by Lexi Wilson
Various strategies played themselves out in my mind, but it was hard to know how to proceed without knowing how she felt about what had happened. It was time to collect some information with the help of a little slyness.
“How as your weekend?” I asked. It was an honest enough question. There was also the possibility that she’d had a great time and forgotten all about me. I didn’t believe that, but mostly I wanted to judge her reaction.
“Great, actually. A good friend of mine just got back into town, and we hung out for most of the weekend. I hadn’t seen her for a while.” A small smile played on her face.
No confusion, anger, or lust crossed her face. From what I could tell, Morgan seemed happier about being able to spend time with her friend than anything else.
For some reason that frustrated me. On some level, I wanted her to be as conflicted as I was, to feel the same attraction. It’s not like I wanted her to cheat on her husband, but I did want her to at least make me feel that what I’d felt wasn’t one-way.
Morgan watched me, still awaiting a response. I nodded slowly. Her friend being back in town would explain why she was the gastropub.
“Your friend was on a trip? Or did she just move back into town?”
“No, she’s lived here a while, but she was in Singapore on a business trip, actually.” Morgan smiled softly. “She travels all over. Then again, I suppose you do as well.”
“Less than you might think. In 2018, it’s a lot easier to meet someone over the through video conferencing, but you never know when a good, solid handshake might be necessary. I mostly send a lot of other employees out to zoom around the world and get jetlagged. It’s far less glamorous and fun than you might imagine.”
“I see,” Morgan nodded, then sighed. “I’m a bit behind on some of the report collation you needed. So I better get busy.”
So, either she didn’t remember what had happened on Friday, or she wanted to play it off. I could do that, too. That was the best possible solution, and I didn’t want to cause trouble by pressing her on the issue.
It wasn’t like anything had happened. All she’d done was bump into me in a hallway. I was letting my imagination run away with me and getting hot and bothered about something that meant nothing.
I chuckled. “Well, I pay you to assist me, not chat with me I supposed. I-uh—Daisy’s due date is coming up, so be on the lookout for a call from her or the hospital.”
The one defense I had against my sister was that she didn’t have the direct number for my cell phone. The downside of course is that she chose to show up in the office all the time instead. Everything has an advantage and disadvantage.
Morgan smiled, “Yes, I have it in my calendar.”
After a quick nod, I walked toward my office, my heart lighter. Obviously, even if I’d felt some sort of spark between us, she hadn’t. I doubted she was such a good actress that she could be so calm if she had.
Again, I had to remind myself it didn’t matter. Morgan was a married woman and my employee, so I shouldn’t even be thinking about following up on that spark I’d thought I felt.
I spared a last glance at Morgan over my shoulder and slowed my pace.
Something nagged at the edge of mind, like I was missing something obvious and important. She tapped away at her computer, either oblivious to my attention or ignoring me. The motion of her hands drew my attention. My eyes widened, and my breath caught.
Her wedding ring was gone. I didn’t spend a lot of time staring at her hands, but I clearly remembered her wearing a wedding ring for most of her time in the office. Had it been gone for a while? Or just since Friday? I rifled through my thoughts and memories trying to pinpoint the exact moment it disappeared, but I couldn’t be sure.
I didn’t know. Her finger still bore a pale circle showing where the ring once had been, which suggested it was only recently removed, but that could have been a week ago or a day. Still, that meant I wasn’t deluded or imagining things. Until recently, she had worn a ring.
Ripping my attention away from her, I hurried into my office. The last thing I needed was for Morgan to catch me staring at her. My mind reeled at this new revelation. Had something happened between her and her husband? I didn’t even know the guy’s name.
There were a lot of logical explanations for why she might not be wearing her ring today. Maybe she was getting it cleaned or resized. That would be a totally reasonable thing for a woman to do.
Maybe she’d decided that she didn’t want to wear it at work for whatever reason. Perhaps it interfered with her typing or something. I couldn’t be sure.
I sucked in a breath at other possibilities. She might be leaving her husband, or he was leaving her. Maybe she’d gone home on Sunday and found him with another woman.
I moved behind my desk and dropped into my chair, my breathing ragged. What the hell was I thinking?
There was no way a woman could catch her husband cheating or initiate a divorce over the weekend and then just stroll into work Monday morning like nothing had happened. She’d obviously just removed the ring for some simple and practical reason.
Shame washed through me as I realized I’d almost been hoping she was getting divorced so I’d have a chance at her, all based on a brief moment with her in a bar a few days ago. Yes, she was stunning, and her blue eyes felt like they could stare into your very soul, but that wasn’t a good basis for a relationship.
Honestly, I knew very little about her outside of work. She liked her coffee black, like I did, which was a plus. Not that I was keeping a list of things to like about her, but I didn’t know much else, like her tastes in entertainment and music, or her thoughts on current events or anything else.
It was like she didn’t exist outside of work. Normally, I might have said that made her the perfect employee, but in this case, everything was different. I craved more knowledge about Morgan. I wanted—no, I needed to know about everything that made her tick.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to push the thoughts away. Yet again, I had to remind myself she was a married woman, and the ring removal likely had some innocent explanation that had nothing to do with divorce.
