman kind of guy and she didn’t want to crimp his style. But more importantly, she didn’t want to see him with another woman like she had the last time. Staying out of his way seemed like the best way to avoid that heart wrenching scene.
She’d arrived in her office just after nine-thirty. By eleven o’clock, she was jumping at just about every sound and her attempts to create something interesting for the next season had resulted in a great deal of wasted paper and effort. She couldn’t draw anything! With her head held between her hands, she stared at the awful drawings she’d attempted that morning, all complete failures because she couldn’t keep her mind on her work instead of worrying about Marco’s reaction to her disappearance.
She didn’t have much longer to wait. Just before lunch, her office door slammed open.
“You walked out on me again,” Marco said as he stormed into her office.
Zoe’s head snapped up and she watched with trepidation as he walked purposefully towards her. “Don’t ever do that again,” he said with a growl. “When I go to sleep with you beside me, I damn well better find you right next to me when I wake up.”
Zoe swallowed audibly and nodded her head. “I just thought it might be…”
“Awkward?” he filled in for her when she hesitated. His eyes watched hers and he shook his head. “Zoe, by now I know every part of your body. Now I’m damn well going to know everything else. So don’t leave me in the morning again, understand?”
Zoe wasn’t sure exactly what to say, but thought it might be better to simply agree with him. “Okay.”
He leaned in closer, his spicy aftershave filling her nostrils. “And there are going to be many, many more nights so you damn well better get used to waking up with me in the morning. If it feels awkward, then there’s only one thing to do about that.”
When he didn’t continue, she asked, “What’s that?”
“Practice. You’re coming with me,” he replied, not really elaborating but simply picking up all her sketch pencils and her paper, stuffing them into a bag, then grabbing her hand.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he pulled her reluctantly behind him.
He didn’t answer, but as they passed Debbie’s office, he called out, “Zoe’s going to be gone today and for the next few days. She’ll make some calls on the road and will let you know who is coming by to help out.”
Debbie’s only response was a weak nod as she watched her boss being dragged out of the building.
Outside, Zoe pulled her hand out of his and stopped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. “Where are we going and why are you dragging me around like this?”
He walked right back up to her and kissed her deeply, leaving her breathless and clinging to his shoulders. “You’re getting into my car and coming with me. I have a list of people you’re going to call on the road, then we’re going to Virginia.” He opened the passenger side door and nudged her into the car, slamming it shut when she was seated.
Zoe watched him walk around the hood of the car, wondering why she wasn’t jumping out and standing her ground. When he slipped in beside her and started the car, she watched his profile as she said, “What’s in Virginia and why this weekend?”
“I’ll tell you that once we’re out of the city. While I’m negotiating traffic, call these people and explain to them what you need.” He handed her a paper with a list of names and phone numbers.
“Who are these people?”
“The top contact is a real estate agent who is going to find you a larger work area. You can keep this site for testing and development of your ideas but with a smaller staff, just your best seamstresses and whoever you need to create the new pieces as you design them. The second site will be in a lower rent area but with more modern work areas and a larger capacity. You’ll also need offices above the work area so your expanded staff can handle the incoming orders, plus a business developer who can coordinate the orders and ensure quality.”