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I was used to arriving at the office and having Chloe ready to brief me on the day. That was impossible now. I didn’t want her to brief me at the cottage, either, because then it’d really feel like there was no work-life separation for either of us.
It was one thing if we were working in the extension in the office, somewhere we’d only go for work hours, but if we were leaving like we were today…
The tablet was a good idea, but I didn’t want to think about how long it’d taken her to put this together. She certainly hadn’t done it in the fifteen minutes between her texting me and us rushing out to the car.
So much for her refusing to work last night.
I was going to have to talk to her about being worse at her job wherever she ended up. Otherwise, her next boss was going to take advantage of her, and I was the only bastard who was allowed to do that.
“You should do your hair, sir. We’re only five minutes away.”
I checked the GPS screen in the dashboard and locked the tablet, flipping the front cover back over. “Good spot.” I tucked the tablet in my door and reached back for the little box, then set about fixing my hair so I resembled a human and not a lazy teenage boy.
Honestly, I hadn’t eventhoughtabout doing my hair before I’d left.
“You do have a tie with you, don’t you?”
“What if I said I didn’t? Would you let me go without?”
“No. I’d make you wear the one Harvey bought you for Christmas last year.”
The very thought of that lime-green tie adorned with a pattern of ducks in Santa hats made me shiver.
I put the wax back in the box and set it on the backseat. “Don’t tell me that monstrosity is in the car.”
“In my bag, actually.”
“What are you doing with that in your bag? It should be burnt.”
“I thought making you wear it would be the quickest way to ensure you don’t forget your tie in the future, sir.”
“I can’t believe you can say that with a straight face.”
“You’d be surprised what I can say with a straight face,” she said. “We’re here. Please put on your tie if you have it.”
I pulled it out of my pocket and stretched it out, smoothing the fabric. “You’ll have to do it for me.”
“I’m beginning to feel taken advantage of.” She pulled up at the rundown sign that welcomed us to Buckley Lake Cottages and turned to me. “Pass me the tie and turn here.”
I handed it over and shifted in my seat until I was facing her. She’d done this very thing for me hundreds of times, but there was something unnerving about her doing it in the car.
Chloe’s face was extremely close, and I could see every little thing from the tiny mole at the corner of her right eye to the barest hint of smudged mascara on her eyelid. Her eyes seemed to change colour depending on the light—sometimes they were the cool colour of honey, but other times, like now with the morning rays washing over her beautiful face, they were the colour of sunlight hitting whiskey.
A deep, rich amber you could drown in.
God only knew Chloe St. James was the kind of woman you could get drunk on.
“There,” she said, securing the knot at the base of my throat. “At least you look like a Vice-President of a conglomerate now.”
I cleared my throat, quickly righting myself in my seat as if she could hear the heavy thumping of my heart inside my chest. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go.” She put the car back into gear and pulled away from the dilapidated sign, and I turned my head to look out of the window.
Was I really the only one of us bothered about being so close?
CHAPTER TWELVE – CHLOE
What Is This?!
