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Lainey who had deposited a quarter of a million dollars of gold bars lying around to sell and deposit into her bank account. Lainey who’d done the cryptocurrency bank transfer.

“Are you okay?” Her voice was soft and concerned.

Mateo realized he had zoned out for just a moment. “I’m fine,” he clipped out. “Look, I have to go. I have a lot of work I have to get done tomorrow. I have a presentation I need to do for the team first thing on Monday morning. It’s important.”

“Oh.” She set her fork down on the plate of her half-eaten tart. “Well, I had a lovely time.”

“So did I, Lainey.” He forced a smile.

Mateo stood up and Lainey turned her stool so her knees brushed his thighs, causing a current of electricity to race through his body.

Nope, time to shut this shit down.

He headed for the door.

“Wait a minute.” Lainey rushed after him. He looked over his shoulder and saw she was holding the container of cookies. “Don’t you want these?”

“Oh yeah,” he muttered. This way, he’d have a reason to see her again. He’d need to return the container. No dates. No kisses. Just returning the container and getting his questions answered.

“Thanks again, Lainey.” He took the container from her and turned to the door. She touched his bicep.

“Matt. Did I do something wrong?” Her voice was soft and confused.

He was glad she couldn’t see him wince. He turned around. Her eyes were wide, and she looked hurt. God, if she wasn’t with the Kraken, he’d done something he’d never done before. He’d hurt the feelings of a good woman by being an asshole.

“Lainey, I’m sorry. I really am. When it comes to my job, I have myopic focus on certain tasks, and I can be a bit of an asshole to others.”

“Oh.” Yeah, she sure was agreeing about that.

He reached out and stroked the back of his knuckles against the soft skin of her cheek and she took a step back.

Shit, that wasn’t good.

“I’d really like to take you out again next week. I promise I don’t have any other tasks coming up, and I can focus entirely on you.”

“Okay, sure.”

He knew what that meant. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would pick up his call. Hell, she’d probably block his number.

“I really am sorry.”

She nodded.

Mateo was too conflicted to kiss her, so he pushed back a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll call you on Wednesday. That will give me time to have received feedback and change the presentation.”

She nodded again.

He hated the vulnerable look in her eyes, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not now. Not after thinking about Amber and Lachlan and that gold deposit. He took one last look at her, but he couldn’t shake it. He just had to go.

“Don’t forget to lock the door after I leave.” He kept his voice soft.

“I won’t,” she replied just as softly. Then she straightened her shoulders and there was a glint in her eye. “Goodbye, Matt.”

He could almost hear her saying; don’t let the door hit you on your ass on the way out.

Man, he needed a beer.

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