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I stared at the half-cracked door, my heartbeat counting down the seconds as I did my level best to compose myself. I was a professional, for fuck’s sake. The owner of this damn company. If I couldn’t handle a conversation with a college kid, then I might as well throw in the towel right now.
The quick rap of knuckles on the door did nothing to slow my pulse before Preston appeared. He filled my doorway dressed in a pair of tailored grey pants, black turtleneck sweater, and peacoat, and the whole “kid” angle flew right out the fucking window.
When he stepped inside my office and went to shut the door behind him, I got to my feet. “You can leave that open.”
Preston’s arm froze and dropped to his side, and his caramel-colored eyes narrowed a fraction.
“Okay.” He grabbed the strap of his messenger bag, but otherwise didn’t move. “Should I also stay standing over here?”
I wasn’t sure if it was my paranoia or something else, but I could’ve sworn there was a hint of…mocking in his tone.
No, it had to be me. Preston was nothing if not polite. Always respectful. Like me, he had put that moment of insanity in a box and locked it, and, like it was some unspoken agreement, we had never mentioned it or talked about it since.
Granted, I’d been doing everything in my power to avoid any time alone with him. But the couple of occasions we had seen one another, it had been cordial…normal. Now would be no different.
“No, of course not. Come in, take a seat. I was just wrapping things up for the day.”
“For the day? You do see it’s night out there, right?”
I sat back down and busied myself with nothing in particular, because that was safer than watching Preston cross my office and sit down opposite me. Serena had been dating him for how long? And suddenly I couldn’t look at him without noticing things like how long his legs were, how thick his windswept hair was, and how full those lips that I’d had pressed up against?—
No. I wasnotgoing to think about that.
“I do, actually.” I glanced out of my office window to the city lights surrounding our building. “If I’m being honest, I was about to head home. I’d forgotten we even had a meeting.”
“Ouch, talk about a blow to the ego.”
My attention shifted back to Preston to see a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“And here I’d been counting down the days.”
My breath caught as that smile spread to his eyes, and I realized that box I thought we’d locked and set aside had just been reopened—by him.
Not about to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole, I decided to do the mature thing and ignore it altogether. “We really do need to get things up and running for the Winter Ball, so it’s a good thing I scheduled it after all.”
Preston crooked his head a fraction, eyeing me closely, and I made sure to keep my expression neutral.
Then he nodded. “That’s why you’re the boss. Tell me what you need.”
Jesus, why did everything he said seem to have a double meaning? Or maybe that was me?Fuck.I felt like some confused, nervous teenager.
What did I need? I needed a stiff drink and to get Preston Abernathy out of my office before I said something I would regret.
“Archer?”
At the sound of my name—myfirstname—coming out of Preston’s mouth, any talk of Winter Balls and schedules left my head.
This extra familiarity he seemed comfortable taking with me needed to stop. It was exactly what I was afraid of. Time to put my foot down.
“You meanMr. Carrington, don’t you?”
He blinked once and then gave me a polite nod. “Of course. My apologies…Mr. Carrington.”
Shit, now why did eventhatsomehow sound sexual?
I cleared my throat, desperately needing a glass of anything, but drinking was how we’d ended up in such an…entanglementbefore.
One click of a button and the folder Sasha had organized for me appeared on the screen—all the details for the Winter Ball segmented out by who’d volunteered. No one received compensation for their roles, choosing to help out to win my good graces, be considered for a position on the board during the next election, or to suggest their own companies for what would be a massive payday, if they were chosen.
