The Boss and the Beauty

by Donna Clayton

  He nodded slowly as he continued. “But you are saying that you polished yourself all up and flirted with me to get a better yearly assessment”

  Her gasp was audible. “Of course not! That’s not what I’m saying at all.”

  Frustration and defensiveness made her flush red as a beet. She was completely flustered, and thoughts started rolling off her tongue, like water gushing over boulders in dangerous white rapids.

  “My friends gave me this makeover as a gift,” she said, her vulnerable position causing her to speak more harshly than she’d intended. “I’ll have you know there was no other reason than that! And I only asked Mr. Barrington about his son’s support of Days of Knights because I wanted to know the project wouldn’t be cut...wouldn’t be killed after Mr. Barrington retired. We’ve worked too hard to let that happen. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with an employee who tries to find out how her boss feels about her performance.”

  She was blubbering, she knew. Half-truths and white lies were twisting her up in knots. However, she was powerless to arrest the outpouring of words and emotions. But then she paused. Was that merriment gleaming in his eyes? Indignation struck her like a lightning bolt from the blue.

  Her eyes narrowed accusingly. “Let’s not forget that you kissed me. It’s completely natural for a woman to want to find out why something like that would happen.” Plunking her hands on her hips, she said, “I did not flirt with you to get a better performance review. The mere idea is ludicrous. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

  Cindy exited Kyle’s office with as much grace as a lumbering pregnant elephant.

  Dam it! she thought. She’d gone in there to make him understand. To smooth out all the rough spots of their working relationship. And all she’d ended up doing was creating more turmoil and making herself look even more like an idiot than she already did.

  She’d bet a whole month’s salary that Kyle hadn’t believed a word she’d said. A sigh escaped her as she softly shut her office door. And she really couldn’t blame him.

  Kyle sat at his desk for longer than he cared to admit, pondering the scene that had just taken place in his office. He’d actually been pleased to see Cindy when she’d barged in on him. They had scarcely exchanged two words since their argument the day of the presentation. And she’d been on his mind incessantly since they’d shared those heated words...that heated kiss. The memory of those few passionate moments had filled him with hot desire. So much so that he’d been barely able to work. Barely able to think.

  She’d come to make peace, he’d known that. And he couldn’t quite figure out why he’d goaded her. But the color that had burned in her cheeks had been irresistible. As was the exasperation that had flashed in those gorgeous green eyes, the same eyes that stubbornly continued to haunt his dreams.

  He shoved the thoughts from his brain. He couldn’t allow such ideas to linger in his head. He simply couldn’t.

  But he continued to sit at his desk, ever so slowly drumming his index finger on the smooth oak as he became embroiled in figuring out the intriguing puzzle of her seemingly confused tirade just now. What was the meaning behind all the things she’d said? he wondered.

  She’d proclaimed that her makeover was a gift from her friends. A gift and nothing more than that.

  A small grin curled one corner of his mouth as he easily imagined her stomping her foot in childish frustration. He couldn’t help but question if maybe the change in her wasn’t as simple as she so obviously wanted him to believe.

  Let’s not forget that you kissed me.

  His smile widened as he remembered the accusation glittering in her jewel eyes. Oh, but she was a beautiful woman. Her curious comment about it being natural for a woman to find out why a man would kiss her nibbled away at his thoughts.

  Oh, he’d kissed her all right. And it wasn’t something he was likely to forget for a long time to come, no matter how hard he might try. That kiss had been invading his dreams, making them torturous and leaving him tossing and turning in his lonely bed night after long night.

  Again he cut the thought to the quick. He couldn’t afford to entertain such thoughts. It just wasn’t safe. Not after what he went through before.

  Get busy, he ordered himself. Think about something. Anything.

  Although knowing full well he had plenty of work needing to be done, several phone calls needing to be made, he continued to sit there, pondering.

  Wrapping her hands around the steaming mug of coffee, Cindy sighed. “I’m feeling so confused.”

  Olivia set down the saltine cracker she was nibbling. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Is there anything we can do?”

