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Maybe he really did want to get rid of her and was expecting her to fail spectacularly so he’d have no other option but to fire her?
Well, she had news for him.
She’d faced worse growing up from a father who’d pushed her to the limits repeatedly, expecting her to lash out, hoping he’d shove her away once and for all.
Instead she’d learned to shield her real emotions behind a confident front and a smart mouth, had practiced putting on a brave face while she hurt on the inside; the type of hurt that still lingered now, years later, the type of hurt that drove her every day to be nothing like him.
But she couldn’t push her luck here. If this was some warped test she had no intention of failing. If it wasn’t, maybe she could buy some time?
With a poised smile far removed from the jumble of nerves tumbling in her belly, she stuffed the folder it into her bag.
“I totally understand how tough it is around here at the moment with less stuff, but how about you give me a few more days to look over this and I’ll start the new tours next week?”
The tiny crease between his brows reappeared, doing little to detract from his handsome face. “How many days do you need?”
“How about the rest of the week? That way, I can study over the weekend too and be up to scratch to wow the masses first thing Monday.”
Sending him her best dazzling smile, she waited for a reaction.
He made her sweat for it, studying her face as if searching for one of his precious old fossils, before allowing his lips to curve into a beguiling smile, the type of smile that could charm the pants off a girl.
If she were prone to that sort of thing.
“Fine, have it your way.”
“Great.” She leaped out of the chair, eager to make her escape while he was in a magnanimous mood.
“For now,” he added, reasserting his power with the finesse of a businessman used to mixing subtlety with an iron clad will.
“Thanks, I’m sure you’ll be impressed.”
She hefted her bag with the ten-ton-tome of information under her arm and sent him a casual wave as she headed for the door, relieved he’d given her a reprieve. With a little bit of luck—and a lot of hard work—she could juggle her two jobs without letting any balls slip.
“I already am.”
She turned at the door, the husky timbre of his voice alerting her to the fact that maybe, hopefully, he wasn’t only referring to her work skills.
Sure enough, his gaze slid from her legs upward and she flashed a coy smile, buoyed by the gleam of male appreciation in those expressive silver eyes.
They may have dismissed that kiss last night as an aberration, but there was no denying the sizzle of attraction buzzing between them, professionalism or not.
“I can always slip the other shoes back on if you like?”
“For a woman perilously close to having me revoke those few extra days grace I’ve just given you, you’re mighty sure of yourself,” he said, grudging admiration in the hint of a smile.
“I know what I want and I know how to get it.” She paused, letting her gaze drift to his lips before rising ever so slowly to reconnect with his smoky eyes again. “After last night, you of all people should know that.”
Humming a song about kissing under her breath, she walked out the door.
* * *
“Damn it.”
Dorothy shot Beth a scandalous glance, as if she’d just dropped the F bomb. “Don’t worry, we’re only a few minutes late.”
Beth practically ran the last few yards to the museum entrance, uncharacteristically grateful she wasn’t wearing her stilettos for once. “I know, but I’ve got some snotty-nosed kids’ tour group I have to lead.”
And Aidan was tagging along to keep an eye on her.
