by Linda Kage
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Oh my God,” I gasped, my eyes widening. How the hell had he known where to look for me?
Brick glanced up curiously from his phone conversation to meet my gaze across the room. I gaped at him a moment, too frozen to move, before my limbs went haywire and I suddenly dove unplanned behind the filing cabinet where there was a scant foot of space between it and the wall. Perfect for me to hide in.
“What in the…?” Brick started to ask as I crouched down out of sight, a split second before a knock rapped against the open doorframe of his office. “Uh, I’ll have to call you back, babe,” he said, and then I heard the squeak of his chair as he must’ve sat forward. “Hey. Come on in.”
“Carmichael.” Ezra’s voice was pure Nash: clipped and to the point with his usual CEO tone. It sounded nothing like his Ezra voice he used on me. And yet, I still shivered with the good kind of goose bumps when I heard it, because, yeah, it was him out there, only ten feet away.
Risking a peek from my hiding spot, I peered up at his back. His suit jacket was a dark charcoal gray and the tail barely covered his ass, so I couldn’t return the favor and check his butt out, though I had a feeling it was no doubt as perfect as the rest of him.
“What can I do for you?” Brick was asking him, scowling past Ezra to me in confusion before he slid his gaze to the single pump clutched in Ezra’s hand. “Nice shoe. Though, I recommend you go all out and get something bold—maybe leopard skinned—instead of that dull black if you’re going to start wearing high heels around the office. Make as big a statement as you can, you know.”
“I’m not—” Ezra cut himself off, sounding harassed before he heaved out a long sigh. Then, sounding calmer, he said, “I’m not going to start wearing high heels.”
I shimmied back into my crawl space because looking up at him was making my breathing come a little too fast and loud. I didn’t want him to hear me.
“Oh,” Brick answered with a voice that told me he was probably shrugging. “Well, then… Shoes are Hayden’s department. Not mine.”
“I’m not here because of the shoe.” His voice started to sound strained again. I wondered why his patience was so thin this morning. Did it have anything to do with me? Or was I just too vain to hope for that?
“Then why are you here?” Brick seemed amused by whatever was happening out there. It kind of felt to me as if he were purposely needling Ezra into growing more frustrated instead of less, which was totally one of Brick’s more annoying traits.
I bit my lip as Ezra drew in one more calming breath. “I just wanted to know if you’d contacted the new leather company for a quote and compared prices yet?”
“Oh. No, not yet. But I’ll have my new secretary get to that ASAP.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I prayed he didn’t mention who his new secretary was or where she was currently hiding.
He was a good stepbrother, though, thank God, and kept his mouth shut.
“Good,” Ezra murmured. “Good. Shoot me the figures as soon as you get them.”
“Will do, boss.”
Silence followed. I winced, leaning as far toward the opening of my hiding space as I dared, hoping to decipher what was happening now. It hadn’t sounded as if Ezra had left—no footsteps to herald his exit—and neither of them had bid the other a farewell, but no one was speaking either.
What the heck were they doing so quietly out there?
Just as I was about to risk another peek, Brick said, “Was… There something else you wanted?”
“Hmm?” Ezra sounded distracted. “No. I mean, no, what makes you think that?” Suspicion entered his tone.
More amusement filled Brick’s. “Maybe because you’re still here.”
“Oh.” Ezra cleared his throat. “Right. Have a good day then.”
I couldn’t handle it anymore, I peeked out in time to see him start for the door, only to reach the entrance and come to a full stop. My heart pounded in my chest the entire five seconds he stood there without moving. Then he reached for the open door… And shut it… While he remained inside Brick’s office with us.
Oh, no.
He spun toward Brick. “So the yellow Power Ranger you took to the Halloween party on Saturday…”
Oh, God.
Brick blinked and sat up, confusion reigning. “You mean, Kaity?”
“Yes!” Ezra snapped his fingers and pointed. “Exactly. Kaity.”
I shivered in my hiding spot as his voice saying my name shimmered through me.
And now it made sense why Ezra had known to come straight here. Of course he’d realize Brick would know who I was, since I’d admitted I’d gone to the party with him. Damn. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I would’ve warned my stepbrother to keep his mouth shut. Except then I would’ve had to tell Brick why he needed to keep his mouth shut, and I really hadn’t wanted to confess to kissing the boss.
Now, I supposed I would have to. Ezra had gone and made sure to pique Brick’s curiosity.
Shit.
Brick glanced past Ezra toward where I was kneeling. I shook my head trying to let him know he was being hustled for information as I silently begged him with my stare, threatening him to shut up and stop giving away anything else about me or I’d hurt him.
“Is that K-A-T-I-E or K-A-T-Y, or something that starts with a C?” Ezra was asking him, sounding completely innocent.
Brick’s gaze slid back to him. “None of the above.” Then he tipped his head to the side and wrinkled his brow as if confused. “Wait. Do you not know her? How do you not know her?”
“I…” Ezra sniffed out an insulted sound. “Of course I know her.”
Brick shot me another questioning glance. While I shook my head at my stepbrother, Ezra turned to see what Brick was looking at. I ducked deeper behind the filing cabinet out of sight, tucking myself in tight to become as small and invisible as possible. One with the filing cabinet.