  Cindy shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anything anybody can do. Every day I come to work, things between me and Kyle seem to grow more...strange.”

  “From what you’ve told us—” Patricia rested her hands on the break room table “—I think the situation is more strained than strange.”

  There were nods of agreement around the table.

  A delighted chuckle bubbled from Molly. “Don’t be so glum, you guys. Sometimes strained is good.” Her hazel eyes danced. “It all depends on what’s causing the strain. Now tension caused from anger is bad, but—” she grinned “—tension caused from sexual attraction...now that’s good.” She waggled her brows suggestively.

  “So I guess we need to discover the exact cause of the strain between Cindy and Kyle,” Olivia said.

  “And here I thought that makeover had started him off with a bang,” Sophia said to the others, “seeing how he kissed her.”

  Cindy felt her skin grow warm with the mere mention of Kyle’s kiss. Goodness, how she’d dreamed about his mouth on hers. And the girls had been giddy with excitement when she’d told them about it. But she’d quickly assured them that the kiss hadn’t meant a thing. Not a thing.

  “Maybe she shouldn’t have confronted him like she did,” Rachel said.

  Cindy noticed how her friends, one by one, leaned forward a little as they discussed her situation. She really liked the fact that they were so concerned. It meant they cared. But it would have been nice to be included in the conversation.

  “Well, she had to do something.” Olivia paused long enough to sip her ginger ale. “She couldn’t let him go on believing she was thinking of leaving her job.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Molly piped up. “Sometimes it’s good to keep a man in the dark.”

  Rachel smiled as she shook her head. “You and your good things and bad things. And what, may I ask, makes you the expert?”

  Molly simply laughed in reply.

  “Well,” Sophia said, “if someone were to ask me what Cindy should do, I’d say—”

  “Pardon me, ladies,” Cindy softly interrupted, “but you’ve been talking about me like I’m not here.”

  There were several murmured apologies, and then Rachel said, “Well, tell us what you think is going on in Kyle’s head.”

  Cindy actually groaned, locking her gaze onto her coffee mug. “That’s what has me so confused. I was sure he was angry with me. But ever since I barged into his office to try to explain things to him, he’s been...different.”

  Noticing the quiet, Cindy looked up at her friends. The eager expectation they expressed—so obviously waiting for her to elaborate—would have made her laugh if she wasn’t feeling so darned miserable.

  “He’s continuing to act pretty standoffish toward me,” she told them. “And that’s what has me believing he’s still angry. But...” She hesitated, fretting over making more of what was on her mind than she should.

  “But what?” Rachel gently prodded.

  “Well, I feel him looking at me,” Cindy confessed. “I feel his eyes on me whenever we’re in the same room. I feel this strong...electricity.” She shook her head, feeling silly. Then she sobered. “I’m sure he’s staring at me. Studying me. And I’m not sure why.”

  “Not sure why?” Molly’s tone rose
just a bit. “It’s because there’s so much more to look at now.”

  Cindy knew her friend was talking about the makeover. Since her two odd and troubling incidents with Kyle, Cindy had considered reverting back to her old look: wearing her long, flowing skirts and her glasses, and brushing the soft, full curls from her hair. But she hadn’t.

  “I do have to admit,” Rachel said, “I’m a little surprised that you’ve gone on wearing your new clothes, your makeup and contacts. I mean, after things went so wrong after the presentation and you and Kyle ended up arguing—”

  “But why shouldn’t she look good?” Molly asked. “She’s thirty years old. She can’t let some man dictate how she should dress.”

  Cindy only wished she had Molly’s spunk. Guilt pinched her heart as she whispered, “I do like it. I like being the object of Kyle’s attention.”

  “Honey,” Olivia said, reaching out to touch her wrist, “you’re talking like there’s something wrong with you enjoying the fact that Kyle is noticing you.”

  The idea that Kyle was staring at her, noticing her, was the only reason she hadn’t gone back to her old style of dress. It bothered her more than she could admit to think that her physical appearance was the only reason behind Kyle’s interest. But the girls wouldn’t understand why she was bothered by that thought. They just wouldn’t, so she didn’t try to explain. The best thing to do was change the subject.

