Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
He stopped at my desk, his focus on me, expectant but patient. He held his briefcase, one that was no doubt expensive as hell.
I swallowed and handed the files to him. “The Charleston reports for the meeting, sir.” The way I said sir had this little shock of electricity moving through me.
He slipped his phone into the inner pocket of his jacket and looked at me with those dark eyes that had my toes curling. With his gaze locked on me, I felt a chill move over me, like I was bared to him. A part of me hated myself for wanting him as much as I did. Before I could give him the rundown of his day, he took the folder, looked down at it, and lifted his head so he was watching me again.
“Thank you.”
I swore the way he said those two words meant a lot more than gratitude.
I thought about the coffee run-in this morning, how he’d looked at me, how I’d felt inexplicably drawn to him. Why had I ever thought I could keep a distance between us?
“Have a good morning, Miss Morris,” he said and turned to head into his office, but not before looking at me before he closed his door.
I sat down and exhaled roughly.
The phone rang, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“Dexter and Calvin, Mr. Shelby’s office, how may I help you?” I put on my “business frame of mind” and turned toward the computer to pull up Pope’s schedule. “Mr. Shelby just came in, but I’ll certainly pass the message along.” I looked over at the window to his office, saw him sitting behind his desk, the phone to his ear, but his focus was on me. I faced my computer probably a little too quickly, a little too obviously.
But the entire time, I knew he watched me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Olive
Istood by the copy machine, my back killing me and my feet aching from these heels I thought were a good idea to wear because they’d been pretty. A tension headache started to creep up the back of my head and take up residence behind my left eye, like this tiny jackhammer that was slowly chipping away at the ground to set up the foundation for something bigger.
I lifted my hand and rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ease the muscles, to get the tension away.
It was fruitless though.
Over the past couple weeks, I’d done pretty well at keeping things on a very professional level at work around Pope. Although inside it was like a tug of war, my heart and mind fighting each other, logic and reason over desire and need, making it almost impossible to concentrate. And my heart was trying to win. My heart was winning.
I stayed afterhours, the majority of the office having already left. But I wanted to get a head start, because it was Friday and I didn’t want all this extra work piled up for when I came in Monday.
The headache started coming on a little fiercer, and I picked up the copies once the last one was done, put them in a neat pile, and turned around. A little gasp of shock left me when I saw Pope standing in the doorway. He had one leg crossed over the other, his shoulder leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed.
He looked tired, but he still smiled at me softly. I knew today had been especially rough, with back-to-back meetings, complications with a merger, and just overall stress I’d felt in the office. I’d come to find out that before a big deal went down, things were tense and rough. I hadn’t been with Brookwood Financial Holdings long enough to really see that side. The side I saw was the tyrant I worked for.
But even through all that, Pope hadn’t passed that stress on to me. He always kept his voice calm, his attitude easygoing. He was so unlike my former employer that I was a little bit shocked and taken aback. Whereas Felix shouted what he wanted, demanding things, Pope was the opposite. I knew it wasn’t just because he was a nice guy. I knew I felt this way because of my emotions for him.
“I didn’t even hear you sneak up,” I teased and smiled. My head started hurting and I squinted my eyes, lifted my hand, and started to rub my temple. I instantly saw concern on his face as he pushed himself away from the doorframe and took a step toward me.
“Are you okay?” The concern in his voice took me aback a little bit.
I nodded and pointed to my head like that was going to answer all his questions. “I just have a little tension headache.”
He made a deep sound in his throat and tipped his chin out the doorway. “Come on.”