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I know there is something wrong with me.
But I mean what I said. I don’t want to jeopardize my career. But, at the same time, I don’t want to lose the one man whose presence curls around me, both suffocating and helping me breathe.
I use my foot against the desk, propelling my chair in a circular motion as I stare at the ceiling, “You’re overthinking this, Lana. You always overthink everything.”
I hadn’t expected Oliver to hire the pretty assistant who glares every time I march into his office unannounced. Scowling, I wonder at their history.
He calls her ‘Val’, a nickname, not just her first name. Using a nickname implies affection, history, or some personal relationship. It makes me jealous.
And I have no right to be jealous.
I have no right to want something I personally tossed out the window.
Yet, here I am, wanting to crawl into Oliver’s arms to kiss away his anger and indignation, wanting to tell Val the man with the smoky accent is mine, to lay my claim over him.
“You’ve lost your marbles,” I huff at the ceiling. “Get your shit together.”
Then I repeat it loudly because somebody needs to offer me this sterling piece of advice. Might as well be me.
“You’re going shit-faced over a man.” I’m still spinning in my chair, talking to the ceiling, in the hope that maybe my brain will register these comments as life lessons.
At some point, I decide there has to be more to life than lecturing the ceiling, so I lower my head, promptly feeling the dizziness take over as I stop the chair from spinning.
The knock on the door has me blinking, and a familiar face peeks in. “Miss Hill? Got a minute?”
I wave Jace in and raise a hand, shaking my head. “Sorry. A bit dizzy. Give me a second.”
It takes more than a second for me to gain my balance, and I hold on to the edge of the desk to steady myself. “Sorry. How can I help you, Jace?”
Jace appears concerned. “You all right?”
I can hardly tell him that I had been talking to the ceiling and spinning around in my chair, so I just give a vague smile that feels pained. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
It’s clear from his face he doesn’t believe me, but he lets it go, moving on to his reason for showing up. “Oliver offered me a promotion.”
A beaming smile breaks out on my face. “That’s fantastic. Congratulations.”
He gives me a dry look. “Well, technically, you’re supposed to officially offer it to me tomorrow from what he said. But I wanted to thank you for what you did.”
I pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about. “You got here on your own.”
He leans forward, his eyes earnest. “No, I mean it. You told him about my projects, and you handed my file to him. I appreciate it.”
My ears turn red. “Yes, well. You were long due for a promotion.”
He tucks his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for that. You’re not all that bad.”
“Gee, thanks. It’s been my life-long dream to hear someone say that to me,” I say wryly, my grin softening my words.
He chuckles. “Yeah, well, I aim to please.”
I see an email pop up on my laptop. It’s from Oliver.
“I have to go, Jace. But I’ll let you know as soon as I have the contract drawn up.”
I watch him stroll out before opening the email.
I’m not surprised to see the summons, but it pinches when I notice it has been sent from his assistant’s email.
