Page 55 of A Little More

“Is everything alright?” Julien leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest. It never failed to amaze her that he was in this profession. A small tattoo peaked out above his tie, and she swore he had to fight for money in a different life. She understood why he affected most females the way he did, but she never found herself attracted to the bad boy type. Dating Nash against company policy was about as “dangerous” as she’d ever ventured.

“Lexi?”

“Fine. I’m fine. A little tired, I suppose.”

He motioned to the desk. “Is this too much? Your workload? I thought about letting Marshall help. He’s mentioned shifting his professional focus. I’m not sure he’ll be a fit for our company much longer.”

She’d heard all about that from John. The phrase “not fitting in” means you have an opinion other than Julien’s.

“No.” Get focused. “It’s not too much. I’ll climb back out. Being out sick last week threw a kink into everything.”

He nodded, and his beard twitched like it might have been an attempt at a smile. She never knew with him. “I’m sure that was difficult.”

Because Julien never got sick. Why did she want to stick her tongue out at him for being so damn flawless? Not even the common flu dared to touch him.

“I had two things I wanted to discuss with you. First, I thought about opening a second location. There’s a significant amount of construction going on in the Orlando area right now. I think we could earn a few more clients by having a smaller secondary office. I’d like you to consider heading that up for me.”

Just when she was thinking about how to juggle her job and Nash, Julien is handing her the chance to head up her own office. Seriously! She kept her groan internalized and managed a tight smile. “I’ll consider it.”

“Good. The other reason I came by was to tell you that I’m taking off Wednesday through the rest of the week. My mom is having surgery, and I’m flying to France to be with her. I’m taking Trey with me.”

He was giving her personal details. What. The. Hell. She smiled, trying to remember what she should say. That was a hard thing to do since each time she’d tried to get personal with Julien in the past, he shut her down. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I don’t believe so, but I know seeing Trey will help her recovery.”

“Is Trey excited?” How was she having an actual conversation about his family? She wanted to ask about Trey’s mom, for no real reason other than being nosy. Lexi had always imagined her to be some exotic model. That’s the type of women Julien would date.

He shrugged one shoulder. “I suppose. He’s more excited about getting out of school for a few days.” Julien rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, looking amused. “His mom isn’t too happy about his missing school, but none of my plans make her happy.”

Lexi wanted to scoot to the edge of her seat, get all the juicy details, and dig in for more. But Julien must have realized he was teetering toward halfway treating her like a friend and straightened from the door frame, his trademarked scowl falling into place.

“I wanted to let you know my plans and give you a chance to start considering the job promotion. Nothing is set in stone, but I need to know I have someone reliable to head up a second location.” He winked, not in a flirty way but more like she was included in some inside joke that she’d never understand. “I think you’re ready to take on the challenge. You understand our company’s policies. I trust you.”

She nodded her head, still tumbling between being proud he’d consider her for the position and nervous as hell that he considered her trustworthy.

“Can you be in the office the rest of the week and again Monday while I’m out? I’d also like to leave your name and number as an emergency contact for the firm over the weekend. The same thing I’ve done each summer when I leave for France for a couple weeks.”

There went a secret trip down to see Nash. “Sure thing.”

“Great.” He left the room.

Lexi slouched back in her chair. “Yeah. Great.” More work, no Nash, and now an even bigger decision to make. The next couple of weeks would suck.

Even her self-motivation sounded exhausted at this point.

She swiveled back to face the computer and brought up the screen with the sinks. Good thing she had something to do that pushed reality away from them a little longer.

Nash tossedthe book into the cab of his truck. ReadingRetail Accountingunder the glow of a floodlight before dawn ranked right up there with someone tearing out each one of his toenails. It’d done nothing to wake him up before a full day of work, but he wanted to get through it.

Needed to get through as many things on his to-do list before Lexi came down in another week. Her boss leaving the country pushed their weekend together back. That was good and bad.

Nash drank deeply of his coffee, still piping hot. Dewey’s truck pulled into his mom’s driveway, arriving for a full day of work. That was the good part about Lexi waiting an extra week before coming down. The timing worked out well.

But he missed her. It wasn’t something he enjoyed considering. In fact, it put him in a sour mood once the emptiness started. The last thing she’d asked him to do was to refinish the floor in the kitchen. Spending all his spare time in readying the store left little time and energy to focus on the floor. At least that was his excuse.

She’d promised him a date in exchange for his cooperation in the kitchen renovation.

It sounded juvenile in his head, not finishing the floors because her boss needed her to work and he didn’t get his date, but he didn’t care. He was revolting against the injustice of their situation.

---