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Alex remained silent, as if waiting for him to break. But Hunter stayed strong, giving as good as he got and finally Alex offered a little grunt before he left Hunter’s office.
He fell back his chair and smoothed a hand over his face. Wished like hell he could call Becky or even better, Gracie, and ask what was going on.
What had he done to offend her, to make her want to leave—even temporarily? He believed they’d finally come to an understanding. Though he’d solemnly sworn he wouldn’t so much as flirt with her again, he secretly hoped she wouldn’t be able to withstand being near him and finally give in.
Turned out she was more than able to resist him—she’d turned cold as ice. And so he’d had no choice but to adhere to her rules, not wanting to offend her, especially not in the work place. He’d been perfectly willing to settle with their professional relationship and never taking it further again.
At least, that’s what he’d told himself.
He checked his email, went over some notes a staff member sent him in regards to a new fragrance line they were considering, something Worth had never attempted before. They were supposed to have a meeting about it this afternoon, a brainstorming event that was scheduled to run for two hours. Would Gracie attend? Or was she already prepared to bail?
Frustration flooded his veins and he glanced around the office. The urge to throw something was overwhelming. Jesus, he was sick of walking on eggshells around the woman. Forget what Alex said, maybe they should have it out. He was getting nowhere in their current situation and apparently, neither was she.
Hunter frowned. For once in his life, he didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to fix it. And that irritated the ever-loving crap out of him.
Gracie sat huddled over her keyboard, staring listlessly at the monitor but not really seeing a thing. She was tired, worried and on edge. Too many overwhelming things were happening in her life, and she was afraid she couldn’t keep it under control any longer.
She’d been riding the top of an emotional roller coaster since she came into contact with her grandma. They talked on the phone, sent regular emails to each other and shared photos. Cried a lot of tears over it all too. Not that she regretted contacting her grandmother…
It left her wiped out, though. Drained. She tossed and turned at night, found it hard to sleep. She reevaluated her past. Seeing those photos of her mom, of her and her mom together, they hurt. The steel wall she kept so carefully erected around her heart came down within seconds of seeing that first photo of her sitting on her mother’s lap. Smiling, her chin covered in drool, her mother smiling down at her.
She looked so much like her mom, it was downright eerie. And she’d had no idea, had never owned one single photograph of her mother until the ones her grandma sent her.
Lack of sleep and an overload of emotion affected her work, and she knew people noticed. She was letting them down and oh, how she hated that. Getting through the Worthwhile spring launch was her current concern and after that was done, she could breathe a sigh of relief. Take that short break she talked to Becky about and spend more time with her grandma.
Her friend had nagged incessantly out of concern. Gracie didn’t feel strong enough to tell her what was really going on in her personal life. She’d been especially taken aback when Becky flat out asked her if Hunter was giving her any sort of trouble of the sexual harassment kind.
It had puzzled Gracie ever since. Where had that come from? Had their attraction been that noticeable? Did he make eyes at her and she didn’t even realize it? Or worse, was she the one who was so obvious?
“If he’s harassing you, you shouldn’t let him get away with it,” Becky had said last night on the phone when she’d called yet again, her voice full of venom.
Gracie had reassured her that of course not, he wasn’t harassing her, but now she worried. Becky was in charge of human resources—what if she started investigating? What if she—heaven forbid—confronted Hunter? Knowing him, he’d go noble and throw himself on his sword and confess their brief affair.
A shudder moved through her, and she closed her eyes. Everything was getting so incredibly complicated. She didn’t know if she could deal with it.
Her inbox dinged and she checked it, saw it was from Becky. Dread filled her as she opened the email.
I’m concerned for you, Gracie. I spoke with Alex Worth this morning in regards to what’s going on and he said he was concerned as well. In fact, he’s speaking to Hunter at this very moment about it.
Do the right thing. Take care of yourself.
Gracie frowned. Do the right thing? What did that even mean? And Alex was talking to Hunter at this very moment? Her heart sank. What was Alex saying? What would Hunter say? Her stomach cramped, and she wished she'd never said a word to Becky. Now, she was too nervous, too scared of Hunter’s reaction.
Had he taken her request to heart? Was he so over her that he could care less about her asking to leave temporarily? What if he wasn’t going to fight for her? What if he suggested they get rid of her permanently?
She was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help it. Yes, she needed to get away from Hunter. Being close to him day in and day out was too hard on her already frazzled and stressed out nerves. It had been her idea for them to never see each other again “that way” after a few amazing moments together and now…
Now she regretted it. She’d never say it out loud, she’d certainly never tell Hunter but yes, she regretted it. Regretted the chance she let slip through her fingers like sand.
A shadow came over her, and she glanced over her shoulder to find Alexander Worth himself standing just inside her cubicle, wearing such a serious expression she wondered if she was in trouble.
Lord, the man was intimidating. Taller and broader than Hunter but not nearly as good looking, at least in her opinion, he could quiet a room with a l
ook. Send an employee running out of a meeting with tears streaming down their face. She’d witnessed it before.
She really hoped she wasn’t the one he wanted to make cry today.
“Can you spare a moment so we can talk, Miss Hayes? I won’t take too much of your time.” He flashed a quick, genial smile.
