Best Friends With the Billionaire(29)

“What’s going on?” Cassie said. “What’s this big secret?”

Mario settled himself in his seat and rested his elbows on the table. “It’s about you, Cassie. I was very impressed by your last project, and so was everyone else. Now, you probably don’t know, but Gus is transferring to Melbourne, so I need someone to take over his new project in Sydney, and I couldn’t think of anyone better than you.”

“Me?” Cassie started. “Take over from Gus? I—I can’t believe it.”

“It’s a twenty-million-dollar project. You’ll have to start as soon as you get back to Sydney.”

Betsy leaned across the table and squeezed Cassie’s hand. “Oh, you’ll be terrific, Cassie. You know your uncle is as hard-nosed as they come where his business is concerned, but you’ve earned this promotion fair and square. Mario’s going to give you a pay rise and a company car, and you’ll need an assistant, of course.”

Cassie turned to Kirk. She was sitting next to him, and he’d felt her tense when her uncle had revealed his news. Now, her toffee-brown eyes stared at him, wide and confused, and it seemed she was asking him something.

His gut was snarled, and his shoulders ached as spasms rippled down his back. A voice buried deep in his brain growled out—tell her not to accept. Tell her not to go back to Sydney. Tell her to stay and…and do what?

Damn this stupid, idiotic voice. Wasn’t he supposed to be Cassie’s best friend? He was meant to support her, not sabotage her.

He cleared his throat, and with an equanimity that surprised him, asked, “Who’s Gus?”

“My manager. Former manager, now, I guess,” she muttered. She turned back to her aunt and uncle, clearly agonized. “Oh, Aunt Betsy, Uncle Mario, I don’t know what to say. Are you sure I’m up to the job? You’re not just offering it to me because we’re related, are you?”

Mario snorted. “You heard your aunt. When it’s my business I’m not soft on family. I fired my own sister’s son because he was too lazy.” He tossed a couple of olives into his mouth. “If you accept, you’ll be working hard for the next two years. No time for long holidays, you understand.”

Beneath the table cloth Kirk’s hand curled into a fist. No vacations, no visits, no Christmas in a snowbound hotel.

“Oh, you’re frightening her off,” Betsy protested. “Cassie, I know you’ll do a fantastic job.” She cast an imploring glance in Kirk’s direction. “Kirk, you’re her friend. Tell her how smart and talented and hard-working she is, and how taking this job would be the best thing ever for her.”

Cassie’s eyes were glued on him. Her hands strangled a napkin in her lap. Perspiration prickled his back beneath his shirt. It felt like something was tearing him apart.

He fixed his gaze on her. “It sounds like a great opportunity,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “You really should take it.”

She stared at him a few more seconds, and then she seemed to deflate, the light fading from her eyes, her shoulders drooping as she swiveled away from him.

“Thank you, Uncle Mario. I hope I won’t let you down.”

Cassie wouldn’t let her uncle down, Kirk knew in his bones. She’d be great at her job, and she’d remain in Sydney for years. Maybe, like her aunt, she’d stay there permanently and only come back to San Francisco on rare occasions. And when she did, maybe he would take her out to restaurants like this and talk about the old days. The idea made his heart contract.

The conversation flowed on around Kirk, but he barely heard any of it. He was trying to be a good friend to Cassie. He was looking out for her. Betsy and Mario were much nicer to her than her mom, and the promotion sounded like a big step up. He wanted Cassie to have the best because she deserved the best.

And if the thought of not seeing her again for years made his entire body spasm, well, that was just pure selfishness on his part. He’d learn to live with it.

…

Cassie waved good-bye to her aunt and uncle as they got into the taxi to return to their hotel. She loved Aunt Betsy and Uncle Mario, but the dinner they’d just finished had to be one of the longest meals she’d ever had to sit through. Her mom would have been pleased at the way she’d poked at her food, barely able to force three mouthfuls past the permanent lump in her throat.

