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How could this have happened? How could she fall in lust with the one man who could make or break her career, her future?
She stared out at the scenery without seeing it, desperately seeking a solution to this unacceptable situation. He’d kissed her, and she’d kissed him back. Embarrassment flooded her cheeks with heat. She’d let that happen, shown him she wanted him. How could she face him? Especially with that oh-so-righteous attitude of his. She could protect herself, damn it.
Unable to calm, Rowan paced the room. Back and forth. Over and over. The more time passed, the more she realized maybe he’d been right. This was his territory, not hers. She was the rookie. Back at the window, she jumped when a deer walked right in front of her with two fawns behind her. They wandered along the edges of the yard, munching on leaves and flowers. How could something so cute be dangerous?
As they slipped into the forest on the other side of the driveway, the buck walked past her window, his thick, velvety antlers looking dangerous even without the sharp points she guessed he would grow into. Rowan took a step back, and the deer turned to the window, gave her one long stare, then bounded off after his family. They’d appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly. Could other animals do that? Be there without her knowledge? Show up when she least expected it and not be as tolerant as the deer family?
Maybe she owed Gerard, her egotistical, overbearing, hypocritical boss, an apology. Her gut churned at the idea of having to eat crow. The clock on her bedside table showed it was after nine, and they had a lot of work to get through today, though she had no idea how she’d ever manage to work with him. Her brain put up stop signs and barricades, then her body tore them all down. She’d just need to keep her distance. The conference room at the office came to mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized he’d been doing the same thing—separating them. Keeping his distance. Her boss was as attracted to her as she was to him.
This was not good.
Yes, it is, her body reminded her.
No. It wasn’t. She needed to succeed here. To prove she could do the job without innuendo and suspicion following her around.
Distance. That’s what would do the trick. And he’d probably agree after this morning. Rowan took a quick shower, pulled her wet hair into a ponytail, and changed into her baggiest clothing, then went out to find the demon she’d agreed to spend the weekend with.
She walked into the main room, surprised but not surprised to see him already working at the dining table. He didn’t look up, so she walked over and stood on the opposite side. He still didn’t look up, the infuriating man.
“You were probably right this morning,” she said, trying hard not to grind the words out.
He paused, set his pen down, and looked up. “Probably?”
She pulled both lips in, biting hard before releasing them. “I should have been more careful.”
He watched her for such a long time, she squirmed inside, but Rowan held his gaze. Finally, he nodded his head. “Apology accepted.” He turned back to his work.
“Apology?” she said, her voice spiking.
He raised an eyebrow as he glanced her way.
Pull it back, Rowan. You have work to do, and another battle isn’t going to help that. Take the high road. Deep inside, she knew she wasn’t taking that elevated path. She reached for her bag, pulled her laptop out, and sat down across the table. She tried to check emails, then sighed when she remembered there was no Wi-Fi here. That was the reason they’d come.
“Has Michael checked in?” she asked. He had the landline number here.
He shook his head.
“He will before end of day, I’m guessing. What are you working on?”
He paused his keyboard tapping and looked at her. “Give me half an hour to finish this up, then I’ll show you. What you mentioned yesterday about family ties… Do you have graphic skills? Can you work up an envelope for the portfolio? Then, after I get this initial framework done for the prospectus, we can go over what funds to showcase.”
“I do have graphics expertise, and I may already have graphics I can use, but since I can’t download any, I can at least get us a rough draft.”
“Perfect.”
“Okay.” She took a minute to get herself some coffee, since she hadn’t drunk a drop of her earlier cup. “Need a top-off?”
“Yes, please.”
She brought the pot and filled his empty cup. “Cream or sugar?”
“No. Black is fine.”
She opened the fridge to find creamer there. It wasn’t her usual caramel, but the vanilla would satisfy her sweet tooth. She doctored her coffee, grabbed a croissant, and sat back down. She pulled up the folder in which she’d plunked a bunch of Scott pictures and ate while she perused them. There were several of employees and several of family. None of them were perfect, and she’d have to go with royalty-free pictures for the actual portfolio, but she could mock up what she had in mind here.
With her croissant finished, she took a sip of coffee, opened up her graphic design software and dug in. It took her longer than she’d planned, and it was an hour later when she raised her head to find Gerard watching her from his side of the table. His coffee steamed, and he was eating a sweet roll, so he’d gotten up at some point, and she’d never heard a sound.
“I wondered how long it would take you to come up for air,” he said, smiling.
