Page 20 of Fairy Tale Lies
“What time is it?” Greta peered at the clock over the door. Four was early, and Allen wasn’t one to leave prematurely.
“Remember? My mom needs me to drive her to the doctor’s.”
“Oh, right.” Greta stretched, releasing a kink in her back while glancing around the office. “Where’s Rae?”
“Left. Maybe an hour ago. She was needed in another department,” answered Jacob in a distracted tone, flipping through a stack of papers in front of him.
They’d spent the morning discussing the many options for expanding his online presence. He seemed slightly overwhelmed at the myriad of possibilities.
“Real observant, Greta.” Allen grabbed his jacket from the coat rack. “You both have a nice evening.” He waved and left, letting the door swing shut behind him.
Alone. With Jacob.
The office shrank and had become a secluded island. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, making her wonder if Jacob could hear it. She tapped her nails on the tabletop and stared out the window, trying to slow her beating heart.
“Relax, I’m not going to try to seduce you, or anything,” he said in a monotone.
She turned from the view outside to Jacob. He was staring at the papers in front of him, his jaw ticking. His eyes were too focused on his work. He was annoyed.
“I didn’t think you would.”
In truth, she was afraid she’d do the seducing. She understood they were a bad match; however, her body was in no mood to listen to her brain.
He stared at her. There were hard, angry lines around his eyes and jaw. “Yeah, then why are you acting like a rabbit ready to bolt now that we’re alone?”
“Jacob, why do you always assume the worst of me?”
He sighed, and his shoulders slumped; the irritation seemed to drain from him. He ran both hands through his hair, returning it to the disheveled state she liked. “Sorry. I’m in a pissy mood. To be honest, working with you is difficult. I still want you.”
His bluntness surprised her, and she found herself answering with honesty too. “It’s difficult for me too. I feel the same.”
Jacob twitched as if startled by her admission. She must be good at hiding her emotions.
After a moment of loud silence, he said, “Maybe we shouldn’t ignore it.”
Her heart jumped with eagerness. She promptly locked down the emotion and shook her head no. “Bad idea.”
“Why?”
“What we had was a moment, nothing more. Just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we’re good together. We’re not compatible. At all. Plus, now we work together. At least until my internship’s over.”
“Our working together is temporary. Once the computer stuff is done, I’ll only be here occasionally.” He paused. “Wait. What do you mean internship? This isn’t your full-time job?”
“No. Not yet. I’m interning for the summer. In the fall, I’ll be back in Lansing. I have another semester until my masters is completed. After which, if my father approves of my work during this internship, he’ll hire me full-time.”
Something like disappointment flashed across his features but was quickly replaced with a teasing smile, one that played at the corners of his full, sexy mouth. He leaned forward and took her hand. “How do you know we aren’t compatible? We didn’t talk a whole hell of a lot the first time we met, did we?”
She dropped her gaze as images of their “first time” flashed through her mind.
“Come on, Greta.” He squeezed her hand. “Let’s try one real date. Dinner or a movie. No sex. I promise. Only talking.”
A strangled choke came from behind. Greta jerked her hand free from Jacob’s grasp and found Tim, from the mailroom, standing in the doorway.
Her gaze flew to Jacob, promising torture and dismemberment, before moving back to Tim. “He’s joking. What do you need?”
Darn it. This, right here, proved they were a bad match. He was much too forward with his actions and words. By the end of the workday, she’d be the most interesting piece of office gossip.
If this got back to her father, she’d never hear the end of it. Social status didn’t bother him as it did Mother, but he’d be furious to find his daughter the center of company gossip.
