Page 22 of His Secret

CHAPTER EIGHT

MATÍAS

I didn’t get homeuntil after midnight last night, and after a quick meal, I crawled into bed feeling only partly satisfied.

Christian’s a decent guy. He’s attractive, he listens, and we typically have a good time together. My problem is that we’ve met up at least five times now, and I think he’s starting to grow an attachment. It’s probably my fault. I should’ve stopped agreeing to meet up after the second time.

My alarm woke me up at six, and I walked into my office at seven-thirty. Since then, I’ve had two meetings—one here and one at another office. I brought lunch back to my desk so I could eat while I sent out half a dozen emails, and then I quickly met with an engineering team before finding myself behind my desk to work on an employee training PowerPoint.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my work. “Yes?”

Mr. Bryant opens the door. “Sorry to bother you, but the new guy is here now.”

“I thought he wasn’t coming until Friday?” I ask with a quick glance at the calendar on my desk.

Mr. Bryant shrugs.

I sigh. “Give me a few.”

After about ten minutes, I get up and open the door to my office, peering out until I spot Mr. Bryant standing in the doorway of the office across the room. I give him a nod and walk back to my desk.

As I’m finishing writing myself a note, a small knock hits my open door. “Hello.”

Footsteps enter my office and I look up.

My breath doesn’t hitch, my eyes don’t bulge. The sudden reappearance of my past doesn’t present itself like it does in the movies. I don’t stumble over my words and make an ass out of myself. I simply freeze, my face stoic as my brain tries to comprehend what I’m seeing.

I internally debate with myself if this is who I think it is. It can’t possibly be him. He must have a doppelganger, and yet, nobody else could look like this.

“Matías?”

His question is my answer. It is him.

I dip my chin. “Well, everyone here calls me Matt, or actually, Mr. Cruz.”

He smiles, putting his hand in the pocket of his gray slacks. “When I saw Matt Cruz on the paperwork, I didn’t put it together that it could be you. Nobody ever called you Matt in college.”

“Well,” I sigh. “They do now.”

His lips fall into a frown, but he makes his way to the seat in front of my desk. “Wow, this is crazy. I can’t—I can’t believe it.” When I don’t reply, he continues. “So, I guess I’m working for you now.”

As reality sinks in, I rub a hand over my forehead, exhaling. “I guess so.”

“I’ve signed all the HR paperwork,” he says. “I took a peek inside my office. Looks like I’ll need to liven it up a little, butI have things from my old office I can bring over. Do you have any information for me?”

I stare at him, his face just as annoyingly perfect and handsome as it was in college, probably more so. He’s got a little bit of a five o’clock shadow happening, but it’s lined up nicely. His brown hair is shiny and combed perfectly. Looking into his eyes transports me back into a time where things were much different.

“I’ll email you,” I say after clearing my throat. “You’ll need to meet with the team and get with Mrs. O’Terry. She’ll get you caught up on a project that we’re about to start on. She’s your assistant project manager.”

He nods. “Okay.

“I take it you’ve done this for a little while?” I ask.

Once again, he smiles. “Yes, a little while. I started out in finance, so this will be my first time in IT. I’ve done my research though, and I’ve taken an IT project management course.”

“Perfect.”

He stands but doesn’t move to leave. When I glance up at him, I notice his lips are downturned slightly and I already know what he’s thinking.

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