“Just tell me exactly what’s on your mind,” he said quietly.
For a moment, she didn’t say anything. She fidgeted a bit before rolling back onto her side to face him. “I think I’m extremely conflicted. If I didn’t need this job so damn much, I’d probably be holding up these blankets right now and begging you to join me under them.”
Damn.
“I’m sorry, Axel. My life is just…well…it’s a shitshow right now. And I know you’re not going to just give me the job because of my sob story. I can already tell that’s not the kind of man you are. I know you’re going to be fair about what I present to you.”
“And I already told you I was impressed as hell with what I saw. The other applicants didn’t put in half the work, and I already knew I didn’t want to hire them.”
“Okay, but…I feel like there’s still like a cloud over us. If you gave me the job, it wouldn’t be right to get involved or even have a fling. It would be weird, right?”
He couldn’t answer because he didn’t agree even a little bit. If all she wanted to give him was a fling, he’d be more than happy with it. His life wasn’t exactly conducive to having a relationship right now, and he certainly wasn’t looking for one.
But to have one night—or maybe a few more—with Maisie would be freaking amazing.
When the silence stretched on, she spoke up again. “And I feel like even if we waited until after my presentation, if you gave me the job, it would seem like I’m thanking you with sex. And again, that would be weird, right?”
Yeah, he didn’t have a problem with that either.
“There is no pressure here, okay? At all. I can separate the two, but if you’re not comfortable with that, then I will completely respect that.”
Maybe it was the play of the firelight, but Axel could have sworn that she looked disappointed.
“Thank you,” she whispered before yawning. “I think we should just call it a night and try to get some sleep.”
“I guess so.”
Her smile was sweet, and serene, and a little sleepy. “Goodnight, Axel.”
“Goodnight, Maisie.”
He watched as she rolled over and then forced himself to lie down and do the same. He didn’t fall asleep right away, but eventually the exhaustion got to him and he finally drifted off.
Me and my big, stupid mouth…
Yeah, that had been her thought on a continuous loop most of the night.
Men like Axel had never taken an interest in her, and his admission had completely flustered her. She’d never met anyone who was so brutally honest about what he wanted. It was so…raw and carnal, and just thinking about it now as the sun was coming up filled her with regret all over again. And now it was too late to do anything about it. It wasn’t like she could just roll over and say that she had changed her mind.
Could she?
No! No, you cannot!
But when she did roll over, she saw that Axel’s bed was empty.
Slowly, Maisie sat up, brushing her hair away from her face, and looked around. She spotted him standing next to the table where all her work was set up. He was in jeans, shirtless and barefoot, with his arms crossed. He was all tan, lean muscle and looked better than any man had a right to.
Quietly, she pushed the blankets away and got up. Her robe was at the foot of her bed, and she put it on over the coverup she used as pajamas. She would still have been fully covered without the robe, but she was a little self-conscious and wanted an extra layer covering her body.
When she padded over to the table and came to stand beside him, she wasn’t sure what to say.
“I’ve been standing here looking at all of your ideas,” he said, his voice low and a little scratchy, like he was still half asleep. “And I’m not trying to blow smoke or anything, but it’s almost like you saw into my head and what I envisioned for the resort.” Turning his head, he looked at her. “And I can’t figure out how you did it.”
Again, she fidgeted with her hair, hating how unprofessional and definitely unglamorous she must look. Plus, morning breath.
“I looked at the old photos,” she quietly replied. “And from everything Walker told me on our initial phone conversation, I knew you weren’t looking to change the style of the resort. It just really needed a refresh. So, I tried to think of the areas that needed the most work and what would be the most aesthetically pleasing to keep with the overall vibe. Naturally, anything can be changed. This was all just a starting point.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I took pictures of all of it and sent them to the guys.”
