Page 24 of Forbidden Deception

He’s not. He’s looking right at me with a calculated gaze.

“Silence is often a yes.” I shrug, turning towards the doors.

“Seems so,” he says, and when I glance over my shoulder at him again, he is glaring at my hair, but his expression is soon wiped.

“Green doesn’t suit you,” I blurt.

He is, in fact, wearing a dark green suit, a white dress shirt, and matching green tie.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion about my attire, Miss Campbell.”

“You’re going to get it, anyway. How else am I supposed to get you married before I leave? You’re already in your mid-thirties; you aren’t getting any younger.”

“You want to marry me off?”

I nod.

“Are you my mother? Last I checked, she was six feet under the ground.”

“Only her?” I slap a hand on my mouth as soon as the words leave my mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

His lip twitches when I turn around, and his eyes are crinkled in amusement.

“How else did you mean it? Are you trying to kill off my father, too? How cruel can you be?” Shouldering past me, he walks out.

I gape after him.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that. Come on. Don’t be angry at me.” I run after him but slow down once we near the offices of the accounting team.

“You did mean it like that. Why else would you say that? I didn’t expect this from you.”

But I didn’t mean it like that. Why is he insisting I did?

“I promise I didn’t mean it like that. Forgive me for this horrible mistake,” I plead. Not long ago I was the one getting upset, and here I am doing even worse.

I grab Rafael’s sleeve, stopping him in place. He glances down at me. Waiting.

“Sorry?” I try once more, guilt saturating the word.

Rafael doesn’t move nor answer me. He just stands there while people walk around us as we are blocking their way. His eyes flare when they fall to my hold on his sleeve.

I sigh and let him go.

Rafael silently watches over everyone, not speaking. I even spot someone sweating in the corner. Does he not do this usually? Why are they acting like this? Some women are avoiding looking in this direction altogether.

“Why are they behaving like this?” I pinch Rafael’s sleeve once more.

He leans down ever so slightly.

“I don’t do this normally, and when I do, they think I have come to fire people.”

I snort. Rafael shakes his head at me, then strides back towards the elevator. Instead of pressing the next floor, which would be third, he presses fourth.

“You missed a floor.”

“I didn’t. I don’t do it in order to catch everyone by surprise.”

“Oh.”

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