The Boss of Me

21: The Kiss

Percy POV

I want her. Just one more inch...

Suddenly, a loud knock reverberated through the office. Annabeth yelped and pushed me away. I slouched on the couch in defeat. We were so close to kissing. Annabeth stood up quickly and brushed her hand through her hair. 

Her gaze flitted to the door because the knocking didn't stop. God, dam it. 

I cleared my throat. 

"Um, I can get the door," I said quietly. Annabeth nodded while straightening up and walking to her desk. I mentally cursed whoever was behind the door. 

Octavian was waiting outside. His knuckles were white from all the loud knocking. At least, my curses were directed at someone worthy of them. I think the distaste was evident on my face because he continued to smirk. 

"What are you still doing in the office?" I asked roughly. 

"This is where I work, Percy. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I guess that you're just not that smart," Octavian commented. My hand clenched as I let him in. 

"Hello, Ms. Chase, sorry to bother you at the end of the day," Octavian greeted with fake politeness. 

Annabeth was already sitting at her desk. She made a show of scrolling through some documents and signing them. She seemed so unaffected by what happened. We almost kissed, and just the anticipation was overpowering. Didn't she feel it?

Or, maybe, it meant more to me than her. Sadness seeped under my skin, but I shook my limbs to clear my rampant thoughts. 

"What's the issue, Octavian?" Annabeth asked firmly. 

"There's no issue, ma'am. I have a message from Athena Chase, and it's directed towards you."

"Why are you getting the boss's message from her mother?" I snapped. I walked closer to Octavian, but he didn't flinch or anything. 

"Athena Chase values my communications expertise. Plus, I have been a member of the company for a long time. My prior boss trusts me to deliver her messages. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Jackson?" Octavian asked with an innocent smile. 

Annabeth shook her head and asked Octavian to proceed. 

I simply watched Octavian as he took a seat opposite Annabeth. I purposefully took the other seat because I didn't want to miss anything important. 

"Athena Chase is ordering Olympus Architecture to attend the social event at Olympus Sails. This means that the CEO, COO, and their assistant must attend."

Even though Octavian was talking to Annabeth, his words were directed at me. Athena and Annabeht received the invites for the social, but that was a formality. Poseidon and Athena have a long-standing rivalry. They don't want to see each other. However, this was Poseidon's plan to make me go to the social with Rachel. 

I gazed at Annabeth in panic, and she understood my dilemma. 

"We have already denied our invitation," Annabeth answered smoothly. 

"That won't do, Ms. Chase. This message comes from Athena Chase and Poseidon Olympus directly. You may not refuse. They were very clear." 

Octavian smiled some more and looked at me. I knew what he was doing. If we were anywhere but here, I would be kicking the jerk's ass right now. 

"Plus, for business purposes, this is necessary. After Olympus Airlines, Olympus Sails will need renovations according to the Amazonian project," Octavian continued. We all knew this information. To be honest, his logic was infallible.