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The younger girl blushed, then rolled her eyes. “It was stupid of me,” she said. “But don’t I deserve another chance?”
Jade nodded towards Wyatt. “It’s up to him. Not me.”
Shannon turned to Wyatt. “I’m sorry. At this time, I can no longer trust you behind the bar. If Miss Oswald has a different position for you, that’s within her rights. At this point, I can only keep you from working under me.”
Shannon turned back to Jade. “I’ll need an explanation before I make a decision,” Jade said firmly.
Shannon’s cheeks turned pink again. “Fine.” She threw up her hands. “I hooked up. It was stupid.” She rolled her eyes. “It was his last night here.”
“Room three-ten?” Diane asked, suddenly getting everyone’s attention. “What?” she asked. “It’s not like everyone didn’t know the guy was hitting on every single warm-blooded woman in the resort.”
“Yes, okay.” Shannon groaned. “He told me we’d just be gone for a moment.” She sighed. “When I returned. Wyatt was back closing up and… I chickened out. I was going to tell you I’d just taken a bathroom break, but…” She closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Shannon,” Jade said, feeling her headache increase. “You know the rules. You know the consequences of your actions. I can’t in clear conscious keep you employed here. Diane will see to getting you your final check and helping you make arrangements to move on.”
Shannon turned to Wyatt and glared at him for a moment before storming out of the room as she threw a few curse words back at them.
“I guess she didn’t want my help,” Diane said dryly, earning a chuckle from both Jade and Wyatt. “How about I head down to the kitchen and get you something to go with that coffee, dear? You’re looking a little tired still.” Diane touched Jade’s arm.
“Thanks,” Jade said as she leaned on Diane’s desk. When the woman disappeared out the door, Wyatt turned to her. “So?” she said, waiting for him to make the first move.
“So?” he asked, avoiding her eyes.
Frustrated, she turned and walked behind her desk. She half expected him to just walk away, but when he continued to stand there, she figured it was a good sign.
Sitting behind her father’s desk, she turned on her computer.
“I think we should talk about… this,” he said after closing the office door.
“This?” she asked, glancing up at him. He motioned between them. “Good idea.” She waved him to continue.
He walked across the room and took a seat. “Want to start?”
“I wasn’t the one who pulled a kiss and run last night,” she replied, causing him to chuckle.
“Fair enough.” He sighed heavily then started. “In my line of work, I can’t afford distractions.”
“Oh.” She dragged the word out slightly when he didn’t expand further. “Good. Thanks for clearing that up. Now I understand,” she said dryly. She motioned to the door.
“Okay.” He took another deep breath. “I’m messing this up, I know it.”
“Ya think?”
“It’s just…” He stood up and started pacing her office. “After that kiss, I knew that there was no way that you wouldn’t be a distraction. I’ve spent my entire life, it seems, with one goal. To stop madmen from exploiting children. From even getting their hands on them.”
“All your life?” she interrupted him, which caused him to stop and glance over at her.
“What? Oh, yeah.” He shrugged. “Which is my point. I can’t afford to fall for someone right now.”
She pushed aside the questions she had about why he’d focused his entire life on this career when she processed his last words.
“You think that you would fall for me?” she asked.
He stopped pacing again and turned towards her. His eyes slowly traveled over her, filled with desire and something darker, before he answered in a low tone. “Hell, yes. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew better. I’m having a hell of a time not walking across the room and kissing you again. Which is why…” He took a step back as his eyes locked on her lips.
God, if she wasn’t sitting down, she would have melted to the floor by now. She swallowed, hard, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, at that moment there was a brisk knock on her door, and Diane strolled in with a tray of muffins.
“I figured you hadn’t had a lot to eat this morning,” she said cheerfully as she set the tray down. “I didn’t know how you like your coffee,” she said to Wyatt as she handed him a to-go cup.
