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“Yes,” I whispered. My body flushed with searing white heat. He was staring at me like he wanted to pick up where we’d left off that night, like he wanted to devour me. If he tried, I didn’t think I’d stop him.
“Good,” he breathed. “Otherwise, I’d have to hunt you down and I don’t think you’d like that.”
“I think I would,” I muttered before I could stop myself. His brow lifted, and he brought his face closer to mine. “But—” I squeezed my eyes shut, hating myself for what I was about to say. “I really need this job, so if you’re only interested in one thing and will fire me if I don’t give it to you, I need to know so I can find a different one.” When I opened my eyes, it looked like I’d wounded him. Truly, deeply wounded him.
“If you’re implying that I’ll fire you if you don’t sleep with me, then your opinion of me is low,” he growled out. “And very, very wrong.”
He pushed off the door and took a few large steps away. I missed the way he felt, his warmth and his presence, but I forced myself to stay where I was.
“I didn’t mean—”
“We should start over,” he said as he rounded his desk. his eyes trailing the surface, not looking at me. “Let’s forget we met before this morning.” I didn’t know if I wanted to forget about the wedding. It was the highlight of my dreams most nights. Still, it was probably for the best, so I swallowed thickly and nodded.
“Okay,” I breathed as I pushed off the door. “I’m Danica West.”
“Aiden Rhodes.” He dipped his head as he sat in his leather chair, unable to keep his eyes on me. It made my heart sink. I’d really fucked it up, hadn’t I? He was acting dismissive, so cold where he’d just been scorching.
Things might’ve been tense before, but now they were going to be awkward and uncomfortable, and I didn’t know which was worse.
“I don’t tolerate tardiness,” he said, and I blinked a few times at his tone. It wasn’t as harsh as the one he’d used with Monica, but it wasn’t as warm as it had been moments ago.
“Of course,” I said, taking a step forward. “Today was a freak accident. I’m rarely late. I’m very punctual and very organized. I’m a hard worker—I’ll come in early and stay late to make up for my missed time this morning.” “That won’t be necessary.” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. “We’ll have a morning meeting to go over our day. I expect you to prepare for my meetings, to sit in on them and take thorough notes.” I nodded as I sat in the chair across from him and pulled a notebook and pen from my bag. “We don’t have much going on today, so hopefully, you won’t get too overwhelmed.”
“I don’t get overwhelmed easily,” I said, and he glanced at me again. “As long as I have a plan, I can handle anything.” He smirked slightly and turned to his computer.
“Good to know, Danica.”
“You can call me Dani,” I said.
“I like Danica.”
I didn’t argue. I couldn’t, not when he used that firm tone that made my toes curl.
“I know you’re not interested in me, you’ve made that very clear, but if you ever feel uncomfortable, you can tell me or Sadie in HR,” he added as he turned back toward me.
I wasn’t about to screw up yet again, so I didn’t let his comment lie. “I never said I wasn’t interested,” I said, and his brow lifted. “I’m just…” I shook my head. “I’m not good with men.” He stared at me for another moment, his throat bobbing.
“It’s probably best we keep a professional work environment moving forward anyway,” he said, and my stomach twisted with regret. I nodded in agreement and slid my shaky hands under my thighs.
“Right,” I agreed with a small, wobbly smile. His eyes stayed on mine, his hands in tight fists on his desk as he nodded.
“I’ll help you get set up, then we can go over our day,” he said, moving back to the computer. I cleared my dry throat. I shouldn’t take it personally. He was protecting himself from a lawsuit and was trying to make me feel comfortable.
The little of him I’d had, his intensity, I already missed. He was right, though—we needed to be professional and pretend like that night and whatever feelings we felt didn’t exist.
“Ready to start?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yep.” I smiled nervously. “Ready.”
2
DANI
I lied.
I was overwhelmed.
I was so overwhelmed, it wasn’t even funny.