“Dude.” Brick laughed uneasily as he stood to make his way around his desk to join Ezra. “This is getting freaky weird. What’s going on? Why’re you asking about Kaitlynn of all people?”
I rolled my eyes. Geesh, thanks, big brother. Make it sound as if I was the most boring person alive and no one would ever be interested in the likes of me. Feeling the love.
“I, uh…” Ezra paused briefly. I could practically hear his brain fart itself blank as he came up with no plausible lie for his curiosity in which to question Brick with. Peeking back around the corner of the filing cabinet, I peered up at his back. He looked so much like the distant, unaffected Nash again, confident CEO who didn’t consort with the little people. It was hard to equate him with the Maleficent who’d kissed me in the dark only days ago.
“I was… I was going to send out thank you cards to people who’d attended the, uh, the Halloween party. And I…” He laughed stiffly. “Well, I’d forgotten Kaity… Kaitlynn’s last name.”
“You forgot…” Brick trailed off to glance toward the wall where a large sign said JUDGE Fashions Industry. He turned back to Ezra. “Yeah. You are so full of shit right now.”
Ezra choked out his surprise. “Excuse me?”
Brick grinned and slid his hands into his pockets as he leaned against his desk. “If you forgot Kaitlynn’s last name, then you never knew it. In fact, I bet you don’t know her at all. You just came in here, fishing for information about my—”
I hissed out my fear that he’d say sister, which effectively shut him up and caused him to cut me a glance so I could slash my hand across my throat, demanding he keep himself quiet. But… Yeah, it also alerted Ezra to me. He once again turned my way, and I once more dove out of a sight, breathing a little harder this time.
“Your what?” Ezra asked, pressing Brick to continue.
Brick sniffed out an amused sound. “I have a feeling I’m not supposed to tell you anything else.”
“But—”
The ringing of a phone cut Ezra off.
“Oh, look,�
� Brick said way too loudly. “My phone. It’s ringing. I should answer that.” He hurried from his office, even as he answered the cell, talking to whomever had called, which effectively left Ezra alone in the office with me.
Letting out an annoyed groan, Ezra fell into an empty chair. When he scrubbed his hands over his face as if exhausted and frustrated—maybe even a little sad—my conscience grew guilty for hiding from him.
But it would be so disastrous to see him again. If Lana knew what we’d done—
“Okay, I can’t handle not knowing,” he announced before he pushed his feet against the floor to roll the chair backward until it bumped into the wall… Right beside me. We were barely a foot apart. All he had to do was shift his attention to the left and—
He looked left, right into my eyes. “How do you spell Kaity?”
For a moment, I could only gape, too shocked to answer. How long had he known I was there?
Oh, who was I kidding? He’d probably known the entire time.
Blushing hard, I discreetly cleared my throat and said, “K-A-I-T-Y.”
“Ah.” He nodded with a professional kind of courtesy. “An option I hadn’t considered.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I remained cowered beside him, worried how he was going to react to the fact that I’d been purposely avoiding him. Again. Though, honestly, why should he be surprised? Running and hiding had kind of become my M.O. these days.
Sending me a gloomy smile, he said, “Thanks for returning my shoes.” He lifted the high heel he was holding.
I cleared my throat again, because I swear I had inhaled some of the dust back here or something. Then I croaked, “You’re welcome.”
“And the cookies,” he added, his gaze going sensual and private as his perfectly formed lips spread into a smile. “I was flattered you remembered I even wanted any. They were delicious.”
I nodded. “They, uh… Well… I didn’t want you to feel left out.”
He watched me, without answering, and his eyes seemed to undress me. My skin felt licked by the flames of his heated stare. I drew in a breath, growing way too warm in this small, cramped space.
In the hallway, I could hear Brick’s muffled voice on the phone, but I had no clue what he was saying or who he was talking to. Under Ezra’s stare, I didn’t even care.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Ezra started in a conversational manner. “You know, maybe it wasn’t because we both worked at JFI after all. Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe you ran because I was just that bad of a kisser.”
“What?” My eyes grew wide with alarm, not expecting him to say—or even think—such an outlandish thing. “No! Good gracious, no. That wasn’t it at all.”
He nodded, and I detected a note of relief on his face. Then he tipped his head thoughtfully. “Then maybe my dress did freak you out. That was honestly my first time, and I doubt I’ll ever wear one again. Same for the shoes.” He shrugged before charming me with a rueful grin. “At least until I lose another bet.”
I had to crack a smile in return. He was just too damn adorable…in the sexiest way possible. “The dress didn’t freak me out. The shoes neither. They actually probably drew me to you more. They were… Fun.”
“Then, was it my—”
“No,” I had to say before he could try to blame something else on himself. “You did absolutely nothing wrong. You were…” I shook my head, not sure how to describe him without making myself look like a giddy schoolgirl with a raging crush, right before I blurted, “Amazing,” totally making myself look like a giddy schoolgirl with a raging crush.
His expression brightened and his lips tipped up in pleasure before a thoughtful frown seemed to catch him unaware. “So… I did nothing wrong, yet you ran away before I could even get your name, and then this morning, you went and hid behind a filing cabinet in the dust to avoid me.”
