Damn it, James wasn’t supposed to affect me like he had when I first met him. It wasn’t right! My body was tingling all over, moistening, making me feel lush and provocative. I was angry as hell, bitter over James’s intransigence and yet I wanted to have sex with him on the floor, the desk, or whichever surface we could find that would hold us.
Oh for fuck’s sake! Was I going to allow my existence to be defined by I breathe, therefore I want to fuck James Xavier Scott-Thomas?
Hatred had fuelled my decision to work with James; it powered my resolve and was supposed to obliterate my desire. Nevertheless, the sense of being inexorably linked to the man in front of me heated my blood and swamped me with a confusing mixture of longing, frustration and sadness.#p#分页标题#e#
I probed his eyes, searching deep.
Nothing.
I squinted in earnest but other than obvious, furious bewilderment there wasn’t a single word to be read in his frosty greens. His mind was closed to me, just as it had been after my wedding speech.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he said.
“Lifting a picture of Ryan so I can photocopy it and take it home.”
Well, it seemed I’d stumped him. James’s scowl was replaced by a look of surprise. I picked up the broken frame and when I stood up he was in front of me. How had he moved so quickly? One minute he was about ten feet away and the next—the next he loomed over me, his body only inches from mine.
“I’ll get you another frame,” I said quickly.
My words came out soft and breathy as if I was offering to get him something else entirely. His pupils widened and his gaze went to my mouth. He reached out and my pulse jumped but then I realised he wanted the picture I’d pilfered. I gave it to him without thinking. He didn’t step back, staring down at me as if he couldn’t decide whether to strangle me or pick me up and throw me out.
I forced myself to stand my ground but I felt as though I was a P-shaped magnet trying to resist the pull of a refrigerator. I edged around him and went to my desk. No sitting down though, not when James was still standing, looking like he might close the distance at any minute.
James set his briefcase on top of the neat freak desk. He picked up my CV and skimmed it, his face darkening as he discovered exactly who his new secretary was. A perverse little part of me wanted him to try and fire me, but he wasn’t going to give me the satisfaction.
“What do you want, Ms Benítez?”
He’d said my name like my mother used to say my father’s.
I lifted my chin. “You know what I want.”
“If you believe that by insinuating yourself into my place of employment I will accede to your demands you are mistaken.”
Oh God, did he still speak as if he had a pole stuck his arse? And a huge helping of haughtiness to boot.
“Now that you are conversant with my position you will tender your resignation.”
Not to mention arrogance. “You can like my working here or you can lump it. Or, sorry, if my mode of discourse is too plain for your comprehension—I will remain in this employment regardless of any endeavours to ensure otherwise.”
James took a step towards me, caught himself and then turned his back and went to the glass wall, looking at the view as if I would somehow disappear before he turned around.
“You and Caroline aren’t going to keep me away,” I said.
James’s shoulders stiffened—an almost imperceptible little move I picked up because, well, it seemed I still picked up on everything James.
“Caroline?”
“As in my sister and your wife?”
“She divorced me.”
I gaped at him. “Caroline would never do that.”
His short laugh was harsh. “I can assure you that she did. She married my cousin Reginald a year later. They have two children.”
My lips wanted to stretch into a grin and I was ashamed of my reaction, regardless of my anger towards James. What kind of woman rejoices in hearing she caused someone’s divorce? I felt like the lowest of the low and a little winded to be honest. All these years I’d thought James and Caroline were together, gloating over my pain and suffering, when in fact they’d moved on with their lives.
Was I the only one who hadn’t been able to?
My inner compass shifted a notch and I readjusted what I knew about James along with it. Why didn’t he turn around? Was he pining for Caroline and blaming me for ruining their relationship? Maybe I should say something, but what? I didn’t think James would believe me if I said I was sorry. Hell, I wouldn’t believe me either.#p#分页标题#e#
“I’m sorry about your divorce,” I offered, hoping I sounded sincere.