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“I’m fine. A three-day rest was enough for me.”
Three days wasn’t enough, not at her age. “You have a lot of vacation time saved up, you should—”
“Stop that, Steven,” she said with a hint of sternness to her voice I hadn’t heard since I was a kid. “I don’t need you worrying about me. The doctor said it was simply a case of fatigue.”
I sighed heavily. “Exactly. You need more rest. Less work.”
“I’ll decide that. Not you. And not Harold either, so don’t go talking to your uncle about this. I wouldn’t be able to stand being at home with him all the time. I love my husband, but he drives me completely bonkers when we spend too much time together.” She rose from her chair and patted my shoulder, her tender touch melting some of the knotted tension in my shoulders.
“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s you I worry about.”
“I’m strong, successful, and the smartest person in this city.”
“But how is your heart?”
Oh no. I was about to getthespeech again. “Perfect health. Just had a physical last month.”
“The new intern is wonderful, isn’t she?”
“She’s brilliant. And hardworking. That’s why I chose her. I wasn’t about to let HR choose another dud for me.”
She frowned and shook her head as if something awful had happened. “I hope she’ll be fine walking all the way to her car.” The same mischievous smile I had seen earlier in my office appeared on her face. “She’s such a pretty young woman, don’t you think?”
What did she expect me to do, wave a magic wand and spirit my intern to her car? Or go out, find and wrestle with the rapist? “That, Mrs. Barnes, is an inappropriate conversation for the office. She’s my intern.”
“Well, then we’ll talk about it at Sunday dinner.”
I ground my teeth and swallowed my retort before I said something I would regret. I knew she was worried about me, but I had to draw the line somewhere. With a level voice, I said, “There is nothing to talk about.”
She chuckled in that slightly condescending way parents did when they teased their children. “I’m making your favorite,” she said with a genuine smile. “Lasagna. Don’t be late.”
I didn’t mind the teasing or her bossiness. I figured it was her way of showing me love. Or was she getting back at me for barking orders at her all day? “Yes, Aunt Mable.”
I knocked on the other adjoining door and let myself in. “Ms. Bloom, it’s 6 p.m., you can clock out now.” It was already dark out, but it was probably much safer on the streets at this hour rather than later.
Without turning to look at me, her fingers typing away at the keyboard, she said, “I’ll keep working for a couple more hours.”
Words I would normally love to hear from my interns, but for the first time, I felt uneasy. Had the rumors about me reached her yet? Did she believe them? I didn’t want her working herself into a burnout because of me. “You don’t have to do overtime. I’m quite satisfied with your productivity.”
Thetap-tap tappingcontinued. “Oh, it’s not that. Traffic is awful at this hour, and I have nothing else to do.”
Why was I standing here like an idiot trying to convince her to leave when she wouldn’t even look at me? And why could I not keep my eyes off her?
Pausing, with her fingers hovering over the keyboard, she finally gave me a dazzling smile. “Besides, I only have two years of back-testing left to finish. I’ve already spotted patterns in the past eighteen, and I won’t be able to sleep tonight without knowing if the remaining two have the same results.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself with a stupid grin on my face. “I know exactly how you feel.” Her work ethic was sexy as hell. Nothing I said would make her stop, I was sure of it. I mentally gave myself a pat on the shoulder for finding an intern with drive, the same kind of drive I had. “Carry on then,” I said as I returned to my pile of work.
A couple of hours later, I heard Laura—I mean Ms. Bloom—moving about in her office. Was she getting ready to leave? I looked out the window at the expanse of the busy city below. A one-mile walk to her car. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was out there? And which guard was Jim? Better not be the old guy.
I was up and making my way to the hallway before my brain caught up with what I was doing.
What was I doing? She stepped out of her office bundled up in her winter coat, scarf, and hat, her brow furrowing beneath the knitted pink wool as she spotted me standing with my arms crossed. “Oh, Mr. Cox. Are you leaving too?”
“Yes.” I should say something else. Elaborate. Explain I was escorting her to her car like an overprotective idiot. Instead, I led the way and hoped she followed.
We rode the elevator down to the lobby in silence, standing side by side but not too close, awkwardly staring straight ahead at the metal doors. Well, at least I felt awkward, not sure how she felt. Was this weird? I usually rode the elevator alone, because no one dared join me. Should I say something? Make small talk? “Did you see that police helicopter circling our block earlier?”
“Heli…?” She gave me a quizzical look. “No, I don’t have windows in my office.”
