Page 24 of Scandalous Secrets

I found a rom-com that I had seen before. There was comfort in knowing the ending already. A happy one, of course. One I couldn’t give my readers in my last book. A mistake that still had me reeling and avoiding my agent’s calls.

My takeout was delivered and I enjoyed it while watching the rest of the movie, eventually falling asleep on the couch with dreams of emails with to-do lists.

When Monday morning came around, I felt refreshed having spent the weekend holed up in my apartment. I hadn’t risked going out again in case there was the most minuscule chance I would run into Troy again. The odds were slim to none, especially where I lived in Queens.

I had even checked his calendar to see what his plans were, partly out of curiosity and partly to save myself a run-in in case I did venture out. On the evenings he left blank, I let my mind wander to what he might be doing. Who he might be with. Whose body his hands might be on. The thought made me immediately ‘X’ out of his neatly color-blocked life.

It wasn’t like he would have penciled in that he was getting laid anyway.

In the office, I carried his iced Americano to his desk and placed it on the same glossy black coaster I always did. I inspected the color one more time to make sure it was the perfect shade of dark caramel before taking a seat at my desk. I turned on my computer and opened my emails.

A sense of dread washed over me as I saw that my inbox was empty. No long to-do list. No calendar notifications. No word from Troy at all. I racked my brain as I tried to figure out if I had missed anything on Friday’s list. Anything that potentially would have gotten me fired to earn this unusual radio silence on his end.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to panic much longer because Troy walked in ten minutes later, surprisingly early after last week. He wore a light gray linen suit and a pale blue button-down that brought out the color of his skin. His hair looked like it was still damp from the shower, immediately causing my mind to wander back to seeing his body under the city lights.

I carefully watched him sit at his desk and take a sip of coffee, not even inspecting the color as I so tediously did. He did give a slight nod as if to say he approved after taking a sip. Then his eyes were on me, meeting the unintentional gaze I had on him. I had been caught.

“Monica, can you come in here, please?” he asked through his open door.

I swallowed hard.

“Mhmm,” I managed, standing from my desk chair and walking toward him. My body was all nerves. I wasn’t sure if it was because I thought I was about to get fired or because it was my close proximity to him.

I stood in his doorway waiting for his next move, smoothing out the black skirt I had carefully chosen this morning, not wanting to admit I was dressing more for him than the job. Black pumps weren’t the most practical thing to wear, but I did catch him staring just once, and I liked having his attention. Even more than a millisecond.

“Please sit,” he said, gesturing to the armchair across from his desk.

I did as he said.

“I wanted to tell you that I’m impressed with your work,” he said, folding his hands on his desk. My eyes fell to them briefly, remembering what they felt like on my bare skin. How his fingers explored hungrily. My eyes shot up to his again, as if they were a safer place to look.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again.

“Going forward, I would like you to be working more closely with me on a daily basis,” he said, his brows furrowed, as if it were difficult to get the words out. “That is, if you’re okay with that?”

His green eyes, more seafoam today, studied me carefully as his words fell over me.

More closely.

Daily basis.

This was what you signed up for, I reminded myself. This was what a personal assistant did.Don’t take it as a compliment. Don’t take it as anything more than what this is. A job.

“Of course,” I said, giving him a reassuring nod that I hoped didn’t look too eager.

But I was eager.

I cursed my stomach as it fluttered at the thought of spending more time with him. Learning more about him. Seeing more of his life. I placed my hand just below the breast of my blazer, trying to calm my traitorous stomach.

As much as I had spent all of last week avoiding him, the only thing I really wanted was to be close to him. He was like a calm storm that I was desperately trying not to get swept up in, but he was undeniable.

“I’m pleased to hear that,” he said. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his perfect lips.

Why did that sentence sound so sexy coming out of his mouth? I wanted to please him in more ways than I could count.

“Well, it’s what you hired me for,” I said, a gentle reminder that this was just business.

---