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Emma nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely.”
“Please keep your eye out as you continue your appraisal work,” Patrick said. “If you see anything you think might be a good fit for my personal collection, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know, seeing as we seem to have similar taste.”
Emma smiled. “Of course. I’ll keep my eye out.”
Patrick knew it was time to wrap up the conversation. He had a lot to do before his first meeting of the day after lunch. Yet he didn’t want Emma to go just yet. Something about her was truly magnetic, just as he’d noticed in their first conversation. There was a reason why Patrick wasn’t able to get this woman out of his head.
“How are you enjoying working here so far?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s wonderful.” She laughed at his skeptical look. “Really. I’m not just saying that because you’re the boss. My coworkers have been so kind, and the work is fascinating.”
“You do seem to have a knack for it.” Patrick nodded at the report on his desk.
“Thank you. Again.”
“Anytime. Well, I’ll let you get going.”
Emma nodded and got to her feet. “Thank you once more for what you said about the report. I’m so glad you’re happy with it.”
Patrick nodded. “Keep up the good work.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Patrick stood and walked Emma to the door, which he opened for her. Just as she was about to step through, she turned to him.
“I hope I’ll run into you again,” she said. The look in those big brown eyes was different from the relaxed, casual expression she’d had during their chat, but Patrick didn’t know her well enough to say for sure what she was feeling.
“I hope so, too.”
Patrick ushered her out, closing the door behind her. Then he returned to his desk. His mind was still replaying the conversation with Emma. Her ideas on art had aligned so closely with his, and her perspectives were just as refreshing as he’d found them in the report.
Patrick wondered how Emma was so beautiful and also so intelligent. In another situation…
He shook his head. There was no scenario in which he and Emma could have a romantic relationship. Although he couldn’t help imagining inviting her out to dinner or perhaps to an art gallery. He’d even enjoy hearing her thoughts on his personal collection. Patrick shook his head again, more firmly this time. He never showed anyone his personal collection.
He shouldn’t start now.
No. In fact, he should put Emma out of his mind completely. Again. And he should hope that he wouldn’t run into her. Again.
CHAPTER 7
EMMA
Emma was practically skipping as she made her way down the hall. She’d finally had a real conversation with Patrick — and it had been a great one. They’d aligned on almost every topic, and the conversation had flowed as easily and naturally as if they were old friends. Patrick had even brought up his personal collection, which Emma had started to worry would never happen.
Emma felt like she was walking on sunshine.
She hadn’t secured an invitation to see Aurora yet, but a few more meetings like this and she felt confident that she could casually bring up her interest in his personal collection.
And even better, she hadn’t gotten the conversation with Patrick through flirting or trickery, but through a piece of work that he’d thought was good. Emma had worked hard on that report. Seeing it rewarded with a step towards her ultimate goal was wonderful.
Her ultimate goal. Emma’s step slowed slightly. As great as the conversation had been, it had also shown her that Patrick wasn’t the huge jerk she’d hoped he was. She’d already suspected that he was an intelligent man and a good leader from the brief interactions she’d had with him thus far, but today’s longer conversation had only served to confirm that. Patrick had been thoughtful, considerate of her ideas (even though he had no reason to be since he was a CEO and she was a brand-new entry-level employee), and even funny. Not to mention that the more time she spent with him, the more Emma had to admit she found him attractive. That flicker in those blue eyes, the way he’d furrowed his eyebrows as he leaned toward her to show that he was listening, the ripple of his shoulder muscles under his button-up… it had all made Emma’s heart flutter more than she wanted to advertise.
She reached her office and opened the door with her keycard. Though it was still relatively early, her coworkers had started to trickle in. Emma crossed the room and took a seat at her desk, which was tucked into the back corner of the room. As she slid into her chair, she noticed once again how plain her desk was in comparison to everyone else’s. Her coworkers had pictures of children and spouses, little trinkets, cups of pencils, and personalized mugs. Emma had nothing on her desk but her computer, keyboard, and monitor.
Usually, she enjoyed being minimalistic, but today the sight of her empty desk almost annoyed her. It was yet another reminder that she wasn’t really here as an art appraiser. She was here to steal a prized painting from Patrick Daniels. An interesting, attractive man who made her heart flutter. Not a jerk at all. The only thing she could hope for now was that he had hundreds of pieces of art and that Aurora wasn’t particularly special to him.
“Did everything go all right with Patrick?”
