Page 10 of Miss Typed

I was doing my best to figure it out. One thing I knew for sure was the corporate world wasn’t for me. Hadn’t I purposefully avoided it after college? Then again, this job sure beat sitting in my hometown feeling sorry for myself.

My mind floated back to my beautiful assistant. Would she be wearing the baby-blue dress with tan flats today? Or would it be the black dress with black pumps? Or my favorite, her pale pink dress?

Pathetic much? In my defense, details had always been something I noticed. My memory and attention to detail had served me well. But when it came to my new assistant, I wished I wasn’t noticing so much.

After parking in the garage, I took the elevator up and walked towards the far end of the floor. I didn’t see Chloe at her desk. My hackles rose when I realized the office door I’d locked was now ajar. Opening it further, my temper instantly spiked when I found Chloe inside, standing by my desk, looking out the window as if she belonged in here.

“What the hell are you doing in my office?”

She jumped at the sound of my voice, suddenly turning with her big brown eyes wide. “Oh, I was—”

“How did you get in? I locked the door before leaving.” My gaze immediately darted from my desk to my filing cabinet, both of which appeared to be untouched. The nature of my job insisted I be careful with security. Other than a handful of people, nobody in the building was to know I was checking up on them.

I’d thought Chloe had understood my explicit instructions against coming in here while I was gone. Apparently, I’d been wrong. This might not be the military, and I might not be a captain anymore, but I expected my orders to be followed. Disappointment coursed through my veins.

Her beautiful face turned red. “I escorted the plumber.”

“What?”

“The plumber. Facilities came down to let him in with a master key, and he’s in there now looking at your bathroom sink. It seems there was a leak?”

Shit. I’d sent an email yesterday about a leak to Facilities. Now they were here to fix it. I glanced over to see the plumber in question coming out of my private bathroom.

The older man with his large toolbox, addressed us both. “Have to order a part, but replaced the washer, which should make the leak better until the part comes in. I’m all finished up for today.”

My assistant, still appearing pink in the face, moved towards him. “I’ll, um, see you out. Thank you.”

I waited for her to come back in, hating the fact I’d made a snap judgment. But when she didn’t return, I peeked out my door.

She was at her desk, prim, proper, and entirely too innocent for me to have been entertaining such lustful thoughts about her. As much as I would have preferred to keep her at arm’s length, my professional and personal comfort zone, I owed her an apology. A big one.

“Chloe, do you have a moment?”

She pushed to her feet, grabbing a pen and pad, before walking toward me. “Certainly.”

I let her precede me into the office while trying in vain not to stare at her ass encased in the pale pink dress. Discipline, Samuels. She was a beautiful woman, no doubt about it, but she worked for me. I told myself I could never act on my attraction because of our professional relationship. I wouldn’t admit it might have more to do with my insecurities.

I took a deep breath. “I want to apologize for my snap judgment.”

Her lips parted. “I figured you’d rather have me in here to ensure I watched him, but maybe I should’ve called you first.”

“I’m grateful you escorted him in. And yes, it’s a good idea to give you my cell phone number in case of any future surprises.”

“Okay. And I’ll give you mine just in case, too.”

Although it was perfectly acceptable for us to share cell phone numbers, there was something weirdly intimate about putting her personal number into my device.

“I promise I would never enter your office without you being here unless there was a reason like the one today.”

Guilt hit me again over my snap judgment. “I appreciate it. In my line of business, I have a lot of security concerns.”

“What is your business?”

“Security.”

She chuckled. “I see. Well, say no more.”

I loved the sound of her laugh. And putting a smile on her face was quickly becoming my new favorite mission. “I wish I could.” How would she react to the news I monitored the employees of Delmont Security, including her and her friends?