Page 26 of If You Could Only Imagine
Chapter 14
Aiden~
I was in trouble.
Big trouble.
Huge, big, gigantic, enormous, immeasurable trouble.
But did I regret what I did?
Fuck. No.
And I’d do it again.
Okay…well, maybe not. Maybe next time, Denise and I will be in a place where I won’t feel the need to piss a circle around her. Maybe she’ll have mercy on me and not murder me before I have a chance to explain my little…lapse in judgment.
While I didn’t regret putting Raymond Sampson in his place, now that I wasn’t fueled by insecure rage, Shane’s words kept bouncing around in my head about respecting Denise, both personally and professionally.
I can admit my actions might have been a teeny, tiny bit disrespectful from a professional standpoint, but…shit. I really didn’t have a good excuse. I had lots and lots of reasons for acting like a tool, but no good excuses.
Glancing at my wristwatch, I noticed it was past office hours, and I was kind of surprised that Denise hadn’t burst into my office the second her meeting with Sampson was over. I expected her to come in here and tear me a new one.
But nothing.
I haven’t heard a peep, and I knew that wasn’t a good thing.
The day was over for most everyone in the building, and even though I did have shit to do, I knew I wasn’t going to get anything done. I needed to meet this fight-that we were no doubt going to have-head on.
I grabbed my phone off my desk, stuck it in my back pocket, and was standing up to go find Denise when the door to my office opened and she came stalking in; heading straight for me.
Shit.
She stopped a foot or so in front of my desk while I remained standing on the other side. “Babe…”
Her hand came up, her palm flat, stopping me from saying more. “Don’t, Mr. Buchanan,” she snapped.
Mr. Buchanan?
And that’s when I noticed it.
Her eyes were rimmed with a touch of red and they were glossy with unshed emotions. The observation was like a knife to my chest. I could only hope her tears were ones of rage and not pain.God, I hope I didn’t hurt this girl.
“Denise…”
I watched in horrid realization as she said, “I’m only here as a professional courtesy, Mr. Buchanan, to let you know that if Mrs. Buchanan does move forward with heading up her own division, I will be accepting the position she offered me to join her.” I could only give her a nod of my head. “Also, if you ever disrupt one of my client meetings for personal reasons again, I will not only report this to my boss, I will file a formal complaint with Human Resources and Mason Buchanan.”
Fuck, she was pissed.
I raised my hand to stop her tirade, wanting to inform her that none of her threats were necessary, but she didn’t stop. “And, furthermore,” she took a step closer, and placing her hands flat on my desk, leaned in towards me, her eyes blazing, “if youever,and I do meanever,refer to me in such a blatant personal manner again, I will quit on the spot.”
“Denise,” I knew I had crossed the line, I just hadn’t realized to what extent, “that won’t be necessary, as it will never happen again.”God, please, don’t ever let it happen again.
She straightened up and the glare she gave me had my balls wanting to shrivel up and hide. “I know it won’t, Mr. Buchanan,” she replied. “Because, from this moment on, there will be no more reasons for you to address me in such a personal manner.”The fuck?“And, moving forward, I’mrespectfullyrequesting that you address me as Ms. Hart.”
I was around my desk before she could blink. I towered over her and I made no effort to hide my misplaced anger. “I get that I crossed a line earlier,” I admitted, because…well, I did. “And I get that you’re pissed, but you’re out of your fucking mind if you think this will be business only.”
The look on her face was making my balls cry in fear. They were screaming at me that I was wrong and to take cover like a coward until the storm blows over, but they were just going to have to take the hit on this one. I knew I was wrong, so I was going to endure her wrath, because…well, I deserved it, but there was no way I was letting her call it quits on us.
