by Liz Bower
“That’s the weird thing. The senior accountants make this big deal about not having loads of layers of management, yet Kyle started in this role that they created. We never had account managers before, and he’s the only one we have now. I have no idea what he actually does except look through account files. Bob thinks he’s secretly auditing us, but I don’t think so. And Bob’s a little overactive in the imagination department.”
I gave Jaz a weak smile. “Sorry I can’t be more help in dishing the dirt on your boss.” If Jaz wanted to know what his boss looked like naked then I could help, but I couldn’t even have told Jaz Beck’s real name.
“Don’t worry about it. Right, I’ll go get those coffees.”
And didn’t that feel shitty? What little I thought I knew about Beck hadn’t even been the truth.
My fingers reached automatically for my necklace beneath my shirt. Fingertips tracing the smooth infinity symbol that wrapped around the diamond heart. Ever since my mum had given it to me for my eighteenth birthday I’d worn it every day. Tracing its shape had become a soothing habit. For the millionth time, I wished my mum was still alive. She always knew what to say to make me feel better.
But for once, the feel of the infinity symbol beneath my fingers didn’t offer comfort. Beck wasn’t the only one who had lied to me.
I dropped my hold on the necklace, wishing I could go back in time to when she had given it to me. Before I’d found out my mum had the ability to lie to me. Simpler times.
Instead, I was stuck there in the office knowing Beck was somewhere nearby.
Nearby and a liar.
Chapter Eleven
The rest of the afternoon dragged by until I practically ran down the stairs and out of the office at 5 p.m. As soon as I got home, I headed for the shower. Like I could wash the memories of the day away. It hadn’t worked.
I pushed the plate with my half-eaten sandwich aside, not hungry enough to bother with it. Propped my elbows up on the breakfast bar in the kitchen and rested my chin on my hands.
That day at the airport kept running through my head. Trying to find some clue that Beck—Kyle—had lied. Or a reason why he would have lied. But he’d introduced himself to me. He’d been the one to suggest sharing a room. The one who’d kissed me. And yeah, okay, I’d been the one to take it further…Wait, was that why? Lied because he’d wanted to get me into bed?
Except that made no sense. When we met on the plane, he couldn’t have been thinking that. Unless he’d planned on joining the mile-high club. No, he introduced himself when there was already a problem with the plane.
Yet none of that made any difference whether his name was Beck or Kyle. Unless everything he’d said that day had been a lie. Oh, God. What if he had a girlfriend? A wife? That would be a fucking good reason to lie. The little of the sandwich I’d eaten sat heavy in my stomach, lurching as it tried to fight its way back up my throat.
“Stop it.” Why did I even care? Apart from not wanting to be the other woman. But I had checked. No sign of a wedding ring and our conversation came back to me. He’d joked about not having a boyfriend. Said he had no girlfriend. It was only meant to be one night together to escape the reality of my life. A life that wasn’t quite working out as I’d planned. A memory to reminisce fondly over. A crazy moment that was supposed to slip quietly into my past. At least that was how it had started out. But it wouldn’t do that with Kyle in the office every day.
Maybe I could call the agency and tell them I wouldn’t be able to finish out the contract. They wouldn’t be happy about it.
Then again, why should I risk future contracts to avoid him? He was the one in the wrong. The one who had lied.
As though Penny could sense my frustration, she nudged her head against my calf. Her front paws stretched up my leg, her way of asking for a stroke. Running my hand over her ginger fur got me a contented purr.
“I’m sorry. Not paying you enough attention, huh?” She nuzzled my hand in answer and I blew out a deep breath.
Well, sitting there was getting nothing done except making me dizzy from my thoughts chasing themselves around. My gaze landed on the Styrofoam dummy cake bases on top of the fridge. I didn’t have any orders, but I could decorate one to upload a photo to my website. Put my time to good use instead of sitting there stewing over Beck.
