“Yes, sir,” she said as she pushed off the wall.
“Let’s go.” He nodded toward the left. Katie was the first to take off, and just as I moved to follow after her, Liam wrapped his hand around my arm, halting me. “What did she say to you?” he asked as he stepped up next to me. His voice was low, and he was towering over me.
Shivers rushed over my skin from his touch. I wanted to lean in to him. I wanted to fall for him. But I knew that was not in my future, so I steeled my nerves before I looked up at him. “Nothing. Just how she’ll never get used to how famous you are.” I met his gaze head-on.
Part of me wondered if what Katie had said about him was true. After all, Liam was a flirt. It was obvious that he liked women. And women certainly liked him.
But was he capable of cheating on Katie? I wanted to say yes. That it only made sense. But that conclusion went completely against what I knew about Liam. He loved his daughter. I could hear it in his voice and see it on his face when he spoke about her. He had such strong convictions that it was hard for me to imagine he would jeopardize his daughter’s happiness for some random girl.
When I thought about it—when I really thought about it—I didn’t know Liam. There were many things in his life that were still a mystery to me. He’d come back to the hotel after a night out with a busted-up face. Even yesterday, he stopped by that building after lunch and disappeared inside. There were times when I would walk into the room and he was looking at his phone with a frown. As soon as he knew I was in front of him, he put away his phone and his normal smile returned, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something sinister going on with him.
How much did I really know about Liam Carmichael? There was what I wanted to believe, and then there were the facts. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to let the fantasy Liam overshadow the real Liam.
It would behoove me to be cautious.
Thankfully, the first store we went to realized how disruptive it would be to have Liam inside while still being open to the general public, so as soon as we walked in, they lowered the gate and allowed us to shop alone. I tried to pick clothes fast. I was ready to get out of the mall and away from Katie and from Liam—who kept trying to catch my gaze.
Once I had a few items selected, I hurried over to the register to check out. After the employee rang up the items, I rifled through my purse in search of my credit card only to see Liam’s arm appear next to me.
I turned to see him handing the woman his card.
I parted my lips to complain. The last thing I wanted was to owe this man anything. I took this job to be independent, and, so far, I was anything but. However, when I started to pull out my card, Liam met my gaze.
“I’ve got this,” he said, his voice low.
I narrowed my eyes. “I should be paying for it.”
He shrugged. “You’re my assistant. I can cover it.”
The woman behind the counter looked from Liam to me and then back to Liam. He shook his card, and I sighed as I pulled my hand from my purse. I didn’t want to put this woman between Liam and me. He was insistent on paying for me, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I’d let him win this time. But if I was going to remain working for him, we were going to have to set some ground rules.
It was time I started thinking with my head instead of my heart. I’d given up everything to take this job. It was time I started taking it seriously.
Liam wasn’t mine. We were not a thing. I was here as his assistant, and that was it.
Besides, if he could rekindle things with Katie and rebuild his family, then I would be a horrible person if I stood in the way of that.
It was best for the two of us to forget whatever had transpired between us and move forward with a strictly business relationship.
No matter how much my heart shattered at that realization.
18
EMERY
Timothy and I spent the next day with Bash at the hotel. Noah trailed behind us as Bash gave me the grand tour. After lunch, Noah took Timothy swimming again while I sat in on some interviews. Bash was still looking to lock down a general manager.
After we finished, we headed out to find Timothy and Noah still having fun in the pool. I decided against joining them. Right now, it was best to keep my distance from Noah, and I knew, as soon as I got into that pool, Timothy would concoct a plan that would require Noah and me to get close once more.
I had enough confusion plaguing my mind to last me a lifetime. My thoughts had been so turned around last night that I had a dream Noah and I got close…too close. Now, I was not only plagued with the actual memory of Noah gripping my thighs while I sat on his shoulders, but also with the made-up memories of his hands all over my body. This was akin to torture.
Since I couldn’t fire the man, the next best thing was to stay far, far away from him.
I needed my sanity for Torres Investments and for Timothy. I didn’t have room in my life for anything more.
Fanny, Abigail’s employee, was feeling better today, so Abigail texted me that she was leaving early so we could get ready for the dinner party. I texted her a thumbs-up and announced that swim time was over.
Timothy complained and refused to get out by going to the opposite end of the pool. Thankfully, Noah was still in the water and easily lifted the boy out. Once I told him that we were going to go meet Aunt Abigail at a party, he was all smiles and giggles. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was an adult party. I knew he’d be fine once he was set up with my phone and some food, so for now, I’d stretch the truth to get him to comply.
