I held the doorknob and pushed to close the door. I was a gentleman. Ourconversationshould be as private as possible.
“Leave it open please!” She panicked.
I ignored her and closed it. Then I walked toward her desk.
“Like I said, I have a meeting in—”
“Why did you come to Poles? Why did you come to the hotel last night?”
Her throat moved with a gulp, and she bit her lip. I was so busy lusting over her lips—the ones I once didn’t think were my type but now were all the lips I wanted to kiss in the whole world—that I missed her answer. I blinked my unsubtle stare away. “Scusi?”
“I said I went to give you your book.”
“What book?”
“Blossoms of Light and Darkness? Nora’s poetry collection, remember?”
“From the ceremony?”
“Yes.” She got a book from the few on her desk and placed it on my side of the desk. “She sent it to my office as promised, so…”
She was full of shit. If Nora had sent it to her office, it’d have been on Monday, yesterday, but Gabi went to Poles on Sunday. Even if the book arrived on Sunday, it wasn’t that important to deliver it herself…to a bachelorette party. She could have just sent someone with it to the club and just dropped it there.
I thought Lady Brighton didn’t like to lie. She appeared to be constantly doing it around me, though.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
I missed her. That was the truth I could no longer escape. I fucking missed her. I’d struggled to keep my distance since Logan told me she came looking for me at the club. Last night, it took all my willpower not to run after her butt naked, say fuck it to the party and spend the night listening to her scream for me. Today, I couldn’t keep my distance anymore.
“I came to…apply for a job.” I pushed the wacko words out.
Her nose scrunched up. “Huh?”
She had every right to be shocked. If anybody told me I’d ever say those words, I’d be asking to work for this woman of all women in the world, I’d snort and burb and fart from how hard I’d be laughing. When Mattia implied I could come and apply for the personal assistant opening Gabi desperately needed filled, I totally dismissed the idea, thinking my sister went bananas. But here I was. Going bananas, too.
I folded my arms across my chest. “You hired a PA yet?”
“No.”
“Then I’d like to apply. Is there an application form I can fill out? Special requirements I should know of or documents I should bring to the interview…along my resume?” The little thingy I should have been having on me now like any decent person applying for a job. I’d never had one of those. My jobs, previous and current, never required awrittenresume.
“You came here to be my PA?”
No, I came here to see you. And now that I did, I realize one time won’t be enough. This job looks like the only way to have an excuse to see you every day.“Yes, ma’am.”
“As far as I know, you already have a job. Two.”
“I’m cutting down on the hours for those.”
Her lips parted as she frowned, as if she wanted to ask something but changed her mind and decided to ask a different question. “May I know why?”
A sigh ambled out of my chest. I could come up with some bullshit answer, but I opted for the truth. “Have I ever told you I have a daughter?”
Her lashes blinked hard. “No.”
I brought out my wallet and rounded the desk to get to her side. Then I leaned over to show her the picture. “Carmen. She’s eight.”
While she looked like she was about to burst into tears, yet her lips twitched with a smile, I finally got to see she was wearing a pencil skirt and was searching for a reason to make her stand so I could revel in the curves of her ass, so I could touch her again, so I could crush my lips onto hers again, and maybe this time we got to finish what we started.
