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“No. I’m fine.”
“Bullshit. I know happiness when I see one and your pretty face isn’t wearing that right now. Talk to me. Is it the dress? I thought it would be the perfect way to apologize to you for putting you in this situation, but I’d be happy to give you something else, if you prefer.”
“It’s not the dress.” She sighs and turns away from me. She crosses the room to stay beside my desk. Folding her arms, she says, “It’s us.”
“Us?”
She nods. “We’ve gotten into this,” she gesticulates her arms in the air, as though trying to emphasize a point, “this… thing and I honestly don’t know the best way to make sense of it.”
“You mean, our relationship?”
“I was referring to the date to the event. What do you mean our relationship?”
“I need you to be my girlfriend or say that you are dating me.”
I’m floored. And the next second, I’m pissed. What the hell?
“You want me to lie to everyone and say we are in a relationship? I’m sorry but are you freaking crazy, Mr. Thatcher?“
“Oh, please, Noelle, don’t call me that.”
“See? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” She exhales and runs her fingers through her hair. “You’re my boss. How am I supposed to be on a first-name basis with you?” She sighs. “Look, I’m very thankful for the fact that you saved me from a miserable night with Chris. He wouldn’t have taken no for an answer and, even unknowingly, you kept your promised and saved me yet again from a horrible date. But youaremy boss. There is no way I can have a relationship with you. Even a fake one.”
“I don’t care about that, and if you are because you’re worried about what people think, then you shouldn’t.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“Because it’s easier to do. Noelle,” I approach her. “Listen, what we did, what we had nights ago, do you honestly want to tell me that any of it just didn’t mean anything to you?”
She stares at me and I can see doubt creeping in, but she doesn’t waver. “Sex isn’t emotions, Mr. Thatcher. We had an amazing night, the best sex ever, yes, but that was it. That is all that can be."
“I know that. And I agree. Partly."
“So, what do you mean?”
“I need to get Sara off my back. It’s annoying and frankly, if she keeps it up I may end up firing her because she is bordering on harassment, so you’d be helping her as well, though she won’t see it that way.” I smirk. “Besides, you need to get Burnham off your back too. I've seen the way he looks at you and frankly, I think it's a bit disturbing. Almost as disturbing as Sara’s advances to me. Just think of it as a win-win situation for the two of us because it's going to help us."
She shakes her head. "It can't work."
"Why do you say that?"
"Sara hates my guts. Because of you.”
“Because she knows there’s nothing she’ll ever do that’ll measure up to what you do. You are an incredible force of a woman, Noelle Quinn, and I don’t want that privilege slipping out of my hands.” I actually want my hands all over her. My mouth kissing every single inch of her skin. But this is not the time or the place to be having these thoughts or to tell her that.
And even if all I said to her is true, ever since Vanessa left, there’s this black hole in my heart. Before Noelle, I never felt any physical attraction for another woman. Feeling something for her now feels like I’m cheating on Vanessa somehow. On the other hand, there’s something about the green-eyed vixen that I can’t quite understand. She’s everything that my ex-wife was; the charm, the allure, the beauty. It’s like a second chance at what I had and lost all too soon.
Unable to help myself, I stroke her cheek, and gaze into her eyes.
“So what do you say, Noelle? Are you ready to let this go on for as long as it’s convenient for us?”
She scoffs and looks away. "I don't do well with gossip, and trust me, there's going to be a lot of that once they get wind of us being together."
"Ignore them."
"I can't. Jesus, how easy do you think this whole thing will be for us? Because I assure you, it won’t. Not even close. I'm just a worker here and you're my boss."
She’s breathing fast, her lips swollen from biting too hard on them. She’s worried and anxious, as she should. Office romance rarely end well, especially if the person of interest is your boss. Or is there something else? Is she hesitant because of our age-gap? Or about what people will say when they find out?
