“Does it really say that?” I moved, walking up to stand next to him. I bent down to see the form and shook my head. “Wow. This isn’t a typical evaluation.”
“I thought the same thing,” he said, his voice closer to me than before. “I circled fives for all the previous questions, if you want to take a look.”
“Sure.” I leaned against his desk and scanned the first page. He did circle all fives and added a little comment here and there. I read through his neat, font-like handwriting.Takes initiative. Quick learner. Able to make quick, safe decisions. Earned respect from all staff members.“These are nice, Brock. Thank you.”
“Of course. I know it started off rough, but you really proved yourself, kid.” He elongated the last word, making it sound flirtatious and insulting at the same time.
“Kid?” I whipped around, mouth open. “You did not just use that word on me. Haven’t we discussed this?”
“Yup. Sure did. I ignored your dislike of it.” He smirked, crossing his arms and looking way too damn pleased with himself. I did it without thinking, but I reached out and hit him. He pretended to look injured, but I ignored him and went back to the form.
“Next question, what are areas of strength for the intern?” I read out loud, looking back at Brock. His eyes were not on the paper but instead my face, and a small blush crept up at his attention. I waited until he met my eyes, and he slow, slow, slowly opened his mouth.
“Time management. Charisma. Work ethic,” he said with a lazy, rough voice. “Weakness. I wouldn’t say you have a weakness besides lack of experience. You’ll get there in time.” He took the pen from my hand, our fingers grazing each other briefly. He jotted down some notes and read the next question. “Any additional comments?”
I eyed him. He said the words like a wonderful threat. “Well?”
“None at this time. I’ll figure that out later. What is more important, though, is talking about your end of the year reflection. If I recall from my classes, you have to do an overall summary of all your hands-on experience. I figured we could start at the beginning and come up with some bullet points.”
“All right, if you can handle it,” I teased, leaning over to grab a pen and notebook. “Not sure if you can remember it all, old man.”
“I keep it all up here.” He pointed to his temple and gave me the most playful smile.
“Sure you do.” I rolled my eyes. “If I recall, you weren’t the nicest person when I started learning how to clean millions of water bottles.”
“Well, smart ass, what did you learn during that?” He bent over and checked something quick on his phone. The motion caused his arm to bump into me, and I tensed. He was so damn close to me. “Sweat and tears build character, and while it might not have seemed like a glamorous task, it’s important to know every facet of a program.”
“Uh huh,” I said, but my mind was on his arm. His body protruded heat, and I wanted to snuggle all up in that. He rambled on about other character building tasks, like washing the coolers and organizing the equipment closet, but I focused on not breathing heavily. Slow breath in, slow breath out.
“Did you get that?” He nudged me with his elbow.
I nodded, but the look in his eyes stopped me. Oh my. Our bodies were inches apart, my chicken scratch notes spread out on his desk. His gaze dropped to my mouth, and the intense, heated blue eyes bore into me. I knew he felt it. I knew it with everything I was. Our chemistry was off the charts. I gulped, and he inched his hand closer to mine. But, as fate would have it, a knock sounded at the door. I jumped like we had been caught doing something horrid, not looking over notes with our arms almost touching. Not that scandalous.
Brock cleared his throat and smoothed down his shirt before opening the door. His voice changed into a soft, kind tone I had rarely heard from him. He leaned toward whoever was at the door. “Angelica, hey.”
A drop-dead gorgeous blonde stood at the entrance to his office with a smile that was meant for people you cared about. Brock pulled her into a hug and a sour, unwanted feeling crept up my chest.
She wrapped both of her arms around him and closed her eyes as they embraced. It was an intimate hug, and it was one I wanted for myself and myself alone. I stood there as they gazed at each other with a recognition I loathed. I felt creepy watching them, like I had no place in the room anymore.
“God, you look good Brock. It’s been awhile.” She laughed, prolonging the hug that would never end. I gulped, clenching my teeth down together. “Are you busy?”
“No. No. Come on in. Care if we finish this later, Grace?” He looked at me briefly, like I was a complete afterthought. It was irrational. It was so, so, so uncalled for, but it was still there, the sting of being tossed aside. He tilted his head at my silence. I stood a little too quickly and hit the side of the desk with my hip. I winced but rushed to find my bag and to get the hell out of there. He paid me no attention when I glanced at him one more time. He was looking at the blonde with a smile on his lips and kindness in his eyes.
“See you later,” I mumbled, walking out of his office and hating the way he looked at her.
I barely made it out the door when she asked him about me. His response was, “My intern.”
Technically, I was his intern, but the tone was off. This woman meant something to Brock, and I didn’t like it one bit.
Food. Food always helped. I scarfed down a snack before moving onto the next task. I busied myself with chores and nuisances to not think about Brock and the woman in the office. The worry and pain had no place at work, and I was disgusted with myself for getting distracted. He was my boss. It was my fault my heart crossed the line.
Sure, my brain understood the words, but my heart didn’t comprehend the inappropriateness of it. Things changed somewhere along the way and my eyes prickled, like I might cry, and I took a long, thoughtful breath. No. I wouldn’t be upset. Work. I needed to distract myself and get busy. I threw on headphones and made sure everything was set for the guys in the weight room.
“Gracie,” Logan’s bold voice distracted me from down the hall.
“Logan, hey.” I set the towels down. His normal relaxed expression with an easy smile was gone. Instead, he scowled and narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s going on? You don’t look like your normal-self right now.”
He sighed, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I need advice. It’s serious.”
