I sighed. “Yes, but--.”
“And I sign off on your paycheck, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Also, yes, but I know--.”
“Then, do the work, or come Monday morning someone else’s name will be on your door plaque.”
And that’s when an idea occurred to me. “Okay.”
He tilted his head. “Right, okay. Get it done. I want it on my desk by Monday at eight.”
I sat back down in my chair. “Fair enough, but close the door on your way out. I need to focus, after all.”
A beat of silence passed before he reached for the doorknob. “Fine with me.”
The second he closed my door I dug out my phone. I had to flip some plans on Michael, but if I had to stay late that didn’t mean I had to ditch the man. I simply had to get him to agree to pick up the food so he could bring it to my office. It took a bit of finagling, especially since he had made reservations once again. But, with him being a doctor he understood a hectic and unreliable schedule.
So, it only took fifteen minutes to move our date from a French bistro across town to my office.
* * *
I’m not an idiot.I knew the game Rebecca was playing. I knew what she was doing, and it sure as hell wouldn’t work. Eavesdropping had become a skill of mine, and she really needed to learn how to lower her voice when talking on her cell phone during her lunch break.
I knew she had a date for tonight.
And I knew she had managed to shift the date into her office since I had dropped all of that work in her lap.
“Guess it’s on to Plan B,” I murmured.
After everyone had left for the evening, I made my way down to the secretarial desk on Becca’s work floor. I stood midway between the two elevators, waiting for whoever the fuck this guy was to pop up. I relaxed in the chair and swiveled between the two metal doors. I kept checking my watch, wondering when the hell this asshole was going to show up.
Then, I heard the elevator to my left kick into gear.
“There we go,” I whispered as I stood to my feet.
I walked into the middle of the hallway and clasped my hands in front of me. I stood there with a pleasant smile on my face as the elevator grew closer. The whirring finally came to a stop before the metal sliding doors eased open, and I found myself face to face with a plain-looking man donning a white coat.
He didn’t even bother getting dressed up for the occasion.
Idiot.
“May I help you?” I asked.
The man smiled. “Hi there. The name’s Michael. I’m looking for Rebecca Loren’s office.”
I nodded. “Right, right. Well, she obviously didn’t tell you about our late-night policy.”
He snickered. “Your what?”
I plucked the food bag from his hand before taking the drink tray he balanced in the other. “No dates while someone is still clocked in for work. But I’ll see to it that she gets her meal.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a real thing,” he said as he tried to take the food back.
But my face fell into a scowl as I withheld the food. “Turn around and leave the way you came.”
“Or what?”
I took a step toward him and gazed down at him since I clearly had at least four inches on the man. “Or I will see to it that my security guards downstairs escort you out.”
