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CHAPTER 23
Evie
A week and a half went by before Merrick returned Thursday morning. I was a mix of anxious and excited. I knew it might be awkward to pretend nothing had changed between us, but I missed seeing him every day.
Kitty had needed to stay in the hospital a few days longer than originally expected. Her slight fever had turned into a pretty elevated white blood count, and they’d started her on IV antibiotics. She’d finally come home on Wednesday morning, so Merrick had the nurse he’d hired start that day. Late that afternoon he ran out to the grocery store, and when he came back the nurse was gone. Kitty had fired her the first opportunity she had alone with the woman. So Merrick had stayed another week, until he felt comfortable Kitty was recovered enough from her surgery to be left alone with only Marvin’s help. He’d taken a flight this morning.
I was talking to Joan in the break room when he walked in. The sight of him stopped me in my tracks.
“Hey.” A smile spread across my face, but I realized it was a bit overzealous and reined it in. “You’re back.”
He walked to the coffee pot and gave me a grin that made the butterflies in my stomach flutter awake. My eyes darted to Joan to see if she’d noticed anything, but she didn’t seem bothered at all.
“Welcome back,” she said. “I don’t want to bombard you, but I have a few things to talk to you about when you have time.”
He filled a coffee mug and nodded. “Can they hold until tomorrow?”
“No problem.”
His eyes twinkled as he raised his mug to his lips. There was something mischievous in their depths. After he drank, he set the mug on the counter. “I almost forgot. I found something I think might be yours, Evie.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lipstick. “Did you drop this? It was on the floor right near your office.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”
He looked at the bottom of the lipstick case. “You sure? It’s called Cherry Stained.” Merrick’s eyes dropped to my lips before he looked down at my shoes with a dirty smirk. “It’s still sealed, I think.”
Oh my God. I felt my face heating up. He’d been back five minutes and was reminding me of my promise to wear red lipstick and nothing but heels for him while standing with the head of HR. If this was any indication of his discretion, I was in trouble. When Joan turned her back, I shot him a warning glare. But that only heightened the gleam in his eyes. The jerk was still holding out the lipstick, so I took it.
“You know what? Maybe it is. I only wear it with this one special outfit, so I forgot I even had it.” I looked at my phone, not even catching the time. “Ohhh… Look at that. I have an appointment. I need to run. Welcome back, Merrick.” I smiled at my new boss. “I’ll talk to you later, Joan.”
I had back-to-back appointments the rest of the afternoon, so I didn’t have time to check my phone. A little before four, I took a break before writing up my last patient’s session notes. I had a few texts waiting… One from my sister, one from the real estate agent who was going to show me a few apartments tonight, and a flurry of activity in a group chat I had with my grad-school friends. But I went to the one that made me smile just seeing the preview.
Merrick: Thinking I need blinds on the glass walls of my office…
I swiped to open, saw that it had been sent almost an hour and a half ago, and texted back.
Evie: Sorry, was in sessions. Blinds? Maybe I want people to watch…
I watched as the dots started to jump around, then stopped, and my phone rang. Merrick’s name appeared on the screen.
I was glad my office glass was frosted because otherwise people would see the big smile I had when I answered. “Yes?”
“That scenario is my heaven and hell, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. My heart let out a big sigh. “Oh yeah, why is that?”
“Because the thought of fucking you in front of people, showing them what’s mine, is heaven. But anyone else seeing you naked is my personal hell.”
“Sounds like a conundrum.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Sitting in my office taking a short break before I have to write notes, and then I have one more patient in forty minutes. You?”
“I have an overseas call in twenty. Meet me upstairs in five.”
“Upstairs?”
“In my apartment. I promised you I’d be good in the office. That doesn’t mean the entire building. Look in your top drawer. I snuck a key in it while you were talking to Joan before I came into the break room.”
