Rival across the hall

[Love2rp]

"Something to drink first?" Chase said reaching into the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water calling out to her from over his shoulder, his heart going a mile a minute from nerves and hoping that didn't show through

 

[heartofcourage]

"Sure, I guess." She said as she made her way towards his sofa to take a seat. "You know that nothing happened last night, right? I would never sleep with Anthony. He's a client and I would never do anything that could be seen as a conflict."

 

[Love2rp]

"Marissa" he said walking over holding out a bottle of water for her as well "if there's one thing I know it's that you would never do anything that suggests impropriety....nothing at all" he said sitting down in a chair that sat just perpendicular to the couch

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then why did you send me those messages last night, Chase? I mean...yeah, I admit, they really hurt my feelings." Marissa finally confessed taking the bottle of water and looking down at it, not even moving to open it.

 

[Love2rp]

"I don't know" he said turning to look out on the city "I.......I just.......I guess I was just jealous I suppose" he said turning back to look at her

 

[heartofcourage]

"We've been friends a long time. I've seen you make some truly stupid decisions with your love life, but I never once thought that you might be interested in me." Marissa said as he confessed that he was jealous of the attention that Anthony had given her the evening before. "You never said anything that might lead me to believe that I was ever good enough. You always teased me, made fun of how hard I studied or worked, and acted like a jerk."

Marissa let out a long sigh and looked at Chase with a clear and honest gaze. "I will tell you that if you leave the firm, I don't want anything to do with you. Not because I'm jealous or upset, but because you would hurt my dad. He means too much to me, Chase. I've spent so many years trying to make him happy and he sees you like his son. You know that firm is just as much yours as it is mine."

 

[Love2rp]

"No I never told you because you always seemed so interested in studying and your career and more, serious, men" Chase said looking over at her with sincerity in his eyes.

"As for the job offer, I'd never want to hurt your dad" he said looking deep into her crystal blue eyes across the couch, the sunlight enhancing their natural beauty "I just don't know where I stand after telling you how I feel, we can't go back to the way it was before" he said "and for threatening to end our friendship if I leave, are you coercing me with your body?" He said winking with a smile

 

[heartofcourage]

"No, I'm just desperate to keep you from actually leaving." Marissa confessed, looking at him as he grinned at her little confession. "Chase, we've been friends a long time. That has to mean something. Even if we give a relationship a chance and it fails, I don't want you to leave."

 

[Love2rp]

"that's where we're different Marissa" he said looking over at her "I'd rather risk everything for a shot at something being amazing and you'd rather go with the safe play, stick with 'ok and safe' versus rolling the dice" he said as he never broke eye contact "I want to roll the dice, playing it safe is boring" he said with a glimmer in his hazel eyes

 

[heartofcourage]

"You know what I want." Marissa said, actually blushing as she said that. "And I don't want someone to break my heart. My mom has done that enough."

 

[Love2rp]

"Who said anything about breaking hearts?" Chase said smiling from his seat. "C'mon Missy, you're telling me you never thought about it?" He said with a slightly mischievous grin "Never thought about....us?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Maybe I have, but you always had someone else when I did. I never wanted to ruin anything that you might have had going." Marissa said, not bothering to correct him as he called her Missy. "Plus, I know I was never good enough when I was compared to some of them."

 

[Love2rp]

"That's bullshit and you know it. You know none of those were ever serious" he said enjoying making her squirm a bit for once "and what do you mean you were never good enough? By who's score?" He said pressing her but softly, like a gentle cross examination

 

[heartofcourage]

"Chase, let's face it. You have a type. Big tits, empty head." She said as he tried to cross examine her like they were in a court room. "Why the hell would you even look my way when you had that on your arm?"

 

[Love2rp]

"See that's what everyone thinks my type is!" He said looking over at her "but my real type is actually smart and confident with an amazing ass!" He said with a bit of laughter though completely serious

 

[heartofcourage]

"I think you'll be sadly disappointed with me." Marissa said with a note of sarcasm in her voice. "I work hard for the body that I have and it's not necessarily your ideal."

 

[Love2rp]

"You kidding me?" He said his eyes a mix of lust and arrogance "I've seen those pencil skirts you wear from across the hall" he said before shifting back "but then again I'm not your type I'm sure. You tend to go for the more serious, a bit older, a bit......stuffy shall we say?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I turned him down, didn't I?" Marissa asked as Chase told her that she went for older and stuffy men. "He did give me flowers though. Lots of them. And a really nice dinner. You know, all the things that I told you that I wanted the other day."

 

[Love2rp]

"And there's the thing Missy, you 'told' me. You demanded these things. Perhaps if you had shown some interest in less of a competitive setting they would have been offered to you" Chase said, his entire body on fire at the thought of getting her worked up

 

[heartofcourage]

"I didn't demand anything. I simply said what I look forward to from a significant other one day." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "And I won't settle for anything less. Are you prepared to do what I've asked?"

 

[Love2rp]

"Are you prepared to do what I asked?" Chase said back her question to her as he got up from the chair and walked toward the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city below. "I'm confused Marissa" he said with his back to her "are you negotiating a business deal or are we talking about our feelings for each other?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Honestly, probably both." Marissa said as Chase stood and walked towards the windows that overlooked the back of his condo. "Do you really expect anything different from me?"

 

[Love2rp]

"Expect? No Hope? I do" he said a bit disappointed in her answer. Did she want him or did she want him as an employee? Which did she value more?

 

[heartofcourage]

"God dammit, Chase. You know that it's hard for me to get close to anyone. My mom did a lot to fuck me up and I'm trying. I'm really trying. You make it so damned hard sometimes." Marissa said, finally losing her cool. "What do you want me to do? Beg you to fuck me? Pray that you'll be nice to me one day? I spilled my guts to you yesterday, told you what I was looking for in a relationship, and now you make me feel like a pile of shit. What more do you want?"

 

[Love2rp]

Chase turned and looked at her "Missy I want you. I've wanted you since sophomore year of high school. I always figured you were too good for me. What do I want? I.....I want.....I want you to want me......and no I'm not riffing some bullshit song, I want you to want Chase the guy, for all his pluses and his faults, and not want me for some bullshit business relationship" he said looking into her eyes from a few feet away