  “But what if I’ve got it all wrong?” she asked them, her tone expressing the idea that she was sure she did. Cindy thought about how the air actually seemed to snap and spark whenever she was with Kyle now. The feeling was so strong. But she was simply too afraid to hope, too afraid that she was imagining everything. “What if he isn’t staring at me with interest? What if he’s glowering at me because he’s still angry?”

  Shy Patricia leaned forward, her voice tentative as she said, “There is one way to find out.” All eyes turned to her. “You could accept some of those dinner invitations you’ve been receiving from other guys in the office.”

  Cindy frowned, not quite understanding Patricia’s advice.

  “Fantastic idea, Patricia!” Molly exclaimed. “She’s right, Cindy. You need to make Kyle jealous.”

  An uncomfortable prickling sensation swept over her. Oh, she couldn’t do something like that. That kind of behavior too closely mirrored what she’d grown up around. Besides, she’d already made the big mistake of testing Kyle.

  “I’m not so sure that would work,” she told Molly and Patricia. She hated to hurt their feelings, but she just couldn’t see herself involved in any more immature games. Again she tried to change the subject. “You know, I’ve tried for months to get close to Kyle. I’ve been wondering if maybe something happened in his past. Something that has made him... distrustful. Unable to give his heart.”

  “Oh, he doesn’t distrust women,” Molly declared. “He’s just playing hard to get. Men do that sort of thing all the time.”

  Seeming to sense Cindy’s discomfort, Rachel tossed her a sympathetic look.

  “Speaking of men,” Rachel said, “have any of you seen that new guy? The one who’s been delivering the mail the last couple of days?”

  “His green eyes are to die for,” Patricia said.

  “He is pretty cute,” Olivia observed quietly.

  Molly nodded. “He sure is. Tall, dark and handsome. And he’s the perfect candidate to make Kyle jealous.”

  Cindy shook her head frantically, her eyes wide.

  Laughter bubbled from Molly. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding.”

  Everyone chuckled, and concluding that Molly really was only teasing her, Cindy joined in.

  Meaning only to add to the joking atmosphere, she said, “Tall, dark and handsome, huh? I’ll have to check this guy out.”

  “Oh, you wouldn’t want to date Mike, Cindy,” Sophia said.

  The strange quality in Sophia’s voice had Cindy, and all the women, looking at the pretty blonde.

  “You already know his name, Sophia?” Rachel observed.

  Sophia’s spine stiffened with what Cindy could only guess was self-consciousness.

  “I do know his name,” Sophia said defensively. “But only because he travels right past my desk when he’s making his deliveries. But like I said, Cindy wouldn’t want to date him, even if she was only looking to make Kyle jealous. No self-respecting woman would go out with Mike.” Her voice lowered as she pointed out what seemed to her to be the obvious. “The man works in the mail room. How ambitious could he be?”

  “We’re only talking about dinner,” Molly said. “Besides, she wouldn’t actually have to go out with the man, she’d only have to...”

  The remainder of Molly’s comment went unsaid as the door to the break room opened and Kyle walked in. The group of women fell noticeably silent.

  Cindy was acutely aware of how quiet the room was. Panic swept over her like a huge ocean wave. Her heart pounded, her pulse raced and the temperature of the room seemed to heat up by ten full degrees.

  Kyle went directly to the large coffee urn and poured himself a cup. Still, the women remained mute.

  Cindy felt quite desperate all of a sudden and looked at her friends, silently begging them to continue making small talk. She certainly didn’t want Kyle guessing that the prominent silence was due to the fact that he’d interrupted their conversation—the topic of which had been how to go about making him jealous. But as she looked from Rachel to Molly, then to Olivia, Patricia and Sophia, Cindy saw so much merriment lighting all their gazes, she was sure they’d burst into mischievous giggles at any moment.

  They saw how uncomfortable she was feeling, she realized, due to Kyle’s presence. And they were really enjoying her misery! She threw them all a covert glare.

