“He’s not here for you,” I lied. “But our conversation is not done, Ms. Haley. Come back here tomorrow at seven a.m. I need to ask you a few more questions.”
“And you’d better not mention a word about our night together to anyone,” she warned. “I just started working here, and I don’t want people thinking I got this job because of anything other than my skills. What’s left of my job, at least.”
She strode toward the door like she owned the place.
I stood there, stunned. She’d brushed past me like I was nothing.
“I’m not done with this conversation, Lexi,” I called after her, my tone a low warning, meant to stop her in her tracks.
She spun around at the door, fury lighting her features. “Well, in that case, HR is waiting outside to do what you can’t.”
Oh, the sass on this woman.
I turned away, determined not to watch her leave. But even as I faced away, I could see her movements reflected in the glass as she reached for the doorknob.
God, how I hated her.
8
LEXI
Iwalked to the elevator, my heart pounding as my legs threatened to buckle beneath me. Kacie was watching, so I forced myself to move steadily until the elevator doors slid shut behind me. Only then did I lean against the wall, my breath coming fast.
I’d slept with my boss.
Well, technically, he was many levels above me. But he wasthe boss.
I thought about telling Sasha how the man had scored a twenty in bed on a scale of one to ten and winced at the memory. Of course he’d been good—men like him had to be the best ateverything.
Now I knew why he had given off that commanding aura. He wasn’t just another businessman. He was interim CEO of Altika, poised to become its permanent leader. The man was worth billions.
And I hated how my traitorous body had still reacted to him back there.
I swallowed down every inappropriate thought and squared my shoulders.
I couldn’t even revisit that night in my dreams anymore. Who fantasized about their boss?
But that jawline …
I couldn’t stop my thoughts from wandering. I pictured him again, the beautiful body, and those intense brown eyes.
He was easily eight inches taller than me, and at five-foot-six, I had to look up to meet his eyes.
He had wanted to keep his expression passive, but I had seen the flicker of emotion on his face when I walked in.
What had my own face given away in return? Had he seen my mouth fall open in surprise, followed by a stupid flutter of hope at seeing him again before I covered it up a second too late?
He was stunned, but he recovered in an instant. I thought I’d be fired for my insolence. Instead, he’d let me stay and set a challenge for me, perhaps just biding his time to kick me out.
The arrogant jerk.
My skin flushed as I thought about how kind he’d been at the bar. He hadn’t been arrogant then.
When the elevator doors opened on my floor, I stepped out and hurried back to my desk.
“Lexi, where were you?” Brian asked as I slid into my chair.
Stacey turned around, her eyebrows raised. “Your face is red,” she observed. “Are you okay?”