“Okay, Penny. What kind of cake do you want?” She stalked off, tail up high behind her and clearly not interested in cake.
I grabbed the fake cake tiers and some white rolled fondant icing. Rolled it out until it was an inch thick then draped it over the Styrofoam base. Smoothed it out as I twisted the turntable the base sat on. The smoothing tool glided over the surface until it looked like the iced-over puddles in the back lane, all shiny and slick. Added three drops of red dye to the leftover fondant to make some roses. Took my frustration out on the icing, kneading it a little too hard.
The fondant marbled with red streaks then slowly turned baby pink. I cut a tiny piece off and rolled it between my fingers and palm into a ball then shaped it into a teardrop to form the centre of the rose. Then inserted a toothpick into the bottom of it. Cut off another piece of fondant, shaping it until it resembled a petal, then attached it to the bud with a brush of water to hold it in place and curled back the edges.
As it always did when I made flowers, my brain switched off. No circling thoughts, just lost in the art of creating something beautiful and intricate. The repetitiveness of the task soothing. And the finished article filled me with joy.
I let out a yawn and when I glanced at the kitchen clock realised I’d been at it for two hours. Stretching my arms above my head, my shoulders creaked. Time to call it a night. I cleaned up the kitchen, checked Penny had water, then climbed the stairs.
As I lay in bed, thoughts of Beck tried to creep back in, but I pushed them away. It was just a one-month job. I could deal with that. Probably would be able to avoid him for most of that time anyway. I curled up on my side, one arm wrapped around my pillow. I could totally do this, I told myself again as I drifted off.
The following morning, I woke before my alarm after a restless sleep. Dreams of being back on a plane again, sitting next to Beck, had had me tossing and turning. Beck holding my hand, telling me everything would be fine only to look up to find myself holding the hand of a stranger. Didn’t need to be a genius to work out the meaning of those dreams.
Those were bad enough, but then they’d morphed into something more sinister. Instead of returning to the airport, the plane had crashed. Blood poured from a gash on my head and no matter how hard I yanked on the seat belt, I couldn’t free myself. And Beck, rather than helping, had stood in front of me and laughed.
What was I supposed to make of that? An omen? A premonition? There were no such things as those though, were there? No logic in them for me to understand. It was just my overactive brain. It didn’t mean anything.
Turning my attention back to the wardrobe, I settled on a black-and-green striped blouse paired with black trousers. And if I spent a little longer tying my hair up into a chignon and applied a little more make-up than normal…well, that had nothing to do with the fact that Beck would be at the office. Nothing at all.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Kimberly. You might believe it by the time you get to the office.” I stuck my tongue out at my reflection then headed out. If I was going to have to see Beck again, there was nothing wrong with making sure I looked professional. Or you know, attractive.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was too much to resist, so I popped into The Caffeine Cave next door to the office and got myself a cappuccino and a latte for Jaz. When I set the takeaway cup down on his desk, he gave me a grin.
“You can definitely stay.”
I settled in behind my desk and shot him an answering grin. “Good to know it only takes a cup of coffee to get into your good books.” He laughed and opened his mouth as if to reply before snapping it shut again.
“A word in my office,
Kimberly. Now.”
My smile vanished at Beck’s harsh tone, and I stared at Jaz as if he could save me. He nodded behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. I scrambled to my feet and hurried after Beck.
Shit, what if he didn’t want me around the office? Could he fire me? For what, though? Sleeping with him before I knew he’d be my boss? Fuck that shit. I’d sue his ass if he tried it. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Beck opened his office door and waved me inside.
“Take a seat.”
The click of the door shutting behind me made me jump and with a sense of foreboding, I traipsed across his office.
The room was dominated by an old wooden desk which would have been less obvious if it had a sign hanging from it saying, Compensating for a small dick—except I knew that wasn’t true. At either corner of the desk there was a grey, uncomfortable looking, low-backed chair, and I took a seat in the one on the left. The window was facing me, but all I could see was the office block across the street.
