Page 46 of Beautiful Desire

It’s okay. I’ll see you at your place.

Me

Thanks, bitch. Love you. xx

Gia

Love you. xx

As I finish with my cell, the phone on my desk rings.

“Mr. Lombardi’s office. This is Elle. Can I help you?” I answer without checking the caller ID.

“Hello, Miss. Parker. Can you come to my office, please?” Dom’s deep, sexy voice sounds through the line.

It doesn’t matter how many times a day I hear him speaking, his voice always has an effect on me and sends goosebumps all over my body.

“Of course, Mr. Lombardi. I’ll be right there.”

Placing the receiver down, I grab my iPad and set off for Dom’s office. As I approach, I can see his office door is open, and he is sitting behind his desk. Before I can knock, he lifts his head as if he sensed my presence, and a smile breaks out over his face.

“Miss Parker, please come in and take a seat.”

Walking over to one of the leather chairs in front of his desk, I sit down, unlocking my iPad and having the notes section open and ready.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“I just wanted to thank you for a successful first few days. Without all your hard work, I honestly don’t think we would have secured and maintained all of our clients, and I wouldn’t have known the first place to look for their files. Peter wasn’t the most organized man.”

I hate to laugh, but I do because it’s true. “Peter’s organizational skills were lacking, to put it nicely. You should have seen his office before you took over. He had stacks of files everywhere and no method to his madness. Too many client files were getting lost, so I stopped bringing him the physical copies and started emailing them to him.”

He cocks his head to the side, and a confused look crosses his face before he speaks. “But you brought me the physical file. Why’s that?”

“I did. Something told me that, despite being younger than Peter, you’d like to hold the file in your hands and make notes on it if needed.” I feel a blush creep up my cheeks at the thought of his hands and how they felt on my skin.

Gently nodding, Dom replies. “You’re right. I do like the physical copy better than an electronic one.”

“Is that all, sir?” I ask, feeling the need to put some distance between us.

“That’s it,” he confirms.

Standing up, I spin around and head for the door when I’m instantly stopped by his next words.

“What did you mean when you told Fabi it was good to be back?”

Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Dom was theoneperson I didnotwant to find out.

Damn you, Fabi, for having to be so sweet and make sure I was okay.

My hands feel clammy, and I begin to sweat. I have two options here: I can lie or I could tell him the truth. If I lie, he’s liable to see right through me and find out the reason for my absence from someone else, which would not end well for me. Or I can be a big girl and tell him the truth.

Even though we decided to keep it strictly professional, he’s still my boss, and I would tell Peter. That is theonlyreason why I decide to tell him the truth.

Without turning around, I take a deep breath before saying, “I had surgery and was on medical leave for the last five months.”

Not bothering waiting for a reply, I bolt out of his office and quickly back to my desk.

“Elle, wait,” he calls after me.

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