Page 50 of Naughty Heart

As I had that thought, movement outside of my office caught my eye. I glanced up, saw what was happening, and couldn’t react fast enough.

Shit.

Shit!

With all that had happened since I learned the truth about my employment at Westwood’s, I had completely forgotten about the nutcracker I’d had shipped here for Malcolm.

Damn it.

They were going to include that silly note I’d asked them to send with it.

Great.

This was just what I needed—to feel more humiliated than I already did.

I tried to act busy and pretend I wasn’t looking, but even with my head turned to the side, my eyes were focused on what was happening across the hall.

Malcolm took the big, unmarked box from the delivery guy and dragged it into his office. He’d pulled it out of the way of where I could see, so I had no choice but to hold my breath while I waited for a reaction.

Oddly enough, no reaction came. He didn’t scream, shout, or come stalking across the hall to berate me for what I’d purchased. And there wasn’t a chance he didn’t know it came from me. I’d signed the note.

I eventually started breathing again, assuming he was simply going to ignore the gift. Maybe it was for the best.

But then it happened.

Malcolm stepped out of his office, stared right at me for several seconds, and stormed off in the opposite direction.

I didn’t know where he was going or what he intended to do. I hadn’t been able to read the look on his face, so that gave me no indication of what was running through his mind.

Time passed.

Slowly, the minutes ticked by, turning into an hour, and just before I was about to stop for lunch, I looked up to find Malcolm standing in my doorway.

There was a pensive look on his face, and it was mixed with something else, something I couldn’t read. I wanted to say it was regret or worry, but that just didn’t seem possible. Or maybe it was, and I simply refused to believe it.

For several long moments, the two of us stared at one another, the tension building between us. I could have said something; I just didn’t know what. And considering he was the one who’d all but entered my office, I figured he could be the one to speak first.

“We need to fix this,” he finally declared.

Even with the slightly irritated edge to his tone, his voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. And although the direction of the conversation wasn’t likely to be good, I couldn’t miss the way my heart beat a little faster at the relief I felt hearing his voice again.

“Pardon?” I squeaked.

Malcolm shifted his pointer finger between the two of us and said, “This. What’s happening between us right now can’t continue. We have to figure out how we’re going to make this work.”

At least I wasn’t the only one who understood how big of a disaster this was. “What do you suggest?”

He thought a moment before he asked, “Did you have lunch yet?”

Oh, God.

This was not going to be good.

He’d said a matter of a few words, indicating a resolution was necessary, and it was already happening to me. I was already feeling that desire and longing for more of anything he was willing to give me. I needed to stay strong.

“No. I was just about to, though.”

Nodding, he pressed, “Would you let me take you out for lunch so we can talk?”