Page 58 of Accidental Theirs
I’ve become pretty adept at lying to myself.
When she comes in the door, I stiffen, sitting straight up at my desk.
She looks pale. She must really be sick.
I want to call her into my office, see how she’s doing. But the words catch in my throat as she walks by my open door.
She’s wearing another one of those skirts of hers, the ones that make me want to bunch them around her hips and bend her over my desk.
I clear my throat, looking away from the long lines of her thighs.
A knock sounds on my doorjamb, and I look up eagerly,thinking it’s Olivia. Instead, though, it’s Marie, my personal assistant, and she’s carrying a file folder.
I sigh. “More signatures?”
She nods, walking in and shutting the door.
I raise an eyebrow. “Something private?”
“Kind of.” She bites her lip and sits down across from me. “It’s about Olivia.”
I blink. “What about Olivia?”
She looks up at me with wary eyes. “Olivia is... going through something.”
I try to relax my shoulders, knowing I look tense.
Of course, Olivia is going through something. Why else would she want a night likethatnight? She needed to let loose, needed to be taken care of.
“What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head. “It’s personal. Nothing I can talk about.”
I frown. “Then why are you here?”
She looks up at me. “Because I know how you feel about her.”
Her voice is quiet and small, but it sucks all the air out of the room.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on, Damien. I work more closely with you than with anyone else. I see the way you look at her. Or rather, the way youdon’t.”
“You’re not making sense.”
“I’m making perfect sense. But what I’m telling you is this—if this merger goes sideways, I don’t know if Olivia can handle it.”
“If that’s what’s bothering her, I can assure you. Everything is going fine. The merger is forging ahead without obstacles.”
“But?” She keeps looking at me expectantly.
I sigh. “But, what?”
“But there’s something else. Something you’re hiding?”
I take an even breath.
There are certain people I can tell the truth about this merger, and I’m trying to decide if Marie is one of them. She’s close friends with Olivia, and I don’t want this getting back to her.
