His arms around me squeezed gently. “That was amazing. Thank you. I’ve never had anybody stick up for me like that.”
He held me close for a long moment, my head tucked below his chin, before I felt a brush of his lips on my forehead, making the fact that his dad probably now hated me, worth it.
* * *
A few days later,Cathy acquired another office suite in the building to clean, and I asked her to add it to my schedule. She’d been concerned at how late that would have me leaving the building at night, but all I could see were dollar signs. The weight of my student loan wore so heavily on my mind, and I wanted nothing more than to be rid of it. My weekend in Idaho had been like a fuzzy dream, giving me a taste of what life could be, until I stepped back into my reality in Salt Lake. Now, I wanted nothing more than to be rid of the debt and the physical reminder of how far I still had to go to achieve my dreams. If I didn’t get the position at RDM, I’d have to save up for tuition again, but saving and paying for both at the same time would take too long. If I could dedicate myself and pay the whole thing off in less than a year, I could put it behind me and not think of it ever again. In fact, I’d pretend the whole thing never happened.
I didn’t want Duke to find out about me adding a new floor to my shift, because I knew he’d insist on helping me. And more than that, it was hard to concentrate on my goals in life when I had Duke’s full attention. He had a way of scrambling my head and altering my brain chemistry. Too much time spent in close proximity and his gaze would turn heated, and I’d start reminiscing about the pond and the way his lips had trailed up my neck and kissed just under my ear.
Yes. A little separation was responsible. And I told him so. We both had jobs to do and with Anita’s eyes trailing me everywhere, I didn’t want anything to jeopardize Duke’s credibility or my chance at this job.
He granted me space, but an ice-cold Dr. Pepper began showing up on my desk every morning. And some days, that was everything. That is, until he began to get suspicious.
“Nora. Can I see you in my office, please?”
I hesitated until I felt Anita’s eyes on me. Duke had tried texting me several times, but I always found a way to ignore his pressing question. I had no interest in explaining myself, but he called my name loud enough that the entire office heard him. He was my boss, and I had to go.
He wasted no time when I closed the door to his office.
“Why haven’t I seen you cleaning after work? Did you switch offices?” His intense gaze settled on me. Sexy, smoldering Duke in a suit at his desk was back, and he was almost hard to look at.
“No.”
“Where are you, then? I stayed late the past couple nights—”when I started to say something, he lifted his hands up in a pacifying gesture and continued,“formeetings,andyou were nowhere around. But the office is always clean the next day.”
It wasn’t his business. Boss Duke couldn’t make me tell him anything. But Friend Duke would pull it out of me eventually.
“I added another office to my routine. I do RDM last, and it puts me here an hour or so later.”
“What?” Duke nearly exploded. “You can’t do that. You’re already working until after nine most nights as it is. Can’t they ask someone else?”
“I wanted to take it.”
His gaze grew incredulous. “Why?”
I waited a long moment, trying to decide how to answer. “Are you my boss right now, Duke, or my friend?” I asked.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m just Duke.”
I fidgeted under his stare. “I’m hoping to work really hard and throw everything I make toward my loan to get it paid off in a year. If I try saving for tuition while I’m still paying the loan, it will take too long.” My eyes shifted, unable to watch the range of emotions crossing his face.
“You can’t keep up that schedule. You’re working yourself into exhaustion.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m coming to help you every night.”
“No, you’re not.” I marched forward to his desk, shaking my finger at him. “Duke, that’s not why I told you. Lots of people have two jobs. It’s only for a year. I can do this, and I don’t want your help.”
His jaw clenched, and his fists tightened, but ultimately, he sighed and nodded slowly. I walked out of his office not really knowing if I’d won the argument.
As I got closer to finishing the website, I’d had a few lovely phone calls with Bart and Birdie. It was always on speaker phone, usually going something like this:
Me(trying my best to project my voice without yelling directly into the phone): “Is there anything you’d like different on the About Us page?”
Bart:“What’d she say?”
Birdie (louder):“She asked about the page with our pictures on it.”
