Page 9 of Miss Treated

“How many days there will you need?”

“One with an option for two if we run out of time.”

“I’ll make the reservations for us.” The mere thought of the plane ride made me shiver. To say I was a nervous flier was an understatement. I blamed all the trips I’d had to take between New York and LA when I was a sick kid being seen at Children’s Hospital.

“For us? You’ll be going?”

“My father suggested I should facilitate the meetings and introduce you to everyone, unless you’d prefer—”

“No, no, it’s fine.

After lunch, I drove us back to the office. When we pulled into the parking lot, I found myself hard pressed to part company.

She smiled, already opening her door, clearly not feeling the same. “Thank you for lunch.”

“My pleasure.”

That night I went home to my empty condo with Kelsey on my mind. Well, not empty—Lady was there. I crouched down to scratch the dog’s ears. She was a greyhound rescued from the track, a dog with little life in her eyes when I’d met her. It had taken months to establish trust, but now she was my best girl.

After five different dog sitters, I’d finally found one patient enough to work with her, alleviating my guilt in leaving her during the day. Now I knew she was well cared for while I was at work.

“Come on, girl.” I took her outside for a stroll along the beach. Normally I would’ve taken the time to change over into shorts and a T-shirt, but I’d been too lost in thought. Thought about the enigma of Kelsey Maxwell. When was the last time I’d had a woman stay on my mind? The answer was never. The last woman I’d dated had called me a commitment-phobe. She wasn’t wrong. The idea of settling down with one person in one place doing one thing didn’t appeal to me. I often thought my perception of a future was skewed from when I’d been a sick kid without any guarantees of one. I’d missed the memo on what it was like to be normal.

The next morning, I found myself uncharacteristically excited to go into the office. Although it was only seven a.m., Kelsey was already there when I arrived. I could tell by her office light showing from under her door. I knocked and swore I could hear a sigh coming from the other side before she said, “Come in.”

Unfazed, I opened the door and walked in. “Good morning.”

She looked up and frowned. Huh, not the reaction I was used to from a woman. “Good morning.”

“How was your night? Hotel comfortable?”

“Yeah, it was fine.”

I noted her Starbucks cup on her desk and wondered exactly how early she’d gotten here this morning. “You up for introductions to some key accounting people today?”

Again with the frown on her beautiful face. Today she wore her hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

“Yes. Sounds good. Sorry, I’m distracted by my inability to get into the document management system. It keeps giving me this error.”

“Let me take a look.” I realized my mistake as soon as I came around the desk and got close to her. Damn, she smelled like lavender and vanilla. And when those deep eyes focused on me, I was lost.

She seemed to realize she was staring too because she shook her head and resumed her focus on her screen. “It’s when I get to this point.”

I forced my gaze to her screen, trying to ignore the fact the dress she wore today gave me a delicious peek at her toned legs. I opened the settings and realized she was in the wrong domain. Clicking on the correct one, I relaunched. “Tada. You’re in.”

Reluctantly, I took a step back.

“Thank you. You must have magic fingers.”

Uh. She must’ve realized the way her words sounded a moment after I did as she turned crimson from her ears to her neck.

“I meant, thank you for the help.”

“Anytime.” I made myself move to the other side of the room before I did something stupid like sniff her neck. “You have plans for lunch today?” What could I say? I was intrigued.

“I brought food in. Have a lot to get done.”

Damn. So much for spending more time with her. “Okay. I’ll come by in forty-five minutes and take you upstairs to meet the folks in accounting.”