Page 29 of Without Apology

CHAPTER TWELVE

Simon

I was stewing. Lyle had been our forensic accountant for the last five years. He was out of Minneapolis, but traveled wherever and whenever we needed him. So why the hell wasn’t he here? Emma was nowhere to be found. My inability to ask her about the situation only worsened my mood.

But the fact I could hear every word between Peyton and Russ next door was the last straw. He was clearly flirting. She was being nice. Or hell, maybe she was interested in him. The thought left me unsettled.

Emma strolled in ten minutes later. “Hi. You’re back. How was your meeting with George this morning?”

I’d had to meet with him in order to ensure we ironed out the misconception that anyone would skip the interview process. Initially, he wasn’t happy with it, but I’d eased his mind by telling him I respected Peyton and would certainly take her recommendations to heart. Since I didn’t normally extend such a consideration, I’d already felt off kilter upon returning to my office. She was affecting me in an impenetrable place. At least it had been.

“Fine. Who the hell is that in there with Peyton, and where is Lyle?”

Emma arched a brow. “Lyle has bronchitis and can’t travel. Russ is from the Houston TW branch and comes recommended.”

“By whom?” I kept my voice low, knowing that if I could hear the voices in the conference room, then they could hear us, too.

“Lyle.”

“He’d better not be wasting her time.”

Emma smiled before shutting the door and taking my visitor’s chair. “Why don’t you tell me what this is actually about?”

“It’s about not being informed Lyle was unable to make it. Coming in and being caught off guard.”

“You have an email I sent to you this morning when I found out Lyle had a bug and wouldn’t be here.”

I hadn’t had a chance to check my email since leaving George’s house. “Fine.”

“Is it?”

At that moment, unmistakable laughter came from next door. “What in the hell is there to laugh about during a forensic audit?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Russ is cute. Peyton is a beautiful woman.”

I had to stop the growl starting to come from my chest.

She knew me well enough to call me on it. “So maybe that’s the problem?”

I could pretend it wasn’t, but I wouldn’t be fooling her, let alone myself. I let out a breath of frustration. I’d thought about Peyton all weekend. Our kiss, the hurt reflected on her face after I’d pulled away. “It’s an impossible situation.”

Emma sighed. “Only because you’re making it such.”

“I have to interview her for CFO next week. What would you have me do? It’s a direct conflict.”

She shook her head. “Maybe you can’t see a way to move the obstacles because you’re too busy building them.”

“It’s for the best.” At least that’s what I kept telling myself.

“You keep believing that, then. By the way, Jeff requested an appointment.”

“The director of payroll?”

“Yeah, him.”

“Let him see Tom.” I didn’t have the time.

“Tom isn’t back until tomorrow. You want me to put off Jeff until then? I’d be happy to take a break from having him stare at my chest or offering to show me around the city.”

---