by Emma Hart
“No problem at all.” He flashed me one more concerned look before he left the study, shutting the door behind him.
Leaving me with his mom.
Alone.
“Mrs. Reid, I—”
“Cordelia,” she interrupted. Then, she sighed. “Goodness, it’s exhausting, isn’t it? Pretending you like people.”
Shocked, I stared at her as she tugged at the stomach of her dress and filled the seat Cameron had just vacated.
She looked up at me. “Mallory, darling, do sit down. You’re making the room look untidy.”
I sat down so fast I hurt my ass.
She tittered a laugh, but there was nothing insincere about it. “I know. I’ve been sociable all evening, but even I reach a point where I need to check out.” She crossed one leg over the other and cradled her wine glass in one hand.
Her eyes were incredible. They made you feel both comfortable and completely out of your depth with one look.
If I could grow up to be anyone…
“Tell me, darling. What was the phone call so important that you had to drag Cameron away from the get-together?”
I could lie. The option was there. She didn’t know. It could have been anything—but nothing that would lead me to have an explanation as to why we’d been sitting and chatting like old friends in here.
Besides, I was sure she knew.
She’d looked at Rachel like she was a bad rash on a good day, and that was all I needed to tell the truth.
“He was uncomfortable around Rachel.” I met her eyes. “I saw an opportunity to get him out of the situation, and I took it.”
Cordelia stared at me for a long moment. Then, she downed her wine.
I was expecting…
Well, I didn’t know what I was expecting.
Cameron might have been the boss, but it was clear who pulled strings in the company. If Cordelia didn’t like me, there was no doubt I’d be out of a job on Monday morning.
I didn’t expect her to get up, open a desk drawer, and pull out a half-sized bottle of Sauvignon.
“Another?” she asked, holding up the bottle.
I’d only had two.
I did as she did and finished my wine so I could hand her an empty glass.
“Excellent choice. It’s a wonderful wine, from Southern France.” She opened the bottle and removed the cork with a finesse I could only dream of, then poured us two glasses.
Proper glasses.
“I don’t know what I like more,” I said. “The ease you pulled the cork with, or how you actually like your wine.”
She set down the bottle and, with a smirk firmly on her face, picked up her glass. “Cheers to that.”
We clinked glasses, and she was right. It was a delicious wine, and that was just enough for me to ignore the fact I was sitting here with my boss’ mother, drinking wine, hiding away from everyone.
“You,” she said after a moment. “Are perhaps one of the smartest people in that room.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“You recognized the situation for what it was. Rachel Cooper is a nightmare of the highest degree,” Cordelia continued, her steady gaze holding mine. “She’s been desperate to date my son for a long time now, despite his assurances otherwise.”
“Despite him telling her where to go, you mean.”
“Well, yes.” Her lips twitched. “I recognized what you did immediately. Like I said—you’re incredibly smart, Mallory, and I like you. You could go far in this industry, and I don’t just mean as my husband’s assistant. I’ve watched you network tonight, and to someone who didn’t know you were nervous, you’ve handled it like a pro.”
I swallowed and sipped. “Thank you.”
“You won’t deny you were nervous?”
“No offense, but have you ever met yourself?”
She laughed, dropping her head back. “I suppose I can be quite overbearing.”
“Quite overbearing? You strong-armed me into this. If I weren’t here, I’d be at home watching Netflix with no pants on and eating my body weight in ice-cream.”
Another laugh escaped her. “Well, I wanted to meet you. What can I say?” The smile that lit up her face was different than the others—there was a warm tone to it that made me smile, too.
She took a long drink of her wine until it was at a similar level to what it was when she came in here, then she took one more sip.
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Time to get back to it.” She smiled at me, a genuinely warm smile that reached her eyes and made them shine, and walked to the door.
There, she stopped.
Slowly, she turned, making eye contact with me. “Mallory?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t recommend wearing a dress like that to work. My son is easily distracted.” Her lips twitched once, giving the slightest illusion of a smile, but it was the glint in her eye that made me blush.
With that, she left, making sure the door clicked behind her.
Hooooo-ey.
I was in trouble.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – MALLORY
“All right?” The voice in my ear was low and breathy, and I jumped.
I’d not long gotten whisked into a conversation with Cordelia and her friends that’d lasted far too long for my liking. Not to mention I hadn’t been able to offer anything until one of the women had mentioned being after a lodge in the mountains.
Then, I’d been everyone’s best friend. I’d avoided the Broughton Lodge, knowing that Cynthia wanted it—and she happened to be present—but I offered inside information on the one I knew I was listing on Monday.
Cordelia had just about burst with happiness.
Now, I was alone, and it was Cameron who’d snuck up behind me and whispered in my ear.
I nodded. “Your mom corralled me for a while, but I think one of her friends are going to call about that new lodge first thing on Monday?”
“See?” He slid beside me, one hand touching my back. “And you thought you’d hate this all.”
