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Aiden walked his brother out of the Roth Owens offices and to the elevator to see him out, and once Dylan was gone, Aiden went in search of Daisy. He expected her to be in her office, but when she wasn’t sitting behind her desk, he checked the break room and found her there instead.
She was standing at the counter, stirring cream and sugar into a cup of coffee while rubbing her forehead with her fingers, giving no indication that she’d heard him enter. Her shoulders were slumped, and he had to resist the urge to take her into his arms and just hold her because she looked like she could use a bit of comfort.
“Hey,” he said to let her know he was near since she seemed so preoccupied.
She let out a startled squeak and abruptly spun around to face him. Her pale green eyes went wide as she swayed unsteadily on her feet, and what little color she’d had on her face drained away. Fearing that she might faint, he leapt forward and quickly grabbed her arm as she reached for the counter to steady herself. It was the first time that he’d touched her since their trip together, and the awareness between them was instantaneous. Even as she struggled to gain her composure, the longing in her gaze was unmistakable and matched the slow burn of need that chugged through his own veins.
God, what this woman did to him. Three months had done nothing to diminish his attraction to her or the fact that he wanted her—and more than just sexually, he realized.
Despite that intimate moment between them, his concern for her was far more prominent, and he pushed that latent desire aside in favor of making sure she was stable on her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, unwilling to let her go until he knew she wasn’t going to pass out on him.
She nodded as she exhaled a slow, deep breath. “I’m good. I think I need to eat something,” she murmured.
He studied her for a long moment and eventually released his hold on her arm. His gut told him that whatever was going on, it wasn’t all about putting food in her stomach, because a meal wouldn’t erase the tired lines around her eyes or her obvious fatigue.
“I’m worried about you,” he said gently. “You’re working a lot more than you should or that’s required, and quite frankly, you look exhausted and like you’re running yourself ragged. I know you want to make sure that the Darlington account is a success, but I’m genuinely worried that you’re not taking care of yourself the way you should.”
Smiling softly, she leaned against the counter. “I appreciate your concern, Aiden, but I’m absolutely fine. I skipped breakfast and I’m just a little light-headed. I have a granola bar and some yogurt in the refrigerator, so I’ll take that back to my office, along with my much-needed shot of caffeine that I missed out on this morning, and I’ll be as good as new. I promise.”
She was trying very hard to convince him, except it wasn’t working. Not after watching Daisy the past few weeks and seeing the changes in her that seemed to be getting worse, not better. He knew better than to push any more than he already had, but if she wasn’t going to take care of herself or listen to him, then it was time to bring the issue to Sabrina’s attention. Even at the risk of royally pissing Daisy off.
* * *
“Daisy, Sabrina would like to see you in her office, please.”
Sabrina’s assistant’s voice came through the intercom on Daisy’s desk, and she replied quickly to Nikki’s request. “I’ll be right there.”
It wasn’t often she was summoned to the CEO’s office, and Daisy assumed that Sabrina wanted an update on the Darlington account since it had been almost two weeks since she’d briefed her on how all the latest marketing plans were coming along. At least she’d be able to give her a full report on today’s presentation for the app, and that there were only a few things they needed to address and refine before showing the client the final product.
Knowing she looked as exhausted as she felt—Aiden had confirmed as much earlier in the break room—she reached into her purse and put a bit of powder on her face and under the darker shadows beneath her eyes and added a touch of blush and a swipe of lipstick. But that didn’t change the fact that she still looked tired and the last thing she wanted was Sabrina to worry that she wasn’t on her game to give the Darlington campaign her full focus and attention.
The truth was, despite having overslept for the first time in her adult life and being late for work, her body still felt as though she could crawl back into bed and sleep for another twelve hours. It didn’t matter what she did, she couldn’t shake how sluggish and lethargic she felt lately. No amount of caffeine or sleep seemed to give her back the energy she’d seemed to have a few weeks ago.
She had no flu symptoms. No fever or nausea or muscle aches. Her light-headed episodes were sporadic, and while she felt bloated and her breasts were more sensitive than normal, it was easy to chalk those things up to the fact that she was expecting her period any day now. So, she was doing her best to push through the physical slump in hopes that it would pass. And she was determined to not let her job or anything about the campaign suffer and cause Sabrina to regret that she’d given Daisy the promotion. That would be a personal and professional disappointment she wouldn’t be able to bear.
After putting her purse back in her desk drawer, she stood up and straightened her blouse and skirt, then headed out to see Sabrina. She passed Aiden’s office on the way, and while he was sitting behind his desk, he didn’t glance up like he normally did when she walked by his door. Which was just as well, considering how hard the past three months had been, working with him every day while trying to remain professional and friendly and not think about their one night together that had changed the way she viewed Aiden, and not just sexually—though she’d be lying if she said that her attraction to him wasn’t stronger now than before.
But along with that indisputable desire she had to fight to keep under wraps around him, there was now an emotional component to the way she felt about Aiden, even though she was well aware of how stupid it was to fall for a man who’d made it just as clear as she had that he wasn’t in the market for a relationship. They both agreed that love sucked based on each of their personal experiences, and her stance on that certainly hadn’t changed. She doubted that Aiden’s had, either.
When Daisy arrived at Sabrina’s assistant’s desk, Nikki greeted her with a smile. “Sabrina is waiting for you, so go on ahead into her office,” the pretty young woman said.
Daisy nodded. “Thank you.”
Standing straight and rolling her shoulders back in a display of confidence that hopefully camouflaged how lousy she felt, she walked into the CEO’s domain. Sabrina was sitting behind her glass-topped desk signing some paperwork in front of her. As soon as she heard Daisy enter, she removed her reading glasses and gave her a smile that was warm and friendly and gave Daisy no indication of what this meeting might be about.
“Have a seat, Daisy,” her boss said.
She lowered herself into one of the leather chairs in front of the other woma
n’s desk and folded her hands in her lap. Even in her late fifties, Sabrina was a beautiful woman, with glossy dark brown hair she wore in a stylish, chin-length cut, intelligent green eyes that could be both shrewd and compassionate, and a stunning face that was nearly wrinkle free. Daisy always envied her sophisticated outfits, and today was no different, as she was wearing cream-colored pants and a light blue floral silk blouse that was no doubt as expensive as it looked.
Sabrina leaned back casually in her chair, scrutinizing Daisy for a long, unnerving moment before she spoke. “I heard you overslept this morning and were late for the app presentation for the Darlington account.”
Even though her boss’s words were matter-of-fact and not a reprimand, Daisy’s stomach pitched at the thought of disappointing Sabrina in any way whatsoever. “Yes. I’m very sorry. It won’t happen again.”
The other woman waved away her words. “No need to apologize. It happens sometimes,” she said kindly. “But it’s also been brought to my attention that you’ve been overextending yourself with the campaign with excessively long hours, and it might be catching up to you.”
Daisy stiffened when she realized who that culprit was. “Aiden?” she guessed, trying hard to keep her resentment tamped down even though she was more than a little irritated that he’d go behind her back and report her to Sabrina.
