Page 18 of Playboy Boss

Chapter Six

Scottie walked to the ladies’ room as fast as she could. Humiliation was too soft a word to describe how she felt. Konrad overhearing her conversation was mortifying to say the least.

He wouldn’t understand. She doubted he’d ever had financial problems in his life. Where would she turn? She refused to track down her father, wherever he was. He’d been nonexistent to her. No, she needed to do this on her own. No banks. No begging for handouts. She’d have to make some serious decisions. She was an adult and needed to stand on her own two feet. Not that she’d ever had anyone else to stand on.

When she returned to her cube, Konrad was waiting for her outside of his office. He’d been talking to another employee, whom Scottie didn’t know, pointing at a piece of paper. On her approach, his eyes met hers, and there was something softer in them. Something that oddly soothed her.

“There she is,” he said, sending tingles down Scottie’s legs with his surprising words. He directed to the older women, “Let’s pick this up later.”

The woman nodded, retrieving the document and pivoting in the opposite direction.

Is he going to say something about my personal call?

“Off we go.” He walked down the hall, with Scottie on his heels.

In the elevator, Scottie stood across the small vestibule from Konrad. When their eyes met, she smiled nervously, looking away. Hyperaware of herself, she could count her heartbeats. One. Two. Three. Dear God, the two-floor descent shouldn’t have lasted that long.

He smelled so good, though. Like fresh laundry. And a spice she couldn’t identify. Or bergamot, maybe? His whole house probably smelled like that. His sheets … his towels… And why was she thinking about his towels?

“What’s on your mind, Scottine?”

His electric words moved her, soaring through her flesh. She could feel each syllable in her stomach, and it spiraled in response. The conversation she’d had with the bank was worlds away.

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

He chucked low, but it sounded as if his mouth were only inches from her ear. “Don’t be nervous. The Solutions crew is much more fun than me.” She looked up in time to catch him wink at her. His blue eyes glistened in the fluorescent lighting that normally made everything look hideous. He was far from hideous.

“That can’t be easy to accomplish.”

His laugh was deep and succulent. “Cheeky.”

Just then, the elevator opened. Thank God. Being in such close proximity to Konrad was dangerous. It was both disconcerting and exhilarating—exactly what she’d felt about him thus far.

Glass doors with Korr Solutions spelled out in wide chrome letters faced them. It was modern, not traditional with dark woods and brass grommets on distressed leather seating like Korr Properties. Both suites were gorgeously decorated. Konrad spared no expense.

He pulled open the door with the chrome handle. “After you.”

His scent enveloped her as she slipped by him to enter the suite. Inside, the reception area was done in white with dark slate-gray carpet and white modern leather chairs with chrome frames. Black and white abstract art prints lined the walls.

“This is really nice.” Scottie marveled, only to be caught off balance when Konrad’s fingers pressed against her back. She jumped, and his hand fell away.

“This way.” He pointed past the long white marble reception desk. As they approached, he greeted the attractive blonde donning a headset. “Sandy, love. How are things?”

Scottie was sure he shouldn’t be calling his employees “love.” This guy was an HR nightmare. Sandy seemed to like it, though. She blushed, her dark eyes sparkling like polished onyx stones. Who wouldn’t like it, though? A pang of unwelcome jealousy shot through her. God, she needed to stop her ridiculousness.

“Fantastic!” Sandy answered—too brightly in Scottie’s opinion.

“This is Scottie, the temporary Marisol.” He glanced back to Scottie, grinning.

Scottie frowned. What woman wasn’t temporary to him? “Hi.”

Sandy waved. “Nice to meet you.”

“All right then, let’s get to it.” He opened the doors leading into the suite, and Scottie passed through.

Inside, the suite was exactly like the reception: sleek, slate-gray, white tiles, abstract line art along the walls. Scottie liked the private cubes, considering what happened earlier with her interrupted private call. She needed privacy around him.

“Down this hall are the servers for our KCloud service for data storage.” He pointed to double doors with a sign: IT Only. Just as they turned the corner, a man, a cute-ish man, nearly crashed into them with his sharp turn.

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