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“A girl can hope,” Sharonda said, following me to my desk.
An hour later, I adjusted one final formula and saved the document before leaning back in my chair and smiling at Sharonda. “There. It should work now.”
“Damn, Ry,” Sharonda gave me an admiring look, “that was some stellar shit right there. Amanda was right - you’re a whiz with Excel.”
I flushed happily at her praise. “Thank you, but you helped me with it.”
“Sure, but I would never have figured out how to fix most of them without you,” Sharonda said. “You’re good with numbers… have you ever considered becoming an accountant or a financial advisor?”
“No,” I said. “I like being a PA. It suits me.”
“It does,” she said. “You’re great at what you do, Riley. I mean that.”
“Thank you, Sharonda.”
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel my usual urge to downplay my accomplishments or pretend that what I did wasn’t that important. My job did make a difference, and while Mr. Rainer and my parents didn’t see that, Jamie always had, and now, so did Deacon. What I did and who I was mattered to people.
Whoa, where is this new and improved Riley coming from?
I had no idea, but I liked the new Riley and didn’t want her to leave.
“Riley?” Deacon’s office door opened, and he stepped out, staring at his phone screen. “I just wanted to thank you for getting the reports from Richard organized so quickly. It made a huge difference for my meeting this morning, and I… oh, hello.”
He smiled at Sharonda, and her face lit up, making her even more gorgeous. “Sharonda, right?”
“That’s right.” She stood and smoothed her dress, giving him a confident and sexy smile before stepping out from behind my desk and holding out her hand. “We didn’t get a chance to talk on Monday. It’s nice to meet you formally, Mr. Cross.”
“Call me Deacon,” he said.
“Deacon,” she repeated before glancing at her watch. “It’s almost lunch and if you don’t already have lunch plans, I’d love to take you out for a welcome to the firm lunch.”
Even as jealousy coated my stomach in a thick layer, I couldn’t help but wish I had even half the confidence that Sharonda had.
“That’s kind of you, but Riley and I have a lunch meeting today,” Deacon said.
I stared at him in surprise as Sharonda smiled. “Another time, then.”
She turned around and mouthed, “Sexy,” before winking at me and walking away.
I waited until she was gone before saying, “Your calendar doesn’t have a lunch meeting for us.”
“Surprise!” He grinned at me, and my breath caught in my throat. He was so damn handsome. A memory of Wednesday night, of being bent over his desk while his cock pressed at my hot core, flooded through me, and my cheeks went red hot.
I pressed my thighs together in a vain attempt to ease the ache as Deacon said, “Do you like pasta?”
“I do,” I said.
“Good. I have the perfect place. Grab your coat, please. We’ll take my car.”
“You would miss out on the chance to ride in Marvin?” I asked.
He laughed and ducked into his office to grab his coat before returning. “I don’t make it a habit of riding in death traps.”
“Hey,” I said, “Marvin is in the prime of his life.”
“Mm-hmm,” he said. “Ready to go?”
There was zero room in my budget for eating out, and I had no idea if this was a work lunch or a personal lunch and couldn’t count on Deacon buying my meal. Hating to once again appear like a broke loser, I tried another tactic. “Oh, I appreciate the invite, but I brought my lunch today.”
