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After shutting the door, I run after him. The furious man is already by the elevator. He doesn’t even turn to acknowledge my presence.
“Gareth, I—”
“I guess I was wrong about Brad.” He lets out a mirthless laugh. “If he’s already half-naked in your apartment a few hours after you dumped me, then he must be pretty good and not the wimp I’ve always thought he was.” He fixes mocking, icy eyes on me. “Well, congratulations to him for winning my leftovers.”
Anger surges inside me at the insult. He should at least give me the benefit of the doubt. “You’re an asshole.”
“Right back at you, honey.”
I gasp at the maliciousness dripping from his voice.
“Don’t let me keep you. Go and carry on with what I obviously interrupted. Don’t be late to the office tomorrow, or you’ll need to find yourself another job.”
Mercifully, the elevator doors open, and he steps into it. I quickly turn away to hide the tears pooling in my eyes. Feeling as if the weight of the world is on my shoulders, I walk back to my apartment. More than ever, I regret not only encouraging Brad, but also going out with him and inviting him into my apartment. And now, I have to pull a stellar performance to hide the fact that Gareth and I had something going on.
Inhaling deeply, I open the door and exhale. Brad is standing by the window.
“What was that all about?” he questions with a confused stare.
I shrug. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. I… I… was supposed to be fixing a bug he found in the vulnerability software. I was planning to do it first thing tomorrow. But he wants it fixed tonight, and he tried reaching me and sent multiple messages. My phone is switched off. So, as you saw, he’s furious.”
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea you had work to do. We could have moved our date to another day.”
I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll get to the office early tomorrow and fix the code.”
His brown-eyed gaze searches my face. “How does he know where you live?”
I give him a small smile. “It’s in my folder… and he dropped me off when we worked very late one night. Just like you, he likes seeing his… um… employees safely home.”
He nods but stays by the window, giving me a weird look. “Are you sure it’s only that?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Gareth looked as if he would love nothing more than to wring my neck.”
Uneasy laughter falls from my throat. “Most likely he’s also furious with you for keeping me from my work.”
“Hmm. It looked more like a jealous rage to me.”
My body freezes at his astute discernment. “What do you mean?”
He shrugs and moves his head from side to side. “I think he didn’t like seeing another man in your apartment because he’s interested in you.”
“What?” I feign astonishment. “That’s crazy talk. He’s my boss.”
“And that should stop him from having the hots for you?” He laughs. “Come on, Hailey. You’re not that naïve. You’re a beautiful, intelligent, and hardworking woman. It would be easy for a guy to lose his head over you.”
Not liking where the conversation is heading, I shake my head. “Certainly not my much older boss.”
“He’s a man with blood running through his veins.” He peers intently at me, making me uncomfortable. “Call me crazy, but I’ve noticed a change in him since you started working with us. He’s somewhat calmer, more mellow.”
“And you attribute that to me?”
“Well, yeah. We all see life through rose-colored glasses when we’re in love.”
I release startled laughter. “Wait. What? In love? Now I know you’re really tipsy.”
“I might be now, but I haven’t been for the past weeks. I’ve been watching him, and I think Gareth has feelings for you. It might not be love, but I think it’s more than just wanting to take you to bed.”
