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What am I thinking?
I’m glad the kids get back tomorrow. I need a distraction that doesn’t cost me my fucking reputation. I need to focus on something that matters—and a relationship with Laura can’t matter because she’s too young, and she’s too naive, and she’s too…
Perfect,I think.
I disregard it almost immediately.
She isn’t perfect. Or, at least, she isn’t perfect for me.
She’s just…
I want her, and I think it’s clouding my judgment far too much.
I get my suit jacket off and am loosening my tie when there’s a soft, gentle rap at the door.
I take a deep breath and channel every ounce of training my father had given me.I am a Donovan,I think firmly.I am not weak.
Laura slips into the doorframe, her boxy suit hanging off her body and a neutral expression on her face, and I momentarily waver in that belief.
“Hi,” she says, stopping in the middle of my office. Her eyes flicker to Piper’s empty desk. “You asked to see me?”
My throat feels tight. I ignore it.
“I wanted to apologize,” I start. Laura’s eyebrows leap. “I should have… never started this.”
She startles visibly. “I… thought you would apologize for speaking to me that way,” she says tightly.
I try not to feel annoyed. “I was right,” I defend. “Earlier, when we—telling your little friend was a breach of our agreement.”
“It was not,” she argues. “I never said it was a secret from everyone, only that we would keep work separate.”
“Well, we didn’t do that either,” I snap. The memory of her in here earlier—of her frantic little sounds, of her body and the way it responded to me, of how warm and wet and pretty she looked—it swims in my mind. I ignore it, but her cheeks go red, and I know she’s thinking of it, too.
“That wasn’t my fault,” she says. “Or at least, not only my fault.”
I nod. “I know. I… let things go too far. I should have stopped this a long time ago.”
“David…”
“I will not risk my career,” I say firmly. “I will not risk yours, either.”
She nods. “Then… we’re done.”
It stings, hearing her say this. It’s what I want. It’s what I need. It still hurts.
I nod in agreement.
She continues nodding. I continue nodding. There’s no reason for this conversation to last any longer. There’s no reason for her to bein hereany longer.
The truth of the matter is, we just aren’t right for each other.
And I can’t tell her how much I hate that without putting us right back where we started.
“It was… a pleasure getting to know you, Laura,” I tell her honestly. “I promise not to let our past affect your career here at Donovan and Sons.”
She looks at me, and I can tell she wants to say something. Instead, she just tucks her chin and nods again. “Thank you, sir.”
With a knot in my throat, I reach out my hand. Carefully, I wait. She looks at me, almost incredulously for a moment, before she breaks into a small—very small, very lovely—smile. She slips her hand in mine.