  Molly called out, “Hi, Kyle.”

  “Molly,” Kyle greeted. He nodded toward the table, saying, “Ladies.” His gaze zeroed in on Cindy as he crossed the few yards of tile floor between him and the table where they were all sitting.

  There it was! That current. Those heated vibrations that seemed to suck all the air out of the room. Cindy wondered if her friends felt it, too.

  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you this morning,” Kyle said to her.

  The rich timbre of his voice made the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The intensity expressed in his penetrating brown eyes was such that she felt as if she and Kyle were the only two people in the break room.

  “Are we still on for our two o’clock meeting?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I was able to get your plane reservations for the time you wanted.” Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears, and she could have kicked herself for not being more in control. “And the hotel—”

  He stopped her with an uplifted palm. “Enjoy your coffee break. We can discuss the details this afternoon.”

  Again she gave a silent nod.

  “Hey, girls—”

  Molly’s tone was loud enough to make Cindy start.

  “—maybe Kyle can help us convince Cindy.”

  A frown bit deep into Cindy’s brow. Convince her of what? Cindy frantically wondered. What the devil was Molly up to?

  Her gaze darted to Molly’s face, and Cindy was surprised and more than a little confused by the sudden, deep concern her friend seemed to be exhibiting.

  “There’s this new guy,” Molly explained to Kyle. “He works downstairs—”

  “In the mail room,” Sophia was quick to supply.

  Molly never lost a beat as she continued. “He’s really interested in Cindy, and we’re trying to get her to go out with him.”

  “I’m not doing this.” The warning in Cindy’s voice was clear, she thought. She had no interest in playing some game meant to make Kyle jealous.

  “We know,” Patricia chimed in. “That’s why we’re trying to get Kyle to help us convince you.”

  Cindy gasped softly. Patricia had purposefully misinterpreted what she’d said. Her words had
been twisted around to sound as though she was refusing to go out with Mike.

  “He’s a real cute guy,” Patricia continued. “Isn’t he, Olivia?”

  With her eyes wide now, Cindy’s looked at Olivia who seemed to be teetering on the edge of wanting to join in on the fun and staying out of the whole mess. Then Olivia smiled, her decision evidently made.

  “He is cute,” she said.

  They were all against her! Cindy silently wailed. Then her gaze leveled on Rachel. No, not all of them, she told herself. Surely Rachel wouldn’t let her be fed to these wolves she called friends. Tacit pleading was clearly written on her face as she looked at Rachel. However, Rachel’s attention was focused on Kyle.

  “Cindy says she can’t go out with this guy,” Rachel said, “because she’s out of practice. She says she wouldn’t know how to act on a date.”

  They were all against her! Every single one of them. Including Rachel. Cindy felt horrified by what her friends were doing to her. How was she ever going to face Kyle again? How was she ever going to explain?

  However, what she didn’t realize was that things were only going to go from bad to worse.

  “You know, Kyle,” Molly said. “This is all your fault.”

  What? Cindy was aghast.

  “Cindy wouldn’t feel so out of practice,” Molly went on, “if you didn’t keep her working such long overtime hours.”

  Patricia folded her fingers together, her face the epitome of innocence as she said to Kyle, “You know what would be nice? If you were to take Cindy out to dinner. You know, on a kind of pretend date. That way she’d get a little practice in before she accepted the dinner invitation from Barrington’s new mailman.”

  A pretend date? Where had Patricia come up with that idea? And all this time Cindy had thought Patricia was shy and timid. Why, the woman was cunning as a fox. By now Cindy’s eyes were clenched shut and her bottom lip was clamped firmly between her teeth. All she wanted to do was curl up in a tiny ball, slide right underneath the table and disappear.

  She couldn’t imagine how embarrassed Kyle must feel. Well, on second thought, she knew just how embarrassed he must feel. Because she was feeling the same. How was she ever going to face him at their meeting this afternoon? Maybe she should just take the afternoon off. Maybe she should put in for a transfer. Maybe she should take what clothes she had on her back and move to Outer Mongolia.