Beck strolled around his desk and dropped into the leather chair across from me. Rested his arms across the top of the desk. Wearing a plain white shirt, the sleeves were rolled up to reveal muscled forearms. My gaze was drawn unconsciously to the play of his muscles as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across his wrist. Was he nervous?
He ran a hand through the short strands of his hair. The action pulled his shirt tight across his wide chest. So tight, I could make out the outline of his nipple. The shadow of darker skin around it.
Tearing my eyes away from the sight, I stared at a spot on the wall behind him. Inappropriate to perv on your boss’s nipples especially if you were already in trouble.
And I hated that my body hadn’t got the message from my brain. How could I still be attracted to him when I knew he’d lied to me?
Chapter Twelve
Beck cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. Clasped his hands together on top of the desk as he leaned towards me.
“C and G is a small company and we like our employees to get along. But we expect our employees to keep a…professional distance, shall we say.”
I tilted my head, eyebrows scrunching together to try and decipher exactly what he was implying. Did Beck think I was going to throw myself at him in the middle of the office? When I didn’t answer, he carried on.
“Jaz is a friendly guy…”
My mouth dropped open as his words trailed off. I’d only met Jaz the previous day. Did he think I was going to jump in bed with a colleague after knowing him for one day? “Are you kidding? I thought you brought me in here to fire me, and you’re accusing me of being too friendly with Jaz?” Beck had the grace to drop his gaze.
“I wanted the situation to be clear.”
Biting back the retort I wanted to blurt out, I reminded myself I needed this job. But I had to say something. “Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re all about being clear aren’t you, Beck?” Shifting in his seat, he ran a hand across his stubbled chin. Unbidden, I recalled the feel of that stubble scraping across my skin. Shook my head to stop those unhelpful thoughts.
“Ah yes, I also wanted to speak to you about that.”
Muscles rippled as his thumb traced across his wrist again.
“Beck is a…more of a nickname, I guess. I don’t use it in the office, though.”
Folding my arms across my chest, I leaned back in the chair. “Yeah, I kind of guessed that when you were introduced as Kyle Robinson.” He gave me a rueful smile, and I shook my head.
I wasn’t seeing the funny side of this situation. It was a perfect fucking disaster. Hot guy rescues me on a plane only to show up as my boss weeks later. Failing to see what was funny yet.
“Nobody here knows that name and I’d like to keep it that way. The man you met…let’s just say I like to keep the work me, the man here, separate from the man I am outside of the office.”
Well, that made everything so much clearer. Not. But the more he said, the more pissed off I got, and I wasn’t sure why. He didn’t owe me anything. Hell, I’d never even expected to see him again after losing his business card. “Fine. Is that everything? That data’s not going to input itself.”
Eyes narrowed as he stared at me, I wondered if I’d gone too far. But he nodded his head.
“Yes. But Kimberly? I’m sorry. I won’t make this situation any worse than it already is.”
I paused halfway out of the chair. “It’s okay. We won’t be working together, so it’s not like we have to speak to each other in the office every day. It’ll be fine. I’m only here for a month’s contract anyway.”
A pained expression flitted across his face before he hid it by stroking his hand across his cheek and mouth. When he didn’t say anything more, I strode out of his office and pulled the door shut behind me.
I glanced around the room, but nobody was paying me any attention. But it wasn’t okay. And I didn’t understand why I was so angry. I had no right to be, but his behaviour made me feel…betrayed somehow. He had lied to me, which made me feel cheap. Used, even. Which was ridiculous. I’d been the one to take things further.
I strolled back to my desk, reminding myself we hadn’t made each other any promises after that night. But he was the one that had left his card. He was the one that had wanted to see me again or else, why did he leave his number? And yeah, okay, so I hadn’t called him—
“Everything okay?”
