Page 18 of A Matter of Time

The office door suddenly opened and Dane stepped out. He looked at Therese, brows furrowed, and she started to cry. He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead hard. I knew that particular movement well. I got it a lot. Like when he would talk to me and I would ask him questions instead of answering. I couldn’t help it; I liked to delve into his life. Not that he ever let me, but it never stopped me from trying.

He sighed deeply and put a hand on Therese’s shoulder. “I want to apologize for what happened Saturday. I was not myself. I’ve had a lot of things on my mind lately, and I’m sorry it came to a head while I was speaking to you. I deeply regret having raised my voice to you. Please accept my apology.”

“Of course,” she breathed. I saw her melt just looking at him. She leaned toward him even as he took a step away.

“I should be more careful.” He turned to me then and was going to say something, but stopped himself. He just looked at me, and I stared back for a minute before I got annoyed and glared at him.

“Really?” he baited me.

“Then speak,” I replied.

“What have you done about Miss Lawson?”

“I haven’t had a chance to⁠—”

“Do so now,” he grumbled before turning back to Therese and giving her a little awkward pat on the arm before dropping his hand from her shoulder. “I am sorry.”

She just stared at him with a pained expression on her face.

His eyes went to the floor and then were back on me like he was searching for something to say but was unable to find the words.

“Yes?” I prodded, keenly aware that Therese was staring at me instead of him.

“I’m hungry.”

I smiled suddenly. I couldn’t help it. “What do you want?”

“What do you want?”

I shook my head. “Answering a question with a question is very poor form, as I’ve been told on a number of occasions.”

“True,” he agreed.

“I’ll just get you something.”

“Something good,” he muttered.

“Like I don’t know what to get,” I snapped at him.

He raked his fingers through his thick, glossy black hair, gave me a crooked grin, then retreated into his office and shut the door behind him.

“He’s flippin’ out,” I said firmly, realizing I might be right. If Dane freaked out, then my sanity was sure to go. He was the steadiest person I knew.

“What’s the matter with him?” Therese asked as she followed me back to my desk.

“He’s flippin’ out,” I repeated before I sighed heavily. “Maybe you can give him a call later, huh?”

She nodded and left without another word.

“What did he mean when he asked you about me?” Sonja asked, looking at me pitifully.

I let out a deep breath before I reminded her about the roses I had taken to the lobby.

“Ohmygod,” she said, her eyes welling up. “Is he really mad about that?”

“Not mad, exactly,” I said softly. “It’s just that I think we’ve answered the question of whether or not you’re going to be here permanently or not.”

“We have?”