I glanced down and immediately flushed when I found a host of dust bunnies dry humping my knees. Nasty little critters.
Quickly wiping them away, I cringed at Ezra. “Yep. That all sounds about right.”
He chuckled quietly before asking, “So then why do you keep running?”
“What a good question,” I stalled, flashing him a quick smile.
With a nod, he agreed. “It really is, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” I nodded too.
When he said nothing more, my stalling tactic fell dead. We had a short stare-off before he grinned big and lifted his eyebrows, letting me know he wasn’t leaving until I answered him.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” I burst out. “I can’t… Shouldn’t… I mean, ugh! Let’s just say you could have done absolutely everything right—which you basically did—and I still would’ve run. I’m so sorry, but there are other, extenuating circumstances keeping me away that—” I held up a finger to stop him when he opened his mouth to speak. “—have nothing to do with me working here, or you being anything less than perfect.”
“All right,” he said slowly, studying me intently as if trying to pry his way into my head and figure out my extenuating circumstances. When he had no luck reading my mind, he let out a breath. “Are you by chance going to tell me what those circumstances are?”
“Um, well. I can’t. Not really.” I gave a helpless shrug. “So, sorry. Again.”
He narrowed his eyes, not amused. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Huh.” I thought it through. “You know, it may be a won’t, but it really feels like a can’t.”
“You told me Carmichael wasn’t your boyfriend.” He sounded almost accusative. We both glanced at the back of Brick’s head on the other side of the glass wall. He was still on the phone, so we turned back to each other
“He’s not,” I assured.
“Is anyone your boyfriend?”
I shook my head no.
“Husband?” he tried.
Huffing out my exasperation, I stated, “I have no significant other at all.”
He growled before jerking his hands into the air with defeat. “You’re impossible.”
I sent him a heartfelt sympathetic wince. “Not purposely.”
His lips twitched and eyes softened. I could tell the moment he decided to forgive me for aggravating him so much with my evasiveness. His entire expression changed as if he just couldn’t make himself stay mad at me, as if… As if he’d missed me.
Or that part was probably just me projecting my own feelings off onto him, because I’d definitely missed him. I hadn’t even realized it until that moment, when I met his gaze and everything shifted into place as if I were home.
But that was crazy, right? You couldn’t miss someone you didn’t even know and hadn’t even spent a full hour with.
Could you?
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked, jerking me from my daze.
I blinked. “What?”
He kept his gaze steady on mine. “It must be almost lunchtime. I need to eat. I’m guessing you need to eat. So… If we ended up at the same place to eat at the same time, it’d only be economical to save table space and, you know, eat together.”
I couldn’t tell him no. First of all, I didn’t want to say no. And secondly, it just seemed awful of me to deny him anything after the way I was treating him with all my running and evading business.
So I bobbed my head up and down. “Okay.”
For some reason, I couldn’t remember a single reason why I’d ever thought I needed to stay away from him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
As soon as I acquiesced, Ezra rose from the chair he’d been sitting in. He held a hand down to me. I took his fingers and had to bite the inside of my lip at the thrill that raced through me when his warm touch made contact with mine. Not even glancing down at all the dust no doubt covering my slacks, I continued to gaze into Ezra’s blue-blue eyes as I brushed my knees clean.
His smile widened as if he thought my antics were amusing. He kept staring into my eyes and holding my hand as he sta
rted toward the exit of Brick’s office.
My stepbrother was still on the phone when we entered the hall. He paused talking, and dropped one end of the cell from his mouth so he could rubberneck, his shocked gaze darting from our clasped hands to our faces. I could only imagine how brightly my cheeks were glowing. It felt as if I were under a spell that made me unreasonably content.
“Uh…” Brick said, his gaze narrowing on Ezra. “Where do you think you’re taking my new secretary?”
“We’re going to lunch,” Ezra informed him, stepping protectively closer to me as he eyed my brother distrustfully.
Brick blinked, then pulled the phone away from his ear so he could check the screen. “But it’s not even nine a.m.”
“Then we’re going to breakfast,” Ezra correctly smoothly.
I pressed a hand to my stomach where my guts were stirring with ecstatic anxiety. “I haven’t eaten anything today,” I offered, which was true. “I’m starving.”
Ezra glanced at me, his gaze sharp as if he didn’t like the idea of me going hungry. So he sent Brick a decisive nod and pulled me toward the elevator. “She’ll be back later.”
My stepbrother had no answer for that. He merely stared after us as we continued down the hall. Ezra pressed the button for the elevator doors, and they slid open under his command. Then he motioned for me to enter first.
I stepped inside, my heart doing jumping jacks in my chest as he followed me in.
As soon as the doors closed, Ezra turned to me. I had no idea what he had in mind, but I had a bad feeling it would be more tempting than I could handle resisting, so to diffuse whatever he had planned, I blurted, “I’m glad we’re having this breakfast actually, because…”
With his blue eyes so extremely intent on mine, my brain short-circuited and words drifted silent.
Had I been talking? I had no idea what I’d been saying.