Rearranging my scowl into a smile for Jaz, I nodded. “Yes. A welcome to the office and this is how we do things chat. That’s all.” His lips twisted to one side. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s…Kyle doesn’t normally get involved that way. He leaves that up to Tony seeing as he’ll be the one supervising you.”
I guess it wasn’t a normal situation for Kyle. Then again, what did I know? No way was I planning on sharing how well—or not—I knew Kyle. God, I didn’t want anyone at the office to find out I’d slept with him. So I gave Jaz a nonchalant shrug, hoping he’d drop the subject.
Sliding behind my desk, I picked up a spreadsheet from the mountainous pile. Skimmed through it as I waited for my computer to start up. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jaz swivel around to face his computer and I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Okay, then.”
I didn’t answer him. What else was there to say?
The rest of the morning dragged by in a haze of numbers and account details. So many that my eyes started to blur. Which is why I triple-checked the data before I turned to Jaz.
“Hey Jaz, can I show you something?”
Twisting away from his computer to look at me, he waggled his eyebrows at me. I couldn’t help but chuckle at him, but then waved a spreadsheet at him.
“Sure. What’s up?” he asked, as he made his way around to my desk.
“It’s the Lewis account. I’ve checked the figures three times, but something’s not right.” Leaning over my shoulder so he could see the figures, I waited for him to look them over.
“Huh.” He dropped down into a crouch next to me and pulled the spreadsheet over in front of him. Ran a finger along the lines of figures for the account. Looking up at my screen he asked, “Is this their account?”
I nodded and scooted over to the side so he could see the screen better. Of course, Beck had to wander over to Jaz’s desk right then.
“Have you seen Jaz?”
In answer, I pointed down to my side. Beck leaned over to see Jaz right next to me on his knees. And yeah, after our ‘chat’ that morning I guess it could look bad.
Jaz leaned around my computer to look up at Beck. “Did you need me for something?”
Hands on his slim hips, Beck scowled in response. “I need to speak to you about the Gallagher account. Come to my office when you’ve finished…” He waved between me and Jaz. “Whatever it is you’re doing.”
As he turned on his heel, I rolled my eyes. “Go on. You better go.”
Jaz pushed himself upright as he tapped a finger against the spreadsheet.
“It’s not an account I’ve worked on, but something’s not right. I’d speak to Tony if I were you. Maybe he can shed some light on it.”
“Thanks. I will.” By the time I’d finished speaking to Tony and got back to my desk, Jaz was pulling on his coat.
“Do you want to get some lunch with me?”
God, yes. I needed out of the office. “Yes, please.” Grabbing my coat off the back of my chair, I followed him towards the stairs.
“I usually go to the coffee shop next door. Happy to go there?”
I’d quite happily go anywhere right then. “Sounds great.”
And it was. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee hit me as soon as we entered The Caffeine Cave, and it was heavenly. To the side of the long wooden counter was a refrigerated display with freshly prepared sandwiches on one side and cakes and pastries on the other. My mouth watered at the sight and smells.
Once we collected our lunches, I followed Jaz down the stairs, the name of the shop making sense to me then. It was dimly lit, and the room was divided into small seating areas by all the exposed stone walls. We took a seat at one of the free tables, and it was…just like being in a cave.
“So, what did Tony say when you asked him about the account?”
Staring at the wall where an oddly shaped brick stuck out further than the rest, I tried to figure out what to say. Accusing your supervisor of being less than above board wasn’t a great move on your first week in a new job. Jaz laughed and I returned my attention to him.
“He can be a bit of a pain in the arse, but he’s a good guy. Did he give you a hard time?”
I shook my head as I tore open the paper bag containing my sandwich. “It was weird. I explained to him that as far as I could tell the amount the firm had paid us didn’t match their invoice. But he didn’t seem bothered.” Jaz nodded as he took a huge bite of his sandwich. “So I told him how they’d overpaid but then part of the payment seemed to have disappeared.” I shrugged because I knew I didn’t know much about accounting but even I could work out when numbers didn’t add up.
