"Ruby," a low, sexy voice says behind her as shivers slip down my spine.
I don't have a door on my cubicle, it is an open-plan floor.
And Enzo is now towering over her.
He stops me from having to answer, and it is a gray area on whether I should thank him or curse him.
"Enzo," she says, basically purring. "How are you? Anything I can help you with?"
I'm shocked when he doesn't melt in a puddle of flaming lust.
"Do you mind if I speak to Lola?" he asks, with nothing more than a polite and friendly smile.
I do not want to be alone with him.
And I try to convey that to her through telepathy.
Ruby, the traitor, turns and flutters her eyelashes at him. "You can. She's all yours."
His pleasant smile doesn't slip an inch as he glances between us. His gaze finally settles on me. "In my office, Lola, before the end of the day, please."
Somehow, I manage to stammer out, "Very well."
And then he turns and walks off, and I pin my smile on hard, right as Ruby spins back to face me down.
Her eyes narrow as she points in the air back at him and then to me. "What was that about?"
"I don't know." I keep it breezy, ignoring the scrabbling in my stomach and veins. I itch all over. I'm hot and cold and don't know what to do. "Maybe he wants to tell me what a good job I have been doing?"
Or maybe he noticed the death stares and avoidance tactics I have rolled out in his direction. Because I have done that—usually when I figured no one was looking, when I thought he wasn't, but...
Maybe he caught me.
The thought makes my stomach plummet and slam into my feet.
Oh, hell, maybe it is a reprimand—or worse.
He is firing me.
I can't afford to lose this job.
And while I know that if I have to, I will quit, use the last straw thing up my sleeve, I understand what being fired means.
Quitting is one thing. Getting canned is another entirely. Because getting fired means people won't want to even look at my CV.
I try not to hyperventilate.
Ruby is standing there, staring, so I brighten that fake smile.
It is clear she is trying to work out why he wants to see me.
"Sooo...you and him..."
"There's no me and anyone, Ruby."
"Not what I meant." Ruby claps her hands. "He wants to see you. Maybe a date?"
"He's the CEO. Not a date."
