“Roger organized a last-minute meeting yesterday. Parker told me to add it to his calendar.”
Dread fills me. That’s what she was trying to tell him in the hallway. I turn and see Parker standing in the doorway of his bedroom, tugging on a pair of sweatpants. “What’s happened?”
“You had a breakfast meeting with Roger this morning.”
I hear Taylor’s sudden intake of breath but ignore it. I’m too focused on Parker and too panicked about what this means. “Taylor added it to your calendar yesterday.”
While he was distracted by me in his office.
Parker frowns, and I can see the realization hit him. His scowl is back. “Where is my phone?”
I find it on the couch where he discarded it last night and hand it to him. “It’s off.”
His lips press tightly together, his scowl deeper than I’ve ever seen. “Give me your phone.”
His tone is gruff and irritated, and he is every bit the ruthless grump he’s played since I met him.
I don’t like it.
I hand him the phone.
He holds it to his ear and walks into his bedroom. “Where’s the meeting?”
I follow him and watch as he pulls a suit from his wardrobe and starts to dress. “Tell him I will be there in fifteen minutes.”
He hands the phone back to me and storms into his en suite.
I press the phone to my ear. “Taylor?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” It’s mine. I’m his assistant. I should know his schedule.
I hang up and listen as water splashes and cupboard doors slam shut.
He storms out of the bathroom, freshly shaved, and grabs a shirt off a hanger.
“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t come back here, you wouldn’t have turned your phone off and missed the calendar reminder.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” He shakes his head, looking furious but not at me. “I turned it off because I wanted to, but I can’t want things that jeopardize my career. I’ve worked too hard. I have a business to run and clients depending on me.”
He tugs on his suit jacket, barely looking at me as he goes through the motions of getting ready. “I don’t have the freedom and flexibility to turn my phone off whenever I feel like it or go gallivanting across Europe as if I have no responsibilities.”
Whatever unspoken plans we’d shared moments ago are gone.
Regret flashes in his eyes, and for a moment, it seems like he might apologize, but instead, the scowl I’ve spent three months trying to smooth is back.
Any hope I had that this might become more is gone.
But I don’t blame him. His passion for his clients is one of the things I admire about him. If I’ve jeopardized his relationship with Roger, I’ll be even more devastated than I feel in this moment.
I keep my swirling emotions in check, walk to his wardrobe, and pick a gray tie to match his suit. I can feel him watching me, but I focus on looping and tucking the tie around his neck. “You’re one of the best attorneys in the city. Roger would be crazy to give you up over a missed breakfast.”
“Paige—”
“Don’t.” I shake my head, look up at him, and force a smile. “I shouldn’t have asked. Your work is important, and so is Roger. You need to go, and I need to shower.”
His eyes skate down my body as if he’s coming out of his panicked haze and just realizing I’m still naked.
