Rosie’s face drops so briefly that if I hadn’t been staring, I wouldn’t have noticed.
“Rosie, you’d best leave us to it. I’ve emailed you a couple of things I need doing this afternoon,” I say.
She nods like she’s been dismissed when I only wanted to rescue her from this situation I got her into.
As she leaves, my dad replies, “I’ve told you before, Niki. At Coulter, we don’t dip our pen in the company ink, especially when they’re that young.”
Her shoulders hunch, and she pulls my office door closed behind her.
I stare at the ground and pray it opens and swallows me up, because I can’t fix this while hiding I’m slowly falling for my assistant.
CHAPTER 31
Rosie
I’ve avoided Niki for a few days, which is hard to do as his assistant. He’s stood by my desk several times, but I’ve kept it professional.
I punished myself by scrolling photos online of him and Clara again. There are more photos of them resembling a Hollywood couple than I have of Tabi, and I have billions of pictures of her. I trace one of Niki from two years ago. He’s holding hands with Clara on a yacht. His head is back, and he’s laughing. It’s a Niki I don’t recognise. He’s happy with me and Graham, but this is a worry-free Niki.
Maybe he’ll be this person again. I want that for him, even though this Niki wouldn’t look twice at me, and he wouldn’t have kissed me in Greece.
Would that Niki have sweetly asked to hold my hand and told me his struggles? I touch the chain around my neck and remember his growl when he caught me doing it.
I want the Niki sitting in his office—the fighter with a cinnamon roll centre—but one day, he’ll return to who he was or a version of him.
I sigh.
“Rosie, can you come in here?” he says.
I fumble with my mouse, closing all applications before rushing into his office.
He stares at my collar. I’ve left the chain out.
He licks his lips slowly, and I feel his tongue caressing my skin. I tuck the chain under my top and shove my fists in my hoodie pocket. My face burns.
“Rosie, are you okay? Are you ill?”
I fix his stare, expecting him to look panicked, but he’s smirking. He can’t know what I’m thinking. He can’t care.
“Yes, fine. I drank a very hot coffee.” Three hours ago. “We need to chat.”
He leans back and threads his fingers behind his head. “About?”
“I’m sorry for how I was with your parents. I wasn’t expecting to?—”
His eyes soften as he beckons me to sit with a curled finger. I resist the temptation to call him sir because it will destroy me when the man who used to date models won’t notice.
I wriggle in the chair to get comfortable, and he waits patiently. “I’m sorry, Rosie. Dad has no sense, especially when speaking with women. He was the boss in a male-dominated industry and believes he knows best about everything. Senna’s challenged him, but I’ve let him walk over me for a while. According to my counsellor, the man he talked about doesn’t exist and probably won’t again.”
I nod, unsure what to say.
“I’m particularly sorry for what he said about you. You’re the best assistant I could’ve asked for. I admire you for your capabilities and achievements. When I look at you, I…” Niki’s brow furrows, and he meets my confused stare. “The days you came into my life, both in Greece and here, were the luckiest days of my life. Knowing you’re here for me and helping me gets me through. I explained that to my parents as best I could. I wanted to tell them how incredible you are with your daughter and what you’ve battled, but that’s not my place.”
Niki sees my value as an assistant while also recognising I’m a mum. I want to cover him with kisses, but all I can offer him is my genuine thanks.
“Do you want to talk further about this?”
I shake my head.
