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Crap, she’d promised herself not to get involved. That once she’d healed her heart, she’d meet a guy, take it slow, be friends with him first, and wait to take things to a physical level. Way to stick to her wonderful post-breakup plan. Ha ha—talk about shooting down her not-dating-for-a-year plan down in flames.
Nicholas Morgan’s dog had knocked her flat on her back. And Nick hadn’t been far behind Bailey in sweeping her off her feet. Her gut told her he was sincere.
Despite her mother’s dire predictions.
But Nick was handsome and charming and moving really fast. Doug had been the same way in the beginning. Dazzling her with his charm and charisma. Was she repeating a pattern?
Damn these doubts tugging at her gut. She’d resolved to live in the present moment, to grab joy with both hands when it was presented to her.
Alyssa’s approval and excitement about them being a couple meant a lot. Come to think of it, Kelly had adored him too. Her best friend had hated Doug from day one, and she’d been correct. Interesting. Same with her cat––hissed at Doug and purred for Nick.
No, she wasn’t the same woman she’d been when she fell for Doug. Now she knew what she wanted, and she’d been direct with Nick. She’d trust her gut and heart.
Love.
She sighed, pressing her hand to her heart. After all, although her novel was chick lit, romance was at its heart and the love story between the two main characters.
She believed in happily ever after, and damn it, maybe this was her chance.
CHAPTER17
Nick spent the short drive to his office grinding his molars and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He ran through what he’d learned about his office manager again and struggled to reconcile Heather’s recent behavior with the ultra-professional person who’d helped him so much with his business. Although his sister had warned him that Heather had designs on him, he’d simply never looked at the woman that way.
Which didn’t exactly make him feel comfortable. But as far as he knew, Heather didn’t know about his personal involvement with Sophie, so why the hell would she not pass along the message? Beyond the inappropriateness of her answering his cell phone, to do it and then neglect to tell him Sophie had called? He blew out a steadying exhale. He’d straighten out this drama straightaway.
When he entered the office, the lobby was deserted, and Heather’s door was closed. Without bothering to knock, he barked out her name.
She opened her door, her eyes wide. “Good morning, Nick. Is everything okay?”
“No, everything is not okay. Come into my office and sit down. We need to talk.” He kept his tone neutral as he strode into his office without a backward glance.
“Nick?” She hurried in and sat down. “Did something happen with the hospital contract?”
“No.” He narrowed his eyes. “How many times have you answered my cell phone?”
“Umm, what do you mean?” She gazed down at her fake fingernails.
“The question is straightforward. I’ll repeat it for you. Have you been answering my cell when I’m not around?”
She shrugged a shoulder and gazed at him, the picture of confused innocence. “Well…a few times. We’d been waiting on a status update for the Pritzker application, and I didn’t want us to miss out on anything.”
Was she kidding with this?“A few times? How many? Who called?”
She tapped her fingers against her lips. “Let me think. Maybe just once or twice? Luckily, it wasn’t anyone important, so I didn’t mention it.”
“Nobody important? And who are you to decide?” Annoyance rolled through him. How the hell had he missed her evasiveness? What else had she lied about?
“Oh, okay, now I remember.” She gestured with one hand. “Your tenant called the other day. Ms. Barnes? She said there wasn’t a problem at the cottage. It must have slipped my mind.”
“I’ve never known anything to slip your mind before. But now I don’t know if you’ve been hiding other things from me.” Hell would have frozen over at the frost in his tone. “You had no right to answer my cell phone, and if you do it again or I discover any other things you’ve been doing here behind my back, I’m going to have to let you go.”
The color drained from her cheeks, and she pressed one hand to her throat. “I’m so sorry and of course, I’m not hiding things from you. I was in your office looking for some plans, and it was instinct. Don’t you think firing me is a little extreme?”
“No, I don’t. You know I value honesty and privacy above everything. Is there anything else you need to share with me?” There damn well better not be.
She shook her head. “Nick, you know I only want what’s best for you and your firm. I didn’t intend to upset you. Please accept my apology.” She glanced down at her clasped hands, but not before he caught a glimpse of her expression, which looked like she’d sucked on a lemon.
Perhaps his sister’s instincts were correct about Heather. How had he missed it before? What else was she hiding underneath her perfect office manager façade?
