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“Well, you’re going to have to interrupt his meeting because these are his children, and his house almost burned down today,” I insist.
“I don’t care if those are the Pope’s children. Mr. Franklin is not to be disturbed.”
I slap my hands on the glass top of her desk and lean forward. “Look, Kat, if you don’t go and get Mr. Franklin right now—”
“Hadley? What’s wrong? Why are the kids here?” I look up at Theo’s confused expression and nearly pass out from the sight of him in a navy-blue slim cut suit, the jacket open to reveal a perfectly tailored bright white button down underneath.
Jesus. Forget Brooks Brothers. This man could be aGQmodel. But this isn’t the time to be ogling my boss.
“There was a fire,” I finally manage to say. “I tried to call.”
“There was a fire?” He takes his phone out of his pocket and frowns. “I’m sorry. I turned it off earlier and forgot to turn it back on.”
“Why would you turn your phone off?” I glance behind me at both kids sitting on a small, black leather loveseat. “You have kids! And today, when there was an actual emergency, I couldn’t get a hold of you. Do you know how panicked I was?”
I place my hand over my chest, my heart beating out a wild rhythm beneath it. “I was scared,” I admit with a hiccup of a breath.
“I’m sorry,” he states again.
“Sometimes apologies aren’t enough,” I snap and then immediately regret my words. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did,” he says, seemingly unsurprised by my outburst. “It’s okay. I deserve your anger.”
He takes a step forward and slides his arm around my shoulders. “You did the right thing,” he assures me. The contact makes me shiver. Other than a few accidental brushes against each other, this is the first time he’s touched me. The move is meant to comfort me, but it also ignites something inside me.
Desire.
The slow burn of want only grows as he takes charge. I watch in complete awe as he leads us into his office, which seems to be made up entirely of windows overlooking the Columbia River. He settles himself behind a large desk and begins making phone calls, first to the fire department and then to an electrician.
The children pay him no mind as he berates the person on the other end. “What do you mean you can’t get out and inspect the attic until Monday?” He stands, shrugs out of his jacket, and rolls up his sleeves.
Shit. I need to get my hormones under control because I cannot be lusting after my boss. When I first met him, he reminded me of Clark Kent, but watching him now, he’s more like Superman, minus the cape.
“I’m willing to pay double if you can make it out sooner,” he offers but from the deepening lines on his forehead and the scowl on his lips, money cannot fix the issue. “Fine. Monday. Thank you.”
He sighs, spreads his arms out along the desk and drops his head before lifting it to direct his steely blue gaze at me. “You and the kids will be staying in Portland for a few days. I own a condo in town but it’s only one bedroom.”
“Oh.” It’s all I manage to utter because frankly, I’m still smitten by the powerful way he took control. Suddenly, I imagine the power he might wield over my body, and my mouth goes dry.