I need to get my mind on work. Morgan was off-limits, and I couldn’t let the missing ring convince me otherwise.
Chapter 6
Morgan
Two days had passed since my return to work, and things had been okay, if a bit awkward. It wasn’t that Daniel was acting any different, but every time I looked at him, it was hard to not remember what my hands had felt when I touched him, which made it difficult to talk without blushing.
I thought the best way to handle the hallway weirdness with Daniel was to just pretend like it hadn’t happened or was so insignificant that it wasn’t worthy of mention. He hadn’t brought it up himself, so either he didn’t care, or he didn’t even remember. Even though I was having my own issues putting it past me, I figured it would take week or two, and then everything would return to normal.
Jacy plopped down on a stool next to my desk. I probably shouldn’t have had my friend at work, but she kept pestering me to see my new office. She’d gotten off work early that Wednesday and asked if she could stop by on the way home. Despite my better judgment, I’d said yes.
Honestly, I was convinced she wanted to see Daniel more than she wanted to see where I worked, but unfortunately for her, he was out that day on a business trip to Las Vegas and wouldn’t be back until the next morning, a fact I didn’t bother to explain until she’d arrived in the office.
“I’m disappointed,” Jacy said.
“I’m sorry he’s not here for you to gawk at.”
Jacy smirked. “I’m disappointed about that, too, but I was talking about something else.”
“What then?”
She motioned around. “I don’t know. It’s just, in the end, every company kind of looks the same. Same plants. Same boring paintings. Same cubicles. Same computers. Blah.”
“What were you expecting? I changed
from a bank to an investment and holding company. It’s not like the industry is all that different.”
Jacy shrugged. “I don’t know what I was expecting. Just something more, I guess. Honestly, I wouldn’t know you weren’t still at the bank.”
I laughed. “Sorry. Next time I’ll get a job with the circus or NASA or something.”
“That’d be cool. I bet they have different computers.”
“I guess.”
A mischievous grin appeared on her face, worrying me. Some scheme was about to launched; I was sure of it.
“What?” I asked, keeping my voice from sounding accusatory.
“I was looking over in the break room earlier,” Jacy began, “and I found something very interesting. I think you should see it.”
“What? Did they add some new creamer flavors or something? I don’t care. I like my coffee black.”
“You’ll like this. Trust me,” Jacy winked. “Give me one sec.” She hopped off the stool and scampered away like an excited little kid. I wondered what could possibly be so interesting.
My stomach knotted, and I worried she was about to come and inform me of something disgusting in the break room refrigerator, or something just to shock me, and I wondered why she felt compelled to snoop around in the break room anyway. When she returned, she had a magazine in her hand. Hardly shocking.
Jacy sat back on the stool and tossed the magazine onto the desk.
I looked down at it. “Northwest’s Most Eligible Bachelors —2018 Edition?”
“Open it up to page twenty-two.”
With a shrug, I flipped the magazine open to page twenty-two. My breath caught at the sight of a full-page spread of Daniel.
Jacy giggled. “They have his net worth in there too, you know.”
“So?”
“He’s a billionaire, Morgan. An honest-to-goodness billionaire.”
I shrugged. “I already knew that, Jacy. I’m his personal assistant, and I checked out this company before I applied. So what?”
Jacy blinked and then stared at me like I’d gone crazy. “So what?” She tapped his picture. “You’re working for a hot billionaire who isn’t married, and from what I’ve read isn’t even in any sort of steady relationship.”
“Again, so what?”
She snatched up the magazine, rolled it up, and smacked me in the arm with it.
“Ow!”
“That’s what you get for being so dense. Why aren’t you going after this guy?”
“I’m not—why should I? He’s my boss, and I’m m—”
Jacy frowned. “You’re what? You better not say you’re married.”
“Technically, I am.”
“You’ve not even seen your so-called husband in years. The only reason you’re not officially divorced is because you haven’t bothered to do the paperwork. You’re never getting back together.”
I sighed. “I know, but whatever. It’s not like I’m looking for a man anyway.”
“Are you saying Daniel isn’t hot?”
“No, I’m not saying that. Of course, he’s—good-looking.”
“And you’re saying there’s some big disadvantage to dating a billionaire?”
“No, I’m not saying that at all.”
Jacy groaned. “Then what’s your problem, then? If there’s ever a guy to move on with, this is the one, right?”
“I’ve got a good thing going with this job. I don’t think I should risk messing it up just because some guy has nice muscles.”
I winced, and my friend smirked.
“Oh, you like his muscles, huh?” She leaned forward and lowered her voice, even though no one else was nearby. “They say he was thinking about being a pro baseball player, but he ended up going into business instead. Still, he goes out and practices hitting, and works out a lot.” Her eyebrows lifted suggestively. “I’m sure he could find a good way to put all those muscles to good use.”
My center heated with need, and I bit my lip. It had been a long time since I’d had sex, so it was hard to separate lust from desperation.
