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“Andres?”
I blinked a few times, shrugged one shoulder, and then looked around. What had I been doing?
“Are you planning on doing anything with that scalpel?”
Shit, the scalpel—right, I had been wanting to cut out a three-dimensional model of what I planned to do with the untouched hallways upstairs. “Xavier is expecting something this afternoon.”
I turned away, pointing the scalpel at my art desk instead of Sadie. I hoped to the gods she didn’t take that the wrong way.
No, she just laughed, and that made me want to bite her even more.
“I’m getting used to you zoning out,” she admitted. “But it’s a little weird when you do it with a tool in your hand.”
“I don’t mean it.”
The keys clicked rapidly as she typed. She was truly improving, my little secretary with her sponge of a brain and a banging hot body. “I can tell. I’m not afraid of you.”
Those words were music to my ears. I capped the scalpel carefully, set it aside, and whirled around to study her face. Calm features expressed her admission as true. That did nothing to quell my desire.
Didn’t she know that?
Several long seconds of staring turned into her checking her peripheral to spy on me, and then that turned into hurried glances. After a beat, she paused. “What?”
I grabbed a folder from the desk. “I need you to run these ideas to Xavier.”
“Where is he?”
“Upstairs.”
She flinched. That was unusual considering her recent statement. But maybe she was thinking about the places that were a hazard.
“Don’t worry. He’s got a solid office right near the gym. Nothing dangerous.”
Her shoulders sagged a bit as she accepted the folder. “In and out. No problem.”
“Mind your step. Stay focused.”
She gulped as she headed for the door. “Yes, sir.”
Other than the scent of her delicious vanilla and honey, I sensed a far more appealing musk that yanked me by my nose to the doorway. I sniffed after her, closing my eyes to imbibe as much of it as I could, to retain its memory. Gods, she was delectable in ways that I wanted to discover.
I had a feeling she felt much the same about me.
How else would she have decided to call me ‘sir’ without asking? None of my other secretaries or assistants had ever done that. Not one of my scattered relationships had involved that kind of address.
No, only Sadie dared to grant me the title. It made me wonder what she was thinking about at lunch when she gazed into the distance.
There’s one way to find out, I thought as I slowly opened my eyes. Sadie had long disappeared regardless of how sharp her scent stung my nostrils.I’ll just keep an eye on her in case things have changed upstairs.
A few moments later, I traded my dress shoes for sneakers and headed in the opposite direction of her scent. My entire body fought me on the suggestion, but I had to make sure our paths didn’t cross too intentionally. If it appeared I was just out for a brisk walk, then she wouldn’t think much of it. Anyone else who came across me would just see a guy wearing slacks, sneakers, and a V-neck shirt casually wandering around.
To the left and to the left again put me at a small staircase leading to the level above. I wandered around the walls of the gym, listening intently to the televisions mutedly delivering news in the various workout rooms. One of the rooms was blasting eighties pop music. Another was playing a lullaby.
Vanilla and honey struck my nostrils—that meant gold. She was close enough for me to scent, and far enough away for her to remain clueless to my presence. Ahead, the hallway curved to the right to head toward the gym. Xavier’s office was just near the entrance. I heard the slick hiss of the pressurized door and waited near the edge of the wall, trying to sense her, trying to find her without my eyes.
“Ah, great,” my brother said. “Thanks, Sadie. Send him a punch for holding out on me so long.”
Sadie chuckled politely. “I can’t promise that, Xavier, but I can tell him you sent a punch.”
