Page 11 of Lovesick

Pressing her lips together to stifle a laugh, she managed, “Brilliant idea, George. He’ll be there. Anything else?”

“See you in ten.”

She hung up the phone and placed it carefully back on her desk, feeling Max’s eyes on her. What the hell did she say to the man now that she’d thrown herself at him?

“What was George’s brilliant idea?” he asked, rescuing her from herself.

“You.”

“Maybe you still need some rest.” He joked.

“I mean he suggested I bring you to the meeting. He thought you’d have something . . .” She forgot exactly what George had said, but it was a hell of a lot better than whatever was coming from her mouth.

Max’s eyebrow went up again, just the one. The left one. It charmed her, made her gut flutter every time he did it. Maybe she was still sick.

“Good plan. I’ll be happy to go to the meeting, contribute what I can.” He gave her a kind smile and took a deep breath. He lowered his voice, adopted a genuine serious face, and said, “I promise to behave from now on. I won’t embarrass you.”

“You . . . me . . .”

“I know.” He reached out and took her elbow. “We should go. Do you need to bring anything?”

She nodded. And in spite of the warmth of his hand, she was able to reset her mind to business. Maybe his touch reassured her this time rather than excited her. She wasn’t sure whether she liked that or not, but she grabbed the thick folder she’d managed to put together for the meeting.

“I’m ready.”

He let go of her and fell back to let her lead the way. Her confidence gathered with each step.

Stopping at her assistant’s desk, she said, “Daisy, I’ll be in a meeting in the executive conference room for an hour. Maybe longer.”

They walked down a long corridor and she reached out and grabbed Max’s hand before they arrived. He squeezed, then dropped it. She didn’t dare look at him. This meeting would be a test of her ability to behave professionally in the presence of Max.

She would either be proving he was right that seeing each other would be unwise professionally, or proving her right that they could handle it. You need to handle this, Louise.