Page 64 of The Unplanned Wedding

"I don’t want to be filled in. I want June back at her desk."

She waits patiently, holding the door open. The seconds stretch. When she doesn’t give any indication of budging an inch, I blow out a breath. Besides, I need to find out why June isn’t in today. And if she’s been in touch with Mary, I need to find out what she said. I stomp past her and into my office. Mary closes the door and follows me.

Halfway to my desk, I turn around and glower at her. "Well? Why isn’t she here?"I haven’t seen her all morning, and I already miss her so much.

Mary holds out the cup that's not my cup. "Have your coffee first."

"I don’t want?—"

She arches an eyebrow, and because I respect her, and because she’s been damn good at calming down the tempers of the Davenport men on this floor, and she's been there for us more than our own mother was, I accept it.

I take the cup from her and take a sip. The coffee is how I like it, yet it tastes different.Is it because it wasn’t prepared by her? Nah, must be my imagination.I take another sip, then walk over to my desk and place the cup down on it.

"Why isn’t she here?" I ask again. "She should be at her desk right now."How can I feel her absence so much in such little time?

"She’s not coming in, Knox." Mary’s forehead furrows. "As I told you, she gave in her notice this morning."

I heard her. I pretend not to understand the meaning of her words. "What does that mean?"

"In plain English, she dumped you, and your job."

Is there a note of satisfaction running through her words?I scowl at Mary, but her features don’t betray her emotions.

"She can’t do that"—I fold my arms across my chest—"she’s not allowed to leave." I know I sound petulant, but I don't care.

"You can scarcely be surprised that she did.”

"What do you mean?" I know what she’s hinting at, but I pretend I don't.

Mary scoffs, "I mean, after the way you made that poor girl dance to your needs?—”

Something which she loved to do; and how I loved it, too.

"—and took advantage of her goodwill. After you acted like a prized idiot, you can scarcely blame her for deciding the job wasn’t worth it."

"No one can pay her as much as I do," I growl.

"Sometimes, it’s not about the money,” she murmurs.

"It’s always about the money."

Mary continues to stare at me. Frustration filters into her eyes. "Think about it, Knox. You’re not as unaware as you’re pretending to be. She’s the first assistant who’s lasted this long with you. But instead of making her feel valued and appreciating her, you treated her like she was dispensable.”

My heart begins to pump harder. Her words hit home. I spent most of the night regretting my decisions, and after her morning wake up call, I was both amused and even more turned on at the fact that she could go toe-to-toe with me like that. It made me want her even more. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her in the office, and when I discovered she's not here, my entire world came crashing down.

“After how you took advantage of her good nature, did you really expect her to stay on?"

A dull pain stabs at my temples. "My announcing my forthcoming nuptials had nothing to do with my professional life.”

When Mary arches an eyebrow, I realize, I’ve revealed my feelings for her by bringing up my upcoming engagement. It’s too late to take back my words, so I fall silent. Mary, on the other hand, has no such compunctions.

"She had everything to do with your professional,andyour personal life,” she says firmly.

"She had nothing to do with my personal life." I set my jaw. "And I intend to keep it that way, which is why I announced my forthcoming marriage."

Mary’s expression turns disbelieving. "A marriage you don’t believe in."

Busted.Fuck. Am I that transparent?I clear my throat and pretend a calmness I don’t feel. "What do you mean?"

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