“And did you listen to it?” I whispered.
“I don’t know, did I, Kelli?”
I nervously ran my fingers through my hair. That was Ian talking, but Mr. Greyson was in front of me. Boy did he look like Ian and boy did I like it.He’s your boss, Kelli, and remember he left you with no thought at all. “Um, well, the question is if you are listening to it now.”
His chest rose and fell dramatically. “Someday Kelli . . . we’re going to talk about the past.”
I shrugged my shoulders and took another large bite of ice cream. That was a dangerous and painful road. I wasn’t sure I was ready to take that road with him, now or ever.
“Kelli, I understand what you’re telling me now, but believe me, it’s not that simple. I had to learn the hard way not to mix my professional life with my personal life.”
“But you ended up with a very successful company,” I countered.
“After lots of mistakes and at great cost.”
I hesitated to ask, but I was so curious. “Is that why you’re divorced?”
He was about to take another bite of ice cream, but he slowly lowered his spoon and placed it back in the carton, gazing into my eyes. I got the feeling he didn’t like me mentioning he was divorced.
“I’m sorry, your personal life is none of my business.”
“Don’t apologize. Let’s just say I married for all the wrong reasons, business being one of them.”
I cocked my head. What an odd reason, but I left it at that. I honestly didn’t like to think of him married. It reminded me that I once hoped to marry him, and he rejected me.
“So . . . Kelli, can we call a truce at the office?”
I tossed my head back and forth as I thought about his request. “I guess so, Mr. Greyson, but I hold out my right to reserve a break in said truce when I feel it necessary.”
His eyes sparkled in all their rich deliciousness. “I would expect nothing less of you.”
THE REST OF THE WEEK had considerably fewer fireworks and blow-ups. I didn’t move the credenza, which I could tell irked him, but I wasn’t ready to completely give into him—maybe after a few months, if things went well. I wore jeans to work on Thursday just to test the waters.
He raised his eyebrow at me. “Please don’t wear those to our meeting tomorrow.”
“You don’t need to tell me that,” I not so politely responded.
I was actually a little taken aback that he wanted me to attend this particular meeting. It was with the largest health insurance provider in the state of Tennessee. They were interested in doing a pilot program using our ad software. Boss usually handled clients this large, so I was pleased that Mr. Greyson asked me to join him. In fact, he insisted I do the presentation. Of course, he gave me pointers and he meticulously went through my PowerPoint and notes. He wanted me to script out everything I was going to say, but I told him I didn’t work that way. I always worked with an outline that gave me room to adjust depending on the mood and interaction of those in attendance. “I need to be organic when I present. Just trust me, I’m good at reading people,” I informed him.
I could tell he didn’t like it, but he reluctantly gave in. I’m sure he had a backup plan in place, in case I screwed up.
When I arrived on Friday, I was dressed to kill. I pulled out thered pumps and a black dress that said,Hello. Mr. Greyson’s red and irritated eyes said just that when he saw me. Yep, he did a double take.
“I know it isn’t jeans, but I hope this works for you.” I smiled wickedly, leaning against Delfia’s desk. She had gone to make some copies.
He cleared his throat. “It’s very appropriate.”
“Remember when I said you need to work on your complimenting skills?”
“To properly compliment how you look would be inappropriate for the office.”
His response totally caught me off guard. “Why thank you.”
His eyes started watering.
“What’s wrong with your eyes? You look terrible.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bryant, for that observation. I’m having a terrible time with allergies. I’ve never had problems before. I even had to take my contacts out.”
