“No need,” she said. “I quit.”
Richard blinked, certain he couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly. “What?”
“I said I quit,” she repeated more confidently. “I don’t need your business.”
Now there was a wrinkle he hadn’t anticipated. He’d counted on that tie keeping her around, even if he messed up something this week. It had been his sketchily formed backup plan.
“But I want you to go on working for me,” he said, surprised to find that he meant every word of it and not just because it had been his fall-back plan for contact with her. Damn, if it wasn’t one more thing he owed Destiny for. He regarded Melanie intently. “You’re too good to lose. I read your notes on the prospective campaign managers. They were sharp and insightful. You got a far better fix on their qualifications than I did by looking at the exact same material.”
Satisfaction glowed in her eyes. “Then I’ll be happy to bill you for that, but I still quit.”
“Why?”
“It will just muddy the waters. I don’t know where this trip to the cottage will lead, but I do know that I don’t want to be worrying about whether I’ll have a job when things end between us. And, frankly, it would be far too painful for me to be around you, when things do go badly.”
When, not if. She’d said it twice. Richard heard her certainty that the relationship would end and wondered what it would take to convince her otherwise.
In the meantime, he had to find some way to keep her from quitting. He needed all his ties with her to be strong. To his astonishment, he’d gotten used to having her underfoot. He didn’t want to lose any aspect of that. He didn’t want to lose yet another important person in his life. Losing his parents had shaped his entire outlook. He didn’t think he’d survive another emotional hit like that.
“I thought this consulting job was going to be your big break,” he reminded her, grasping desperately at straws. “That’s what Destiny led me to believe. Was she wrong?”
“No, she wasn’t wrong.” Her gaze remained unflinching. “I’ll find another big break, Richard, one without the complications.”
Richard heard the finality in her voice and nodded slowly, not even trying to hide his reluctance to let this be the last word on the subject. “You’re sure?”
She chuckled. “As sure as I’ve been about anything since the day we met. Things have been a bit confusing since then.”
“Tell me about it,” he responded.
“Maybe you’re the one who needs to think about this trip you have planned. Are you sure? You’re not a man who’s big on complications, and this could be a huge one.”
Richard grinned at her assessment. It had been true once, not all that long ago. He’d hated sticky situations, especially of a personal nature. But he was definitely looking forward to this one. For the first time ever he saw the possibility of a real future for a relationship, something more than satisfying sex.
He stood up and walked around his desk to stand in front of her. “I’m sure about this one,” he said with quiet assurance. “I don’t know how it happened, but I can’t get you out of my head.”
Her gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Are you hoping this weekend will purge me from your system? Because if that’s the case, let’s call the whole thing off. We can forget about the trip, the phony engagement, all of it. I’ll return all this stuff and take all the blame with Destiny.”
The possibility that she could turn her back on him so easily grated. Richard looked directly into her eyes. “I appreciate the offer, but that’s not how it’s going to happen.”
She bristled visibly at his tone. “Oh?” she asked, as if daring him to utter another order.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to the cottage. We’re going to put all of this other nonsense aside for the next few days. We’re going to make love until we’re exhausted, then maybe do it a few more times just to be sure we’re getting it right.”
“Were you an activities director at one of those singles resorts in another life?”
Richard chuckled at the totally incongruous suggestion. “I seriously doubt it. Are we clear about the plans?”
For a minute he seriously thought she might balk, but she finally met his gaze.
“Okay,” she said quietly but firmly. There was no apparent doubt in her eyes or in her tone.
His heart soared. So did his libido. He was wise enough not to let her know about either reaction. “Good, then. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”