Elijah nodded. “I understand.” His eyes skimmed over me. “You’ve lost weight.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been busy and working out a little more.”
That was a lie. Sure, I was going for walks after dinner because it helped me sleep more than two or three hours at night, but that was the only exercise I was getting. Mostly, I had no appetite. When I was hungry, nothing I ate tasted good, so I picked at it. I didn’t think he believed me, but Elijah didn’t argue.
“You don’t have to worry about your job while I’m here,” he said, changing the subject. “I know you’re very good at what you do.”
“Okay.”
He studied me as though he was waiting for me to say something else. When I didn’t, he pushed away from the wall and came toward me. I took half a step back before I realized it. I planted my feet and stared up at him when he stopped a foot away.
“Look, Grier, I was hoping we could talk?—”
“There you are!” Davide exclaimed, coming around the corner.
I could have kissed him for saving me from a painful conversation with Elijah. No doubt he wanted to tell me that it would be best if we acted like nothing happened between us while he was working here.
“Let’s go to my office and discuss what you’ll need to know before my time here is up,” Davide continued.
The bells above the door tinkled through the air and I nearly sighed with relief. “I’ll see who that is,” I offered, not waiting for a response.
As I passed him, Davide and I shared a telling look. I knew we’d be discussing this development when we were alone. This day was turning out to be a shitshow. I only hoped it wasn’t a sign of what was to come.
Chapter Fourteen
I managed to avoid Elijah for three days.
Davide made it easy. Under the guise of showing him the ropes, my boss, and newly appointed best of the best friend, kept Elijah out of the main area of the gallery where my desk was. I basically saw him when we came into work in the morning and when it was time to leave in the afternoon. That Friday, however, my luck ran out.
I decided to take a half day off and to get a head start on my first Saturday off in weeks. Since the gallery was open Saturdays and closed Sundays, I often worked six days a week since starting the job. Davide gave me one Saturday a month off, and this weekend was my Saturday. The fact that it gave me a chance to evade Elijah for two whole days…well, that was just a bonus.
As the clock approached one p.m., I headed back toward Davide’s office. As he had the other three days this week, he had taken Elijah back there as soon as he arrived and stayed inside with the door shut.
I knocked on the door, already braced to see Elijah.
“Come in!” Davide called.
I opened the door and stuck my head in. “If you’re still okay with me taking the rest of the day off, I’m going to go.”
“Of course. We’re pretty much done here for the day anyway.”
“Great. I’ll see you Monday.”
My eyes briefly met Elijah’s, but I backed out of the office and shut the door without saying anything to him.
I greeted him in the morning and said good-bye in the afternoon. I hadn’t needed to talk to him other than that. I knew that I was supposed to be training alongside him, but I was grateful I’d had this week to adjust to his presence.
Next week…next week I would be ready to act as though nothing had happened with Elijah. I just needed a couple more days to get my head screwed on straight.
I was probably lying to myself, but I didn’t care. Denial was the only way I was going to get through the next few months. Though I knew it was futile, I’d still updated my resume and started applying for jobs. If I managed to get an interview, I would just explain that my new place of employment was bought out, and I couldn’t continue working there. It wasn’t a complete lie. In fact, it was the truth. I wasn’t sure I could continue working at the gallery once Davide was gone and Elijah was there full-time.
I forcefully shoved those thoughts from my mind and walked back to my desk to shut down my computer and retrieve my purse from the bottom drawer. When I turned from the desk, I nearly ran face-first into Elijah’s chest. I squeaked and stutter stepped. My toe caught on the leg of my chair, and I landed against him with a grunt.
Why in the heck was I always stumbling into this man? Was the universe trying to torture me?
His hands came up to grab me and keep me from falling to the floor. My breasts were pressed to his upper abdomen and one of my thighs was between his. A hot flush swept through me at the contact. Unthinking, I tilted my head back to look at his face, which put our lips only a few inches apart. I couldn’t look away as he gazed down at me, his blue eyes moving over my face.
His head moved, just a bit, as though he was about to kiss me. The slight shift broke the spell that had fallen over me. I stiffened and took a step back. His hands held onto my shoulders, as though he wanted to keep holding me before he let go.
