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He walked a little faster to match her pace so he could walk next to her instead of behind. Hitting the elevator button, they waited in awkward silence while the elevator took its wonderful time to get to their floor. He still couldn’t figure out what possessed him to ask her to join him for a cup of coffee, or that he even wanted to leave the building for one. He never did things like this.
He thought he should say something, anything to erase the silence, but nothing came to his mind. He didn’t lack female attention when he felt inclined to have it. Lately, he hadn’t had much female attention, but only because he had too much work to get done.
This was unusual behavior for him to feel nervous with a woman. Nervous. He couldn’t believe it. He was nervous to talk to a woman. Geesh. She was nothing more than his secretary. There was nothing to be nervous about.
He moved his mouth to say something when the elevator doors dinged open. Instinctively, his hand ventured to her back and urged her forward. Electrifying desire pulsed through his veins. Damn it. This was worse than when he took his fill of her. He immediately dropped his hand from her back and hit the button for the first floor. She moved more to the right, closer to the wall than to him. She didn’t like that he touched her. Good to know. Although he couldn’t say the same thing. He had liked it. The short zap of desire that hit him. When had a small touch from a woman ever affected him like that?
Well, it wouldn’t happen again if she didn’t like it. He didn’t even mean to do it in the first place. Nothing good would happen to upset her other than her leaving him. Unacceptable. He couldn’t lose her. She ran his office better than any secretary he ever had.
“My mother’s birthday is coming up next month. I thought a nice arrangement of flowers would be nice. What is the best flower this time of year?” They were the only two in the elevator. They had way too many floors to go in complete silence. He couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
“Why would I know?”
“You used to work at a flower shop.” His brows puckered. He couldn’t be mistaken. A lot had been on his mind during her interview, but he swore that had been one of her previous employments.
She laughed. “Oh, yeah, I did.”
This time he lifted a brow in amusement. He couldn’t help but grin as well. “And? What would you suggest?”
She brushed a hand across her forehead to wipe away a strand of hair. “Right. Um…white lilies are beautiful. Throw in a few more flowers, maybe a few roses for a splash color. Or all lilies would be fine as well.” She brushed another hand across her forehead before placing a hand on her hip, then turned to him. “Is this a test?”
“Are we still testing each other? I hadn’t realized. It was an honest question.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated, wondering why he, of all things, had to ask her about flowers. She didn’t think he was sincere. Why in the world were they so defensive toward each other? Since the moment they met? Well, he could think of several reasons, except he didn’t want to admit to any of them.
The rest of the ride went in silence. When the doors to the elevator opened, he almost placed another hand on her back to guide her but stopped himself at the last second. He had no claim to her. Placing a hand on her in such a manner spoke volumes. As much as he ached to touch even one part of her, he couldn’t. Plus, he couldn’t take her retreating again. A small pang to his heart already hurt from her first rejection.
They walked outside, where she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She put her head in the air and inhaled deeply. She turned toward him and smiled. He would never tire of her smiles. He couldn’t be happier that she was smiling once again.
“Go ahead. Try it.”
He looked at her, confused. “Try what?”
“Smell the fresh air. You said you needed some.”
He glanced around, watching as people walked by them, not paying them much attention. But still. They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk.
“I can smell the air.”
She shook her head with annoyance. “You can smell it, yes, but you’re not appreciating it. You work too much, Mr. Holloway. Live a little.”
“I am. I’m grabbing a cup of coffee across the street instead of down the hallway from my office.”
She chuckled, her eyes lighting up with pleasure. “Baby steps. You’re right. That is progress for you. Come on, Mr. Holloway. You have a meeting in thirty minutes. I imagine you’re rarely late for anything.”
“No. I’ve never been late in my life.”
She stopped before stepping off the curb to cross the street. “You were late to interview me.”
Well, that was something he’d never let happen again. For her, he’d always be on time. No matter what.
* * *
Gabby shut down her computer,organized the papers on her desk, and grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer. Then she slammed the drawer shut, ready to get the hell out of here. Her feet were killing her. Again. They killed her more today than they did yesterday. She didn’t know how Mia did it all the time, wearing killer high heels that made her feet ache to the point of pain.
While they had a nice reprieve, managing to be cordial for the short coffee break they shared, Mr. Holloway had worked her to death the rest of the day. She couldn’t remember how many times she ran to the file room down the long hallway to grab another file he needed. That room was as disorganized as the filing cabinets in his office.
