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Reason one—he worked way too much. She had no solid proof because she always left before him. But she had a strong feeling he stayed at the office way late into the night. Mia shouldn’t date a man who had no time for her. She deserved better than that.
Reason two—a very selfish reason. A reason she would never utter to Mia even under duress. She liked him too much herself. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to stand it if they progressed into a serious relationship, like marriage. Plus, she was dying to know how Mia would explain her working for him when, or if, they met. That would be one awkward conversation she didn’t want to be a part of.
Sort of like the conversation she needed to have with him about quitting. She had a real job to return to on Monday. A job she loved. She would miss his handsome face, but she wouldn’t miss the secretarial work.
She figured she owed him the whole day, though. Instead of heading to his office to tell him the bad news, she took the long, long walk down the hallway to the filing room. To organize.
“What are you doing?” a soft voice asked behind her.
She had been in here for almost twenty minutes. She should have known she couldn’t be gone that long without him needing her for something. And she knew for a fact that she didn’t imagine anything this time. He definitely spoke in a soft voice.
With the drawer left open, she turned around to face him. “Organizing. I wanted this place to look better before I—” She stopped speaking when she realized she didn’t want to tell him yet.
He crinkled his face with confusion, yet a slight tilt of his lip emerged. “Before you what?”
“Before I went for lunch. It’s almost lunchtime, isn’t it?” she asked with a beaming smile.
God, she would go to hell for lying to him. She despised the fact she’d have to confess later she was quitting. She knew it would hurt him so much.
He glanced at his watch, wrapped perfectly on his wrist. “I suppose so. I couldn’t find you. For some strange reason, I thought I would find you here. Why do you like organizing so much?”
“Do you dislike that I organize as I do? Do I not make your life easier?”
She leaned against the drawer, the corner of it digging into her back when he stepped closer to her.
“You do make my life easier. I’m not sure how I functioned before you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you functioned fine and will continue to do so when I’m not here anymore.”
He looked confused again. “You’re not leaving me, are you? I can’t have that.” He took another step closer.
She felt the drawer move a little as she moved back. He was so close she could reach out and claim his lips if she wanted to. She couldn’t do that to Mia. Shewouldn’tdo that to Mia. “You needed me? What can I do for you, Mr. Holloway?”
At the sound of his name on her lips, said in a very professional manner, he backed up a step. He cleared his throat nervously. Very nervously. She couldn’t recall a time he ever acted like that. He had been on a few heated calls, too, where she would’ve been nervous the client would bow out of the deal. Not him. He didn’t break a sweat or display an ounce of nerves.
“I need you to deliver these papers to my brother, two floors up.” He held out his hand with a thick file.
“Your brother? You have a brother…who works here?” Well, wow. What a surprise. She didn’t know why that surprised her. Maybe because Mia never mentioned a brother.
“Yes. And I prefer not to deal with him that much when it comes to work.”
“But you work at the same company. It seems a little impossible to avoid the man.”
“Perhaps. But not impossible. That’s why I have a secretary. And if I ask her nicely, she’ll take these papers upstairs for me.”
The smile that caressed his face made her weak in the knees. She could never resist him when he smiled. Except she didn’t remember him asking.
“I’m waiting.”
He leaned forward, his mouth getting dangerously close again. “For what?”
She laughed, the nerves beaming forth with ferocity. Great. Now they were both nervous. For the same reason? She didn’t know how much longer she could resist the temptation standing in front of her. “For you to ask me nicely.”
“Oh, of course. Will you please take these to my brother? Two floors up, like I said. His office is at the end of the hallway.”
“Of course, it’s at the end of a hallway.” She sighed, wiggling her feet in her heels that had yet to make her feet feel comfortable.
“Is there a problem with the hallways?” he asked, amused.
