“I’m kidding,” I said, putting him out of his misery.
He shook his head but offered me his trademark lopsided smile.
Victory. Victory. Victory.
I reached for the coat, and his hot hand brushed over mine. A cold shiver danced up my spine, and I almost flinched.
Because I was cold. It must be. It had to be.
He straightened and moved his hand back to his side before scratching his head, then his neck, and then his ear. “Your hands are freezing. You can… um,” he said, and swallowed hard before looking away, “take a hot shower downstairs in the basement.” He blew out a quick breath. “There’s an emergency stairwell out and to your left. It’ll take you straight down so you won’t have to walk through the office. Um… Yeah.” He spun back to his laptop screen and drummed his fingers on the desk.
Lincoln Carden was the most bashful man I’d ever come across. If I changed behind the divider, it may even kill him.
Which was kind of adorable.
“Why do you have so much clothing here? Living out of the office?” I asked.
“Some sites are muddy and dusty, and then the next meeting has me in a politician’s office asking them to trust me on a high-risk technical design. It wasn’t a good look for me, and they didn’t appreciate the mess I’d stomped in.” He turned to his closet once more and grabbed a towel before handing it to me. “It’s clean.”
“Thank you.”
Finally, he met my gaze. The office always felt far too intimate when Mr. Carden looked directly at me. There was an intensity behind those dark eyes that held me in place and tugged at my well-kept secrets. If I stayed too long, I’d tell him everything. After living a life avoiding attention, I spent the last few weeks wanting to be perceived by him.
“I’ll start bringing in my spare clothing then in preparation for all the site visits you’re going to let me do,” I said, but it came out as a squeak.
He looked away and gestured to the window behind him where raindrops blurred the view. “Or in preparation for climate change.”
Before he could look my way and pin me down with a glance, I spun around and zoomed out of our office. I padded downstairs and found the bathroom in the basement. I locked the door and peeled off the dress that still clung to my skin. After turning on the shower, I stepped inside, warming my cold bones.
Safe from hypothermia, I climbed out and dried off using his cotton towel.
Do I give it back now? Take it home first and wash it?Probably.
The soft black shirt smelled like citrus, but the coat smelled like citrus and something else, sandalwood maybe. Like Mr. Carden. Clean and safe. My hands slipped into the pockets, and I pulled out a lanyard with a conference card attached to it.
Mr. Lincoln Carden—Presenter. Underneath his name was his photo. His hair was the same length with the same unruly, blackcurls. His deep brown eyes somehow set me at ease and made me nervous beyond my understanding. Based on this, he didn’t smile back in 2022 either.
With the cowboy boots on, I was sure this was an outfit that would give my mother a heart attack, but upon seeing my reflection in the full-length mirror… I quite liked it.
When I walked into our office, Mr. Carden’s gaze raked along the length of my body.
“Thanks again,” I said before clocking the headset he was already wearing. I slipped behind the divider and sent him an email instead.
He replied within seconds.
No prob. Get moving on those corrections. I wanna wrap it up so we can move onto traffic analysis.
In what had become a comfortable silence between us, I opened the project. I glanced over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes, wishing I could see him. All I heard was furious typing.
When I eventually sent off my design, I heard his email ping on the other side of the divider.
I heard him click through.
And then I heard him sigh.
“That bad?” I yelled, popping up on my side of the divider.
Mr. Carden snapped backward, nearly falling out of his chair. He ripped off his headset, and his hand landed over his heart. “Elizabeth! Don’t jump up like that.”
