“Thanks for the conversation,” Reese said.
“Don’t forget what I told you, eh?” A guard appeared next to Rico. Rising from his stool, he let the man lead him away.
As far as Reese was concerned, he had hit another dead end. He needed answers. He wasn’t quitting until he had them. He wished he knew which rock to turn over next.
Ignoring the tightness in her chest, Kenzie stepped out of the shower, once more back in the apartment next door to Reese’s. Hurriedly, she dressed and prepared for their return trip to Dallas. It was still early. She had no idea where Reese was or what she should say to him when he returned. A dozen different scenarios ran through her head, but she cast them away. She had no idea what to say the morning after a night of passionate sex with her boss, no idea what he would say to her.
In the end, she opted to let Reese set the tone.
One thing was certain, Monday morning she would start looking for another job. As she’d promised, she wouldn’t leave Reese high and dry. She would stay long enough to help him find a replacement, which was only fair since she was the one who had seduced him.
Sighing as she padded toward the kitchen desperate for a cup of coffee, she gasped at the sight of a tall, handsome man standing at the kitchen counter with a bouquet of roses in his hand.
“Good morning.” Reese held up a key. “I’ve got the master,” he said, smiling. Which explained how he’d gotten in.
He handed her the bouquet, leaned down, and softly kissed her. “I was hoping you’d still be in bed when I got back, but I should have remembered you like to get an early start on the day.”
She looked down at the roses and her eyes stung. She wondered if they were a parting gift, if he gave all the women he slept with roses the morning after.
“Thank you.” She clutched the beautiful roses to her breast. “They’re beautiful.”
He must have read something in her face. “What’s the matter? You aren’t regretting last night, are you?”
She managed to smile. “I’ll never regret last night, Reese. It was special. At least for me.”
Reese took the roses from her hand and set them on the kitchen counter, gently took her shoulders, urging her to look at him. “Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours. If you don’t regret last night, what’s wrong?”
She sighed. “Nothing’s wrong. I understood what would happen when I spent the night with you. Now I’m ready to face the consequences. I’ll start looking for someone to take my place as soon as we get back.”
Reese frowned. “I thought you understood. What happened between us last night has nothing to do with your job. You’re my executive assistant. The most competent one I’ve ever worked with. I don’t expect you to quit because we’re seeing each other.”
Seeing each other?“You aren’t serious. There’s no way we could possibly keep a relationship between us secret.”
“I don’t intend to. There’s no rule about employees dating. If I weren’t CEO, it wouldn’t be a problem. Other couples in the office have relationships.”
Couples?Relationships?Had Reese just used those words?
“We talked about this last night,” he continued. “We both know it might not work out, but I assumed you thought it was worth the risk.”
“Youareserious.”
He smiled but for the first time looked uncertain. “I want to see where this goes. I thought you’d want that, too.”
She wanted it. She wanted it so much she ached with it. “I don’t know... I...I hadn’t thought that far ahead. It seemed so impossible, I never really considered it.”
Reese leaned down and kissed her. “How about this weekend? Dinner on Saturday night?”
Kenzie shook her head, still off balance and slightly dazed. “I can’t, Reese. I’d love to go, but I have plans with Griff and Gran for the whole weekend. I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared for this to happen. I hope you understand.”
“Of course I understand. You have a family to consider. I’ll give you some time, whatever you need. We’ll work things out when I see you next week.” He gave her one of his rare, beautiful smiles. “You’re my executive assistant. I’m sure you can find time in my busy schedule for us to be together.”
Her heart pinched. Surely this attraction they were feeling could never work out. Or could it? Was she willing to take the chance?
With all the doubts swirling around in her head, she gave him the best smile she could muster. “I’ll take care of it,” she said.
FOURTEEN
Reese spent the weekend working, mostly to keep his mind off Kenzie. He had always been so sure of her, always counted on her for whatever he needed.
