But I was her fucking boss.
I couldn’t have another incident like the other night, when I’d circled my arms around her and taught her how to hold a knife and cut.
Even though those few minutes had been the happiest ones I’d had all goddamn week.
My hands and arms needed to stay the hell away from her, so I stepped back and moved to the wall, pushing myself into it. “Go ahead.”
She stared at me for several seconds, as though she was confused. “Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s the start of dinner.” She tucked a loose chunk of dark hair behind her ear. “You’re not working tonight?”
The thought of not being able to see her all evening made me fucking ache.
“Are you my boss, Alivia? Is there some change in hierarchy that I don’t know about? Because the last time I checked, I didn’t have to give you an explanation about anything I did.”
She shook her head, her smile fading. “You’re right.”
“Since you’re so fucking inquisitive, Keith is taking over this evening. You can waste his time with your questions instead of wasting mine.”
“I’ll do that, Chef.”
“Chef?” I raised my brows, not remembering her calling me that before.
“I really wanted to call you a dickhead, but I don’t want to be fired.” She gave me a wink as she walked past me and headed for the kitchen.
The knock on my office door made me palm the piece of paper I’d been reading, ball it up, and toss it across the room.
My throat tightened as I roared, “What?”
The door opened, and Eden popped her head through, the dark pieces of her hair falling into her eyes. “Hi.” She drew out the word, almost fucking singing it.
“Why are you so goddamn happy?”
“Because I’m seeing you.” She opened the door further, showing she wasn’t alone—Colson had come with her. “Have a second?”
“Are you giving me any other choice?”
She walked in and took a seat in front of my desk, Colson doing the same after he closed the door.
I crossed my arms, preparing my nerves for the fucking nonsense I was about to hear. “Go on. Hit me with it. I know you’re not here because you miss me.”
“We came for a couple of reasons,” Colson explained,pushing up the sleeves of his light-blue sweater. “The first is to see how you’re doing, as it’s been a few days since you dropped the Alivia bomb on us.”
“I’m fine. And the second reason?”
Colson’s stare told me he didn’t believe me. I didn’t bother to look at Eden. I knew her expression would match Colson’s.
“To discuss James Ryne-Young’s charity auction,” he continued.
“Do you see that piece of paper right there?” I pointed at the ball I’d thrown right before they came in. “That’s how I feel about the auction and everything that needs to be done.”
Their eyes returned to me, and Eden said, “But you agreed to do it.”
She was right. The actress had caught me at a weak fucking moment.
I’d made the scallops, which was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to do, and as I was delivering them to the table, James asked if she could speak to me. She gave me a brief rundown of her plans for the event and asked if I’d volunteer to be the chef. For whatever reason, I glanced up and caught eyes with Alivia, who was bringing in the other plates of scallops, and before I fucking knew it, I had agreed.
