Page 21 of His to Keep
Our eyes lock and there’s something warm and admiring in her gaze. It makes me feel about twenty feet tall. I think I could be happy for the rest of my life if Rebecca just looked at me that way.
“Luke?”
I force myself to jerk my attention away from her to focus on the questions of the stragglers. By the time I’m done, the conference room is clean and Rebecca is nowhere to be found. I try to tamp down the disappointment I feel. I’d been hoping for a repeat of our interaction in the kitchen.
Rebecca is also absent from her desk when I get back to my office and my disappointment spikes again. Wesley is there though, looking pleased. “That went well,” he says cheerily.
“What’s with the face?” I ask. “Since when do you smile at work?”
His smirk grows. “Just thinking about what I’m going to buy with the bonus you promised me.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I do my best to keep the stern look on my face, but Wesley isn’t buying it. He knows me far too well and we both know he worked his ass off for the deal I closed in Asia, keeping the office running in my absence and flying over to Hong Kong three different times when I needed more assistance. He’s more than earned his bonus.
“Ha ha,” he says drily, turning his monitor so I can see what appears to be an online clothing store. The page is filled with cashmere sweaters. “I’m thinking the eggplant,” Wesley muses. “But maybe that stormy grey. What do you think? Does it match my eyes?”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to blow the whole thing on clothes.”
He groans. “You sound just like Jeff. He thinks we should do something totally boring. Like fix up the house or…” he shudders dramatically. “Investit.” I have to laugh at his abject horror. Wesley and his fiancé, Jeff, couldn’t be more different. Then again, maybe that’s why they work so well. Of course that line of thought has my mind going straight to Rebecca and I can’t help letting my gaze drift over to her empty desk. I wonder what things we have in common, what ways we’re opposite. Would we work as well as Wesley and Jeff?
“She went to get lunch,” Wesley says, sounding amused, and I snap my eyes back to him. His knowing expression makes me uneasy. I wonder what he saw in my face just then, when my mind was filled with thoughts of her.
“Rebecca,” he clarifies. “She went to pick up lunch.”
It takes a lot of effort but I think I manage to adopt a neutral expression. “Sounds good. I’m hungry.”
Before he can say anything else—or read any more secrets in my expression—I turn away from my secretary and stride into my office. I’m pretty sure I hear his soft chuckle as I shut the door behind me.
* * *
I stay holedup in my office for the afternoon, knocking off items on my ever growing to-do list. Sometimes it feels like I never make any progress at all. As soon as I finish a task, three more appear to take its place. I’m finally feeling like I’m getting caught up from my time in Asia, so that’s something at least.
At three o’clock, I’m on a call with the executive staff in Hong Kong when I notice the inter-office line is lit up on my phone. That’s strange—Wesley would never put a call through when he knows I’m on a conference call. Even stranger, there’s a soft knock on my door a moment later. My annoyance spikes. I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m busy—a fact Wesley is more than aware of. I wonder if he had to leave his desk for something. Another knock on the door. I mute the call and bark out, “come in.”
The door opens and I see Rebecca standing there, looking both nervous and determined. And so fucking gorgeous I think I might combust if I don’t get my hands on her. In the span of three seconds, dozens of images flash through my mind, all of them revolving around the many ways I wish for this gorgeous, curvy woman to service her boss.
But then I take a closer look at her eyes and see that there’s a third emotion there—worry.
I unmute myself. “I’m sorry, gentlemen,” I say immediately, not even caring that I’m cutting someone off. “Something pressing just came up. I’ll have my secretary reschedule soon.”
I hang up without waiting for a response, already halfway out of my seat.” What’s wrong?”
“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Rebecca says, wringing her hands. “It’s Wesley.”
“Did something happen?”
“His boyfriend was in a car accident,” she whispers, and a bolt of fear goes through me. I know Jeff fairly well, would even consider him a friend. Even more than that, though, is the knowledge that Wesley is head over heels for him, and would be absolutely crushed if anything happened.
“Fiancé,” I correct, already heading to the door. “Jeff is his fiancé.”
I stride past her to find an empty desk. “Did he already leave?” I ask, pulling out my phone.
“He did,” she affirms. “Just a few moments ago. He said to apologize and—”
I wave her off, pulling up Wesley’s contact. When he answers, he sounds shaky and I can hear noise from the street in the background. “Take a breath,” I tell him immediately, his utter panic clear. “How are you getting to the hospital?”
“I’m trying to catch a cab.”
“You don’t have your car?”