“Oh, I didn’t say I liked it.”
He laughed, stepping into me. “Ready for a break?”
I nodded, and he guided me out of the back door to a decking a little further away from the house. It was set high up in the town, and the decking looked out over the town I called home.
Lights blinked all over, and it was early enough in the year that we could still see the vague outline of the mountains behind it. It was barely there, but it was beautiful all the same.
Solar lights pinged to life as we took to the seating area, but instead of sitting, Cameron went to the fencing that surrounded the area.
I joined him, leaning against it the way he was. “It’s so quiet here.”
He nodded. “They got the best plot in town, no doubt about it. You wouldn’t believe there was an entire neighborhood here.”
“Nope. It’s amazing. There’s so much space.”
“Well, it won’t surprise you that what Mom wants, Mom gets.”
I laughed. “Not at all.”
He sighed, twirling the whiskey glass. “You’ve handled this well, you know. Tonight. All these people. Being out of your depth.”
I took a deep breath. “I hope so. Your mom saw what I’d done with Rachel, and she liked it. She doesn’t like her.”
“Never has. Doesn’t stop Rachel trying, though.”
“I almost admire that kind of tenacity.”
“Don’t. I dated her cousin, and she’s still trying to date me.” He shook his head and sighed before standing up straighter. “My mother usually nips those in the bud, but she’s persistent.”
“She’s persistent all right. Your mom actually thanked me for it.”
He laughed, looking over at me. “She likes you. I can’t remember the last time she was so nice to someone who was outside her friendship circle.”
I wasn’t going to tell him what she’d said—or what she’d implied with her comment about my dress.
The last thing I wanted was for anything to happen because of this damn dress.
I was going to burn the fucking thing.
“Thank you,” Cameron said. He nudged my arm and smiled. “For making this night more bearable than it would have been otherwise.”
I clutched my glass a little tighter and met his eyes. God, they were fucking dreamy. “You’re welcome. Thank you for making it so that I didn’t really have to talk to anyone.”
“And you didn’t even trip over.”
“Yet,” I said. “Yet. The night is still young.”
He dropped his head and laughed, shaking it gently. “It’s mostly over now if you want to leave. You don’t have to stay here any longer.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me.”
Peering over at me, his lips tugged to the side. “No. I was just letting you know that the option was there.”
“Well, thank you,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. “Are you bundling me into a car and sending me home?”
“No.” He chuckled. “I was going to get in the car with you and take you home. My mother would have a fit if I sent you alone. Besides, if I take you home, I don’t have to come back.”
“Ahh, I knew there was an ulterior motive.” I shook my head and tutted. “You’re using me to make your grand escape.”
“Well, I was trying to hide that part, but since you pushed…”
I rolled my eyes and stood up straight. “It’s not enough that I make you coffee and schedule your appointments, is it?”
“You do make good coffee,” he mused, straightening up. “Are you ready?”
“If I don’t take these shoes off soon, I might just rip off my feet,” I admitted. “I rarely wear heels.”
“Why? Because you fall over thin air?”
I glared at him as I finished my wine. “Remember who makes your coffee. Carry on, and I’m going to start making it with salt.”
Cameron shuddered and took the empty glass from me. We made our way back inside, where he handed the glasses to a server with an empty tray and touched my back again. “Can you see my parents? We should say goodbye before we go.”
I scanned the room. “She’s in the middle of a conversation in the living room, but your dad is standing by the fireplace.”
Almost as if I’d summoned him, Cameron’s dad turned and looked at us, nodded once, and started walking toward us.
“Leaving now?” he asked, smiling warmly.
“Yeah. We don’t want to interrupt Mom, so can you tell her we said goodbye?” Cameron asked.
He nodded. “Of course. Mallory, it was lovely to meet you.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek.
I smiled. “You, too. Thank you for having me here tonight.”
“My pleasure.”
We waved and left, and I took a deep breath as soon as the car engine rumbled to life.
Cameron laughed next to me. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels like that whenever I leave their house.”
I looked over at him. “I don’t mean it like that. More like, I can finally sit down without wondering if I’m being stared at, and I don’t have to worry about hiding the fact I’m a klutz.”
“You worry about hiding that?”
“Would you have hired me if you’d known before that I would one, step out in front of your car because I was daydreaming; two, spill coffee all over your desk; and three, send my work flying across the floor because I can’t shut a window?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Well, first, the window wasn’t your fault. Mostly.”
“Mostly.”
“And we all spill coffee.”
“And the car?”
“I got nothing, Mallory. Most sane people don’t walk out in front of cars.”
“But would it have stopped you hiring me?”
He paused. “It would have made me hesitate. For what it’s worth, I’m glad I didn’t know any of that. I like working with you.”
I smiled and pushed some hair behind my ear.
“When you’re not spilling coffee all over my desk.”
I dropped the smile.
