Selena pushed her glasses up. “I hadn’t thought of that. I only started paying attention to his”—her eyes flew to Val’s—“your company since I started school.”
“It’s not my company, and whatever Geraldo’s doing with it has nothing to do with me. What have you observed?” Why hadn’t she thought to record this conversation?
“He’s so disrespectful. Do you know that since you left the company, no women have been promoted to any of the top management positions? Not a single one.”
Perhaps this really was why Noelle had left. “You’re right. That is reprehensible.”
“Part of me wants to go to work for him to change the culture. Part of me wants to work elsewhere.”
“You could report him.”
Selena’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t. I mean, I’m in no position to.”
True. But Noelle could.
Val patted Selena’s knee. “Let’s get to work. I think you’d maybe like to leave a little early today, no?”
Selena nearly bounced in her chair, and Val wondered if she should give Dane a heads-up or just let him enjoy the sudden bird that was about to fly to him. He might think himself too ethical to take advantage of her, but Val knew Dane. He’d have fantasized about doing Selena over his desk at least forty-eight times since she’d offered herself up. If she delivered herself to him, he’d be hard-pressed to turn her down a second time.
And Val would collect the evidence.
Dane had spent a couple of hours with Anthony, but when it became apparent Anthony’s mind was occupied, he told the kid to go work in the training room and come back after he’d either had a cold shower or spent whatever pent up energy was keeping him preoccupied.
Anthony apologized with a boys-will-be-boys grin Dane hated.
Once Anthony had gone, Dane poured himself a shot of bourbon and kicked back, but he also felt cooped up and decided to go for a walk around the facilities. Unlike Val, he enjoyed getting out and talking to the other employees from time to time. And now that Noelle knew how he supposedly felt, it would be good to confront her with himself and make her consciously decide for or against him at every step.
Not to mention, he wanted to see her, catch her smell, watch her skin redden, sense her pulse racing. Her resistance was an aphrodisiac, especially since it was wavering.
As he exited his office, he ran straight into Selena, coming from the direction of Val’s office. She smiled at him in a friendly way. He immediately thought about taking off her glasses and pulling that elastic out of her hair, but he shook it off.
“I’m going to get a coffee in the breakroom. Care to join me?” He was relieved she didn’t seem at all awkward about the other night. He’d been avoiding her in case she started crying or accused him of leading her on. Or worse, if she’d come offering herself again. He felt himself stir and fought back images of unbuttoning her blouse. He wished she’d never come onto him in the first place. Not that he hadn’t already imagined half these things, but they were fiction before. Now his fantasies had one foot in possibility.
“Sure. I was in the mood for some as well.”
Subhra and Steve were in the breakroom already, so Selena and Dane waited quietly.
Steve said to all of them, “I just got an email reminder that we’re having a day of trust, Friday.”
Subhra groaned. These were typical nerds. He used to be just like them, and he remembered dreading any kind of outdoor activity. The sun, the heat, the physical exertion. All of these things were antithetical to a life of sitting in a dark room engaged in social interaction at the end of a blinking cursor. It would do these guys some good to get some exercise. Not that he had any interest in participating in a team-building event.
“I’ll see you all out there. Maybe we’ll be on the same team?” Dane tried to smile like he’d actually welcome that, but the other guys’ smiles looked as fake as his probably was. They all respected each other, but none of them really liked Dane. He’d switched teams at some point, and they saw him as a developer in name only. But he had the final say, and they resented that.
At last, the two developers left. Selena popped an envelope into the coffee maker with her mug below and then turned to face him. “Listen. About the other night. I wanted to apologize. I was upset with my father, and I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s okay, Selena. It made for an interesting turn of events. But it’s nothing to worry about.” He gave her a smile meant to be endearing. “An old guy like me can’t really complain about attentions from a beautiful younger girl, right?”
She blushed. “You’re not old. And for the record, you’re definitely hot.”
He knew that, but he still loved the flattery. “How are you settling in with Val?”
“She’s great. I probably should have tried to work with her originally.” Her eyes went wide. “I mean, I learned so much from you so quickly, and I’m glad I got a chance to work with you and get to know you. You have no idea how honored I am to have had that privilege. But I don’t know. Val has been so helpful and friendly. I feel like I’ve got a trusted mentor and friend in the same package. I’m just sorry to have left you in the lurch.” She looked down at her coffee. “I understand you’re mentoring Anthony now?”
How adorable. She couldn’t look him in the eyes when asking about her new lover. “I am. And I understand he’s shown some interest in you.”
She looked up quick. “Did he say that?”
Crap. He forgot Anthony had told him she wanted to keep it quiet. “I probably shouldn’t step into this.”