That lump was still present as she turned to Kirk, who was waiting for her to get into his car. Drawing in a breath, she stepped inside, and soon they were speeding through North Beach. She felt as if she’d been holding her breath all through dinner. Waiting for Kirk to say something. Something like, “Don’t take that job. Don’t go back to Sydney. Stay here and…”

But that was where her imagination ran dry. She couldn’t imagine what else he might say. Especially not after the way he’d so quickly urged her to accept Uncle Mario’s promotion. Like he couldn’t wait for her to be gone.

“I like your aunt and uncle,” Kirk said when they were near his house.

She started. They’d spent almost the entire ride in silence, and she hadn’t expected him to speak now.

“Yes, they’ve been wonderful to me,” she agreed, wanting to sound as normal as possible. “Uncle Mario has a big extended family, and there’s always something going on at their house.”

“I’m glad. It’s good to have family, and they seem a lot more easy-going than your mom and sister.”

Out of nowhere she felt an inexplicable need to defend her immediate family. “Yes, they are, but I’m learning to appreciate my mom and Lillian.”

He didn’t say anything more until they reached his home. He parked the car, and they walked inside. The headache she’d woken up with and that had nagged her all day was now reverberating through her skull, and as she crossed the hallway, her heel caught in the carpet, causing her to stumble.

“Careful.” Kirk’s hand shot out to grip her elbow.

His sudden grasp only made her more dizzy. She tried to push him away. “I’m fine.”

His fingers remained curled around her arm, sending tingles through her bloodstream. She’d had only one glass of wine at dinner, yet she felt drunk, nauseated.

“You don’t look fine,” he said.

“Well, thanks.” She yanked herself free and stalked down the hallway to the kitchen.

Kirk was right behind her, and there was no ignoring his solid presence. Even with her eyes closed she could sense his exact location, could smell him stalking her. She didn’t want to look at him right now because she was afraid of what he might see in her face. Yanking open the fridge, she pretended to search for something inside.

“What’s wrong with you?” he suddenly burst out.

Her spine stiffened. She couldn’t help spinning round. “What?”

His gimlet eyes immobilized her. “You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder all night, but you won’t say why. You’re behaving like a typical—”

She slammed the fridge shut. “Like a typical woman? Is that what you meant?” She lifted her arms and spread them apart. “I happen to be a woman, in case you’d forgotten.”

“Don’t give me that crap. What is it? If you wanted a private dinner with your aunt and uncle, you should’ve signaled me. I can take a hint.”

“No, of course I didn’t mind you coming.”

“Really? Because I was getting some pretty strong vibes from you all through dinner, and they weren’t exactly friendly.”

He stepped closer, right into her personal space. She couldn’t think straight when his body was only inches away, when she had so much to hide from him. She stepped back only to have the cool metallic door of the fridge press into her spine.

“You’re too full of yourself, Kirk. If I seemed ‘unfriendly’ to you, I didn’t mean it. I was distracted. I have a lot to think about.”

He was still for a while. “You mean your promotion,” he said flatly. “What’s there to think about? Like I said, it sounds like a great opportunity.”

There he went again, pushing her away. One minute he was in her face, the next he was backing right off. She didn’t understand him at all tonight.

“I want to consider my options. I want to be satisfied I’m making the right decision.”

He studied her for a few seconds. “Okay.”

“It’s a big deal, you know.”

“Sure.”

The more she wanted a reaction from him, the more he shut down.

But then he lifted an arm toward her, and she froze, heart pattering. Was he going to kiss her? Was he offering himself as an option? Bracing his arm, he rested his palm against the fridge door inches from her head.

“Cassie,” he murmured.

His voice pulled her in. His mouth was so alluring. Already in her imagination she could feel his lips moving hungrily over hers.

“What?” she whispered.

“Do you mind moving your ass? I want to get a drink out the fridge.”

Oh. What a dummy she was. Mute, she shuffled out of the way. Kirk pulled out two bottles of water and tossed one of them at her, which she barely managed to catch.

“Right. Options,” Kirk said after he’d taken a swallow of water. “What are your options, and what are the pros and cons of each?”