“I’m just saying,” I began, “that maybe trying to hit on my boss isn’t the best way to make sure I have a nice, stable long-term job.”
I gestured toward the magazine. “Put that back. The last thing I need is for him to see me with that on my desk and start getting ideas.”
“Ideas, huh?” Jacy snickered, then grabbing the magazine, she headed back toward the break room.
In the short time she was gone, I thought over what she said. Everything I’d said about Daniel was right. I couldn’t go after my boss if I wanted to keep my job, but everything Jacy had said about moving on was true. My marriage had dissolved after my baby died, even if we’d never officially ended it.
Between wearing my ring and resisting even the idea of dating, I was guaranteeing I wouldn’t find someone. The hallway encounter proved I could still be attracted to men. I just needed to find a man who wasn’t my boss.
Jacy returned from her break room excursion and took a seat.
“You’re right, Jacy,” I said.
“Of course I’m right. So are you’re going to bag that billionaire?”
“Well, you’re wrong about that.”
Jacy groaned and shook her head.
“But you’re right about me moving on,” I said. “Maybe we should go out on Friday, to just hit a place and try to meet some guys. Like practice. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” I tucked hair behind my ear, my heart racing at my suggestion.
“That’s the spirit.”
The door opened, and my heart all but exploded as Daniel stepped inside.
Staring at him, I wasn’t sure what I should even be doing. While he was away on a business trip, I was at my desk on the clock chatting up my friend. Talk about unprofessional.
Daniel strode toward me, his briefcase in hand. Every muscle in my body tensed as I waited for him to unload on me. Instead, he walked right past me to his office door. He opened the door and stepped inside, tossing his briefcase on his desk.
“Morgan, come here, please,” he called, weariness in his voice.
Still tense, I rose and hurried into his office. Daniel plopped down on a couch on the side of his office. I’d almost never seen him use it, and when I asked him about it, he told me it was mostly for the rare time he needed somewhere to sleep overnight.
“I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow,” I said.
“I decided I didn’t want to stick around. I’d taken care of all the business meetings this morning, and honestly, Vegas bores me.” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “And the coffee there is terrible. Could you please go get me a cup?”
“Right away,” I scurried off to the coffee pot to pour him a cup, surprised he didn’t seem to care about the presence of Jacy.
I returned with a cup in hand and handed it to him. He downed the entire thing in a few gulps and shuddered.
“Now that’s the stuff,” Daniel mumbled. “Not that crap water they were passing off for coffee in Vegas.” He gestured with the cup in Jacy’s direction. “Who’s your friend?”
I motioned for Jacy to enter, and she all but ran in, a grin on her face. Apparently, I was the only one concerned about the situation.
“This is Jacy,” I said. “We’ve been friends since college. She works for Chang Imports.”
Daniel took her hand and gave it a firm shake. He stared at her, “Have we met before?”
Jacy shook her head, “I think I’d remember meeting you.”
He laughed and moved over to sit on the edge of his desk. “I’m glad you think so, though I’m a little trashed. Nothing more exhausting than business travel.”
“Oh, I know the feeling. I had to take a trip to Singapore recently.”
Daniel’s brow furrowed for a moment and nodded. “That explains it.”
I looked between the two, confused, but Jacy looked as confused as I was.
“Explains what?” Jacy said.
&nbs
p; “Where I saw you.”
“You saw me in Singapore?”
Daniel laughed and shook his head. “No, last Friday at the Roasted Boar.” He nodded at me. “Morgan had mentioned a friend returning from Singapore, and I’m guessing she doesn’t have that many friends who’ve come back from overseas lately. I bumped into her there, so I must have spotted you on my way out or something.”
It took all my self-control not to wince. I’d almost convinced myself that Daniel didn’t even remember the incident, that it had slipped from his memory. But now he was not only reconfirming that we’d run into each other, he’d been aware enough to even recognize my friend.
Jacy peered at me. “Yeah, I’m the friend who travels a lot. I guess you saw me, but I didn’t see you. Shame.”
“Yeah, I was on my way out at the time,” Daniel’s phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket with a frown. “Sorry, I have to take this. It was a pleasure finally meeting you, Jacy.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
She backed out of the room, and I followed, closing the door behind me.
“He’s so hot,” Jacy said. “You should totally have hot, sticky sex on that huge desk of his.”
“Jacy!” My cheeks heated. “Listen to yourself.”
“Oh, I know what I’m saying.”
I slapped my palm onto my face. “He remembers everything.”
“That’s perfect,” Jacy said. “That means he thought it was worth remembering.”
“He didn’t mention any of it before now.”
“Maybe because you’re acting all embarrassed, and he didn’t want to seem like a creeper or something. But that doesn’t matter now. I’ve broken the ice for you, so you can take your shot at him.”
“No, no. I can’t date him. He’s my boss. He’s off-limits.”
“Whatever, spoilsport. It doesn’t matter.” Jacy waved a hand dismissively. “We just need to get you back in the saddle, and we can do that on Friday. Once you feel more comfortable, we can talk about boss hottie again.”
