Page 27 of Love Not Qualified

“Thank you.” I straightened my spine and walked with the intention of not throwing a curious glance into my boss’s office with the direct destination of my office, but I was interrupted when I hit something hard.

Stonehard.

I blinked and took a step back, rearranging my purse on my shoulder as a large hand gripped my waist gently. At the innocent touch, every hair on my head perked up to attention and every skin cell on my body tingled with awareness.

My left foot stepped back and I raised my eyes before his strong voice reached my ears.

“Are you all right?” Mr. Graves asked, his palm disappearing from my body the moment our gazes met. Somehow, my skin twitched as if his touch was still there.

“Yes, sorry for…” I gestured with my hand, looking everywhere but at him. “Bumping into you,” I continued.

He closed the door to his office, standing tall before me. His shadow over mine was able to erase any evidence that I was actually here.

“Where’s Sara? She’s supposed to show you around,” Mr. Graves talked with a grave tone, irritation rising to the surface.

Sara?

I frowned.

Oh, right. Sara, my office roommate.

“She’s waiting for me in the office,” I told him, my gaze slipping past him to the way she just left.

Mr. Graves hummed and the sound forced my eyes away from the doorframe hiding behind his hair to his face. He stared me down, the smallest hint of a squint resting on his face.

“What?” I dared to ask.

“If she causes you any trouble, I can move you to another office, or even mine since your presence is needed.”

Move in with him?

“No.” I was quick to reply.

His thick eyebrows furrowed. “No?”

The way he said it made it seem like more of a challenge, so I offered him a smile while I tried to smooth things out. “I meant no, she’s not causing me any trouble. I’m more than happy to share an office with her.”

My throat locked with an unreleased breath, and I prayed to God this conversation was going to be over before I passed outdue to the lack of air. In his presence, breathing properly and having all your brain cells working was impossible.

Before I tried to avoid my gaze from landing on him, now I found myself unable to peel my eyes off the man standing in front of me. Mr. Graves’ stare held me hostage as I waited for him to say something, time slipping by.

“Right,” I spoke before he could. “I better get going.” I tipped my chin forward. “Thank you.” When I realized his lips wouldn’t form a ‘goodbye,’ I walked past him and headed directly to the office.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

Why did you have to chicken out in front of him?

He was just so… intimidating that I found it hard to know how to act around him. I’ve dealt with a lot of people over the years, but no one had ever made me want to crawl out of my skin just by the way they were looking at me.

When I opened the door to Sara’s office, I still felt his gaze burning my back. Yet as I stole a glance to where he was standing mere moments ago, there was no sign of him.

“Come in, don’t be shy,” Sara urged me to walk inside as my eyes lingered for too long in the hallway.

I did as she said and took a seat next to her, both of the chairs being placed under the same long desk. She opened my laptop and pointed her fingers at a white sticky note.

“Log in and then I’ll guide you through.” Sara let me input all the info and she went back to her own work, throwing a glance my way from time to time while I got used to the interface of the system.

Before I knew it, Sara showed me the minor tasks I had for the two weeks I’d be on probation and it didn’t take me long until I was caught up in work.

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