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I pulled my legs up on the couch and turned the TV to Turner Classic Movies.Rebeccawould be on in ten minutes.
“He won’t do this again.” I promised. “I have something to put on it and it’s actually better than it was a couple days ago….”
I stopped speaking, as Gregor’s frown deepened. He reached for me and I moved out of his grasp.
Gregor dropped his hand. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m not happy you’ve broken up. I guess I was a little jealous of you with Jonas, after what happened to Maggie. You’re too good for the likes of him. For me too, though I wished things were different for us.”
I lowered my head. I could feel the weight of his stare, but we both knew I didn’t have the answer he wanted. “I’m not. I don’t think of us….”
“You’ve just been through a lot,” Gregor said. “I just want you to know there are people, including me, that think you’re amazing and deserve the best.” He paused, and I didn’t say anything else, as I had no words for him. He continued, “If you need any help—shopping, rides home, whatever… just let me know. I’ll tell the office building to be on the lookout for Declan, just as a precaution.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll be fine.” I stood and walked over to the kitchen. “Popcorn?” I asked.
“Yes. Popcorn and wine. What a combination,” he said, rising and following me.
He took the opener I handed him and uncorked the bottle of Merlot he had brought with him, pouring a glass for each of us.
We settled back down on the couch and watched the movie, laughing and heckling together. I swooned over Laurence Olivier and he swooned over Joan Fontaine. I smiled at the normalcy of it. Though my mind wondered what Jonas might be up to tonight, I delighted in the somewhat ease Gregor and I shared despite his declaration of feelings. Our movie nights were always enjoyable and I did indeed feel better, but I missed the close friendship I shared with my friend Mary. Perhaps going away for a few days to visit her in Boston would be just the thing I needed to get my head back together.
After a few hours, Gregor left. I returned to the bedroom, unable to still my mind enough to sleep. I started doing crunches, lunges, and running in place until I stopped in exhaustion. I then took a shower and fell face first into my bed, finally able to keep my eyes closed.
I could protect my heart while I was awake, but my dreams were unguarded. They swept me right back to Jonas, where I truly longed to be.
CHAPTER FOUR
‡
The number glowingon the display of my desk phone forced me to suck in a breathDeclan.I pressed the mute button to avoid the incessant rings, each one alerting my office colleagues to the fact that I was ignoring calls.
The walls were high enough to give a semblance of privacy, but close enough that I knew what was going on across and next to me. For instance, Margie, who occupied the desk across from me, had a sore throat from her “spirited rendition” of Madonna’sExpress Yourselfat karaoke yesterday. And Mark, next to me, had a “secret crush” on my boss Gregor and Seth from Marketing. I could only imagine what they’d learned about me this week, since I’d decided after a couple of days I couldn’t take working from home and came back to Arch.
My exercise cure for my insomnia and lack of appetite had left me a bit drowsy. So I’d taken to drinking energy drinks to perk me up in the afternoon. That wasn’t good enough office cooler gossip. The only other thing that might hit the rumor radar was that Gregor had started babying me.
Well, not exactly babying. More like sending me out to deliver packages to clients all over Manhattan, something our mail department could easily do. Since I told him Declan was in rehab, and that I hadn’t heard from him, he’d had me doing “special deliveries.” I suspected the deliveries had to do with Arch’s preparation for Jonas’s presentation for our bid on the rights to publish his book, though I was being officially taken off the project. Gregor also might have been sparing my reputation. I wore my feelings on my face so he could easily read me. The moment he’d seen me after it happened, he’d known Jonas and I had made love.
Sex. Not love. That was my problem. My heart was lost when it came to Jonas.
Gregor’s errands seemed a bit excessive. I had access to his calendar and knew that the Crane presentation had been pushed back a few weeks. But I did as I was told. I actually enjoyed the rides through Manhattan during the day. Although, David, the Crane family’s private driver, had been tasked as my escort per my agreement with Dani.
Agreements. Companionships. The Cranes were all business. And that was what I needed to return to. Business.
Between sips of my bottle with lightning bolts on the label, I tucked my shirt into my loose fitting wool pencil skirt, and for the fifth time today, put on my coat. Balancing my handbag and phone, I collected the packages from my desk tray and was ready for my side job as proposal delivery assistant for Arch Limited.
“Thanks for doing this, Lily,” Gregor said.
He walked up to me and handed off even more packages. I slid my eyes to the corner and caught a glimpse of Mark’s blonde mop. Yep. He had the Gregor crush.
Gregor wasn’t much of a looker by conventional standards. His green eyes were a bit buggy, and his facial features sharp. He didn’t even dress the part. Take today for instance. He had on a brown checkered shirt and green corduroys. Still, he had that certain special something that made him swoon-worthy around the office. And elsewhere.
I grinned at him. Our Gregor.
“We must be doing great if you can afford to have me spend the afternoon relaxing in the back of a car delivering packages all over Manhattan instead of helping you with the pile of new submissions that came in.”
“Not great, but better,” Gregor said. “Plus, these are important clients and the personal delivery of our proposals makes them think Arch will go the extra mile for them. That’s why I put them in the hands of my most trusted employee, not a guy that’s weighed down with a billion deliveries.” His brows narrowed as his gaze went over me. “And perhaps the fresh air will do you some good. You alright, Lily?”
I lifted my shoulders and sipped the rest of my energy drink. “Will be in ten minutes.”
I laughed, but he didn’t join me.
