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“Ms. Foley, please accept my sincerest apologies and the apologies of Mr. Casey. Possibly he could take you out to dinner where you could discuss your work with him?”
Mars's assistant was clearly trying to do damage control.
“Sorry.” When Rhiannon spoke, her voice was cold. “I don’t have time for dinner. I have to spend all day trying to figure out what to do with these flowers.”
And with that, she ended the call.
There were three large bunches of flowers on her desk, and she went about moving them around so she could open her laptop. Rhiannon knew she’d have dozens of emails waiting for her when she eventually opened the device.
After arranging the flowers carefully on the floor and avoiding splashing any water on her desk, she could finally sit down.
Rhiannon exhaled heavily and worked for about three hours without stopping.
That was when she saw Ellyn walking hurriedly toward her office. And her friend was followed by several men dressed in green overalls.
Was he delivering something else to make up for the flowers?
But the men carried no parcels. Instead, they started carefully lifting each bunch of flowers and carrying them away.
Rhiannon turned to Ellyn in confusion.
Her friend shrugged. “They said they have orders to take the flowers away.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” she murmured, the sudden, sharp tension dissolving from her shoulders.
At least Mars was making the situation better, somehow. Rhiannon could not help but wonder what would happen with all the flowers.
Just then, Ellyn gave what Rhiannon could only call a squeak.
Mars stood at the reception desk, waiting for her. Ellyn immediately straightened, turning to her.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Her friend patted her shoulder and then hurried out of the room.
“I’ve had the flowers sent to hospitals and nursing homes. Since you don’t want them, hopefully, they can make someone else happy. But can we talk?”
Mars had walked up to the door of her office. He stood, leaning against the doorframe, his short black hair ruffled.
Rhiannon swallowed, shuffling papers on her desk as she answered. “Sure, but only for a minute, okay?”
He nodded and straightened, running a hand through his short hair.
“Look,” he began, “I respect your time, and I don’t want to interfere with your work. But I just want to know why you’re refusing to see me again. Because not responding to my messages kind of feels like you’re blowing me off.”
He walked farther into the office, though the door was still open.
Rhiannon could not deny that Mars's presence had stirred the butterflies in her stomach that were always fluttering when she thought of him.
And what he was doing with the flowers had further softened her tense shoulders. After a minute’s indecision, Rhiannon walked past Mars and closed her office door before going back to her desk.
“You should know that I’m working with Gerri Wilder on the shelter project.” Mars's eyes widened, and her shoulders stiffened again.
You shouldn’t have told him.
“I don’t want your interest in me, whether it’s serious or not, to have any impact on the leasing agreement. I can’t afford to lose this property. This is all that matters to me right now.”
SIX
MARS
