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“I-I’ll clean it up.” Kiera pulls free and starts to rise from her chair.
Gently, I grab her shoulders and ease her back down. Images of her handling broken glass flash through my head. Nope.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. Go to lunch. Take an extra hour if you need it.”
She needs a break and some mental space. Besides, I’m not handling myself well when I’m around her. I may look like a concerned boss to her now, but if I stay this close to her for much longer, I’m worried I’ll coax her into getting horizontal on my desk.
I need to get my shit together.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll be eating a sandwich at my desk and catching up on emails, so there’s no reason for you to rush back.”
“Thank you.” She bites her lip I’m so desperate to kiss. “I appreciate you stepping in and—”
“Of course.”
There’s a long moment of silence between us as we stare at each other.
Five minutes ago, all I could think about was avoiding Kiera. Now, I don’t want to leave her side. And I never want to see her cry again. But she’s my employee. I can’t just disregard all rules of professional conduct in the office.
I clear my throat, plastering on what I hope is an appropriate smile. “I know you’ve only been here a few weeks, but I promise KH Industries doesn’t allow Dan’s sort of behavior. Like every employee, you deserve to be treated with respect.” I bend and pick up the half-cracked picture at her feet, brushing the glass away and studying the image. “Your family?”
“Yeah. My mom, dad, and sisters.”
They appear happy and close-knit. Must be nice. “Looks like you’re going to need another picture frame.”
“Yeah.” She sniffles again as she grabs her purse. “I’ll buy a new one this weekend.”
I nod. “Have a good lunch.”
She sends me a glance full of gratitude and something else soft and sweet that makes me want to kiss her. “I will. Bye.”
Slowly, she brushes past me. She sniffles again. And god, I can smell her. Her scent wafts through my brain, and suddenly my thoughts are back in her darkened bedroom where she cried out my name. It’s all I can do not to grab her and haul her into my office and calm her, hold her, pleasure her—whatever she’ll let me do.
I don’t. I watch her until she makes the corner to the elevator. The distant ding tells me she’s gone.
And I feel so bereft without her, it terrifies me.
Kiera
Keeping my emotions under wraps has never been one of my strong suits. And the one time in my life I really try not to care about a man, he makes it almost impossible. After he just defended and soothed me, how can I not catch feelings for Jonathan Knight?
You’re reading too much into his gestures. He would have defended any employee being verbally attacked.
True, but the way he stayed with me and seemed so concerned made me feel important, like more than merely his assistant.
But I can’t break our cardinal rule.
I’m not. I won’t. I’m just rattled after Dan’s shit and mistaking gratitude for something more. Of course, Jonathan interceded with Dan. The man was acting somewhere between irrational and violent. And it’s no surprise that my concerned boss agreed to clean up the broken glass. He doesn’t want me getting hurt and potentially filing some kind of workers’ comp claim. His consideration doesn’t mean anything, except that he doesn’t want to be without an assistant again.
After a yummy lunch and calming bestie hugs from Kami—along with gentle warnings not to read too much into Jonathan’s protectiveness—I head back to the office. An hour-plus away was just what I needed. I feel almost like myself again. And I’m feeling much better about my grip on my emotions.
Until I step off the elevator and round the corner to my desk, only to find my family photo nestled in a brand-new frame, occupying the same corner of honor on my desk it once did. In front of it sits a sticky note that reads:
I replaced your broken frame so you would always have your family nearby. Hope you like it.
J
