Page 52 of A Perfect Pairing
“You lose something?” Brett asked, passing.
“I just set something down for a minute to help Lydia, and now it’s gone.” A thought came to her. “You don’t think…?” She rushed down the hall to Kathleen’s office in time to see the woman feeding her brochure into a shredder. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Natasha slapped theOFFbutton.
“Nothing that concerns you. Get out of my office.”
“I don’t think so. You had no business taking my stuff and shredding it.” Her voice rose with each word, and she was a heartbeat away from snapping.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
George and Brett appeared at the door. George asked, “What’s going on in here?” He divided a questioning gaze between Natasha and Kathleen.
“I left a brochure on the table fortwominutes and came back to find it gone and in her damn shredder.”
“Kathleen?”
“She’s lying.”
Natasha was across the space in a flash. She pointed a finger in Kathleen’s face. “Then I shouldn’t find half my paper still in your shredder if I’m lying.” She yanked out the bottom half that hadn’t gone through yet and waved it in the woman’s face. “So, who’s lying now?”
“That’s mine,” Kathleen insisted.
“Prove it. Pull up the file.” She folded her arms and waited. Kathleen started fumbling with the keys. “That’s what I thought.” Natasha stormed out of the office and came back moments later with her own laptop, which had the open file on it. “Unlike you, I can prove it’s mine. Besides, the last time I checked, you didn’t have a degree in interior design.” She clamped her jaw shut and swept out before she was tempted to do or say something that would guarantee her losing her job.
On her way out, she heard George say, “You’ve done some dumb things, Kathleen, but this time you went too far. My office.Now!”
Back in her quiet space, Natasha paced the floor, trying to calm down. Her head pounded, and her hands shook. She usually didn’t advocate for someone to lose their job, but this time she could care less if that crazy woman got fired. Stopping, she braced one hand on the desk and the other across her middle. The deep breathing didn’t help, and it took every ounce of her control not to walk back down the hall and curse Kathleen out. She thought it best that she leave. She hit the keys on her laptop with more force than necessary. The last thing she needed on top of everything else was to break her computer, so she eased up. After printing another copy, she stuck it into her tote, locked her desk, and walked out.
“You okay?” Brett asked with concern.
Not trusting herself to speak, she simply nodded and kept going. She would apologize to him later. Before she realized it, her steps took her up the block to the construction company. She took a chance that Antonio hadn’t left yet.
“Hey, Leah. Is Antonio still here?”
“Hey, Tasha. Yep. Let me see if he’s available.” She picked up the phone and spoke for a few seconds. “He’ll be right out.”
Antonio appeared on the heel of Leah’s words. Natasha’s expression must have given her away because he didn’t say anything, just led her back to his office, closed the door, and wrapped his strong arms around her. He always knew what she needed.
Some of Natasha’s anger dissolved as his hand made a lazy path up and down her back. She didn’t think she’d ever been this upset with a co-worker. What she felt now rivaled her emotions when she found out about Julian’s shenanigans. Closing her eyes, she listened to the rhythmic sound of Antonio’s heart beating beneath her ear. It was steady and even, much like the man, and a semblance of calm worked its way through her body.
“What’s going on, Tasha?”
“Kathleen.” She explained the situation and how close she’d come to losing her control. “I really wanted to hurt her, and that scares me.”
Still holding her, Antonio said, “That’s understandable. She’s been tap-dancing on your nerves for a while. This just happened to be the last straw. Don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart. You’re human just like the rest of us, and sometimes our emotions get the best of us. Hopefully George will put a stop to it.”
“She needs to be fired or at leastencouragedto take an early retirement.” Natasha sort of felt bad for wanting the woman to be fired. Sort of. “I don’t know what her problem is, other than everyone is selling better than her these days. She’s always had an air about her because she’s the oldest and been there the longest, but it’s gotten worse over the past year.”
He leaned back and tilted her chin. “I know it’s hard, but try not to let her get to you.” He kissed her softly. “You’re good at what you do, so just concentrate on that. And on getting your interior design business off the ground. Then you won’t have to see her at all.”
Natasha released a deep sigh. “I know, and I’ve been trying. But today… today was too much.” She backed out of his arms and smoothed her hair down. “I’m sorry for interrupting you. I just started up the street and ended up here.”
Antonio leaned against the desk and pulled her to stand between his legs. He stared intently at her. “No need to apologize. I’m glad you came to me. You can always,alwayscome to me.”
When their lips connected, she forgot all about Kathleen, being angry… everything. This man had eased his way back into her life and reclaimed a big chunk of her heart.
Antonio’s heart finally returned to a normal pace. As he continued to hold Natasha, myriad emotions swirled in his gut. When he’d first seen her, fear unlike anything he had ever experienced gripped him. Not knowing what was going on, he did the one thing that had always come naturally—wrapping her in his arms and holding her close. Even now, the slight tremor in her body let him know her anger hadn’t fully dissipated. He hated that she had to deal with this kind of mess.
“Do you need to get back right away?”
