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I blink in surprise. It comes out as a command, one he obviously expects me to obey. This definitely isn’t the Jenson I knew, and neither do I recall the cold, unaffected attitude he wears like a mask.
“Excuse me?”
Arms crossed, I can’t help popping out a hip. Jenson Sharpe may be half-naked, damp, and delicious, but that doesn’t give him the right to be rude. Even if he is the CEO of the company I just started working for.
His eyes cut into me.
“I said, stay here. I’m going to change.”
The thought of that towel coming off momentarily takes my breath away. I watch him walk into the other room where the changing area is, the muscles of his back trailing down to two dimples just above his ass.
“I must be in some kind of alternate reality,” I whisper to myself, feeling crazy. “I’m still at home, dreaming.”
But no. A few minutes later, Jenson walks back into the room.
He’s wearing a suit that fits him perfectly, one that compliments his eyes and accentuates his broad shoulders.
“Come.”
The word sends a thrum of…somethingthrough me. I try to ignore it, following him blindly. I don’t even know if this is the same way I came in, but we end up in a hallway. People are starting to arrive, hurrying down the hall here and there.
A few look at Jenson fleetingly before dropping their gazes to the ground. Frowning after them, I try to keep up with his long strides.
“What department did you get hired to, Melanie?”
Melanie. He’s using my full name. All of a sudden I’d give anything to hear him sayMelthe way he used to.
But it’s been twelve years, and we’re practically strangers now.
“Marketing.”
His eyes flicker with curiosity as he glances over his shoulder. Back in high school, I was adamant that I’d go to an art school and become a great photographer or painter. He must be wondering what I’m doing in a massive corporation that is slowly taking over the healthcare sector.I’m a sellout.
I shake the thought off. It’s the money that matters, and Dupont Analytics is paying me a lot to head up their marketing division.
Jenson doesn’t speak, not even when we end up alone in an elevator. He hits a number—the fifth floor. There’s a directory inside the doors that tells me we’re heading for both marketing and strategy.
In the small space, it’s agonizingly quiet.
The doors open and Jenson steps out. Even more annoyed now, I follow him…because I don’t know what else to do. Heisbringing me to my office, which is where I was trying to end up in the first place.
A small part of me hopes to get him alone for more than an elevator ride and ask…what? How he’s been? What the heck he’s doing here? In the deepest part of my soul I know I owe him an apology for disappearing all those years ago, but my stomach twists at the thought of bringing it up.
Jenson turns a corner and someone lets out a startled sound. I peer around his broad back and see a woman with dark pixie cut hair. She’s quite short and stares up at Jenson in near horror.
“Mr. Sharpe, I’m so sorry—”
She sees me and all color drains from her face.
“I—Melanie, what are you doing—?”
The woman looks mortified and upset. I look at her company badge: Liza Honenfield. My boss’s assistant, who I was supposed to be meeting. Right now.
“Hi, Liza. I’m sorry. I got…caught up.”
Staring at your nearly nude CEO. Who is also my ex. No big deal, though.
Suddenly, I can’t get away from Jenson fast enough. Liza looks disapproving but starts heading back the way she came. Before I can escape, Jenson’s hand wraps around my wrist almost gently, and I feel a jolt of electricity run up my arm.