He stared at me for a minute before bursting into laughter. I wanted to stay mad, but his laugh was so infectious, that all it took was one small nudge from him and I was laughing along with him.
The ride to my house didn’t take long, and we took the rest of it in silence. It was a comfortable one, and through it, my mind started to wander.
Not far. Just to what he looked like under that white shirt, but never mind.
The car pulled up outside my house. The porch light clicked on, illuminating my mom’s flowerbeds, and I swear I saw a curtain twitch.
It wasn’t that late, but Dad had mentioned taking Mom out for drinks, so I assumed they were out doing whatever it was fifty-something-year-old people did in bars.
I wouldn’t know. I didn’t hang out with my parents in bars.
That left Great Aunt Grace and Grandpa. Grandpa would have already put his ornery ass in bed, but I had no doubt that Aunt Grace was up waiting for me to come home so she could snoop.
Cameron opened my car door for me and offered his hand. I took it, stepping out, with my clutch held tight to my stomach. The wind had picked up while we’d been at his parents’. My stomach fluttered as our eyes briefly met, and I ducked my head to get rid of the feeling.
Boss, Mallory. He’s your damn boss.
My hormones needed to settle their tea kettle.
Cameron shut the door behind me and walked me to the front door. The curtains definitely twitched, and if he saw it, he was smart enough not to mention it.
We stopped on the doorstep and turned to each other. It felt like the ending to a date in a flirty movie—you know, the guy walks the girl to the door, they thank each other for the night, then he leans in, kisses her slowly, hand in her hair…
I swallowed and took a step back from Cameron. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
He smiled. “My pleasure. Thank you for coming tonight, even though you really didn’t want to.”
“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“I know. But still.”
I looked up at him as a gust of wind circled us, taking my hair with it. I made a squeaking noise as my hair whipped around my face, blowing into my mouth and over my eyes.
Cameron laughed, and the next thing I knew, he was standing right in front of me, and his fingers were on my skin.
His fingertips brushed across my forehead and down my cheek, brushing the hair away from my eyes. It was a feather-light touch, yet it burned me. I was hyperaware of him, of every curve and line of his face, of how the pad of his finger was dangerously soft as it glided to tuck my hair behind my ear.
With a dry mouth, I forced myself to swallow the best I could.
His eyes were bright and wide, but there was a slight shadow in them, like he was holding something back.
I was holding something back.
My lips.
I wanted to kiss his goddamn face off.
But I didn’t.
Not even when he dropped his gaze to my lips for a fleeting second. In fact, the look was so short I may have even imagined it.
Until he did it again.
I definitely didn’t imagine it.
My boss was looking at my lips like he wanted to kiss them.
Abort. Mission.
I cleared my throat and stepped back, slicing through the tension. He did the exact same thing, except he went down the step onto the path. We stared awkwardly at each other for a moment.
Cameron coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll see you Monday morning?”
“Afternoon,” I corrected him. “You have viewings all morning.”
“Crap.”
“I’ll check the diary and email them to you tomorrow.”
He grinned. �
�Thanks. You’re the best.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t put salt in your coffee just yet.” I smiled, gripping hold of the door handle. “See you Monday.”
He winked and turned back to the car, leaving me to push open the front door and, blissfully, enter a silence house.
Thank God for that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – MALLORY
My phone was ringing incessantly.
I gripped the towel around my body tightly and ran across the house, trying to stop my towel turban from falling in the process of making it to my room. The ringing stopped, only to immediately start up again.
“Goddamn it, who’s calling me at this stupid hour?”
It was seven-thirty in the morning. The only phone call I wanted at seven-thirty was Cameron telling me I could have a day off.
As luck would have it, the name on the screen was Cameron, but given how enthusiastically he was calling me, it wasn’t to give me a day off.
“Hello?”
“Mallory! I’m in trouble.”
“Oh, God. Do I need to bail you out of jail?”
“What?” He laughed. “No, but good to know you’re willing, should the need ever arise.”
I slumped onto my bed. “What’s the problem?”
“My grandfather wants to look at some properties this afternoon. I don’t have time to go to the office to get the information on the houses he wants to see. Can you do me a huge favor and run by the office and bring them to my house?” He rushed the words out. “I’m running stupidly fucking late because my alarm didn’t go off, and I’m basically going property to property today.”
“Uh… Okay. When do you need them?”
“In the next thirty minutes.”
I looked down at my wet, towel-clad body. “All right, but I should warn you that I just got out of the shower, and the fanciest thing I’m going to be wearing is yoga pants.”
“You’re good. It’s fine. Go into the office late. Can you do it?”
I made a noise that sounded vaguely like a starving raccoon before ultimately giving in. “Text me your address.”
“You’re the best ever, and I owe you dinner. I’ll send it right now. I’ll leave the front door unlocked for you. Gotta go.” He hung up before I could say goodbye.
