“I’ve really stuck my foot in it this time.”
Chapter Eight
“A little late today…” Brenda said.
I glanced at Brenda as I passed her desk, slightly harried and fully prepared to blame it on Hunter if he got mad at me. I set my computer up and noticed the cup of coffee on the edge of my desk. “I moved out to the Richmond District. It takes forever to get in here now. I had no idea seven miles would take that long.”
“Nice place, though, right? You can thank me for finding it.”
“He had you scouting last week, then, huh? The papers must have gone through in record time. I had no idea things could move that quickly.”
“They can when the buyer is sitting on a pile of gold.” Brenda turned in her chair and surveyed me full on. “It’s getting serious between you two…”
I shrugged, dipping a finger in the coffee. Lukewarm. “You couldn’t take this in to him?”
“He doesn’t like to see me. He likes to see you. So if I take it in, he downs it so you’ll bring him another. That man does not need more caffeine. He needs a hit on a bong.”
I smiled, getting up to get a fresh cup. “We’re not getting serious, no. We’re the equivalent of dating, I think. I’m not sure that he wants to know how I feel…”
“Ah.” Brenda leaned against her desk. “No, probably not. He’s a bit closed off.” She turned back to her computer. “You’ll figure it out. It’s nice to see him happy. At least what passes for happy, anyway.”
I rolled my head to loosen my neck as I got him a fresh cup of coffee, grabbing one for myself as well. He’d stayed over last night, and whether it was a good idea or not, I had spent the night with my head on his chest, savoring the feeling of his arm wrapped around me. It had been really great at the time. My neck wasn’t so great this morning, though.
After setting my cup on my desk, I walked into his office, noticing the light spilling over his features and highlighting his ridiculously handsome face. It was a view I loved seeing every morning.
As I set down the cup, he glanced up with a quirked brow.
“What?” I asked, bracing my fist on my hip. I was ready for it.
“Lose your way this morning?”
“It wasn’t my idea to move so far away.”
His eyes sparkled as he looked back at his computer. “The takeover of Bruce’s company is moving quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts hounding you to get the work done on his side project…”
“Oh.” I relaxed my tense shoulders. I’d been ready for a fight—I had to simmer down now. “It’s fine. Since you work so much, and I live in the boonies now, I’ll have plenty of time in the evenings to get to it. Janelle is working on outfitting the extra rooms with offices.”
Janelle was the new assistant Hunter had hired for me. A woman in her early forties, she was efficient, great at working on her own initiative, and one helluva cook. I absolutely loved her. Even though my instincts screamed at me to not accept yet another thing from Hunter, I just couldn’t send her away.
Besides, I had created a job by keeping her. That was what I kept telling myself, anyway.
“Did you give notice to your old roommate?” Hunter asked in an even tone, clicking on an email that came in as we were talking.
“Janelle is drafting it today. She said she’d deliver it, too. She’s in the process of moving all my stuff to the new place. Your office will have a bed in it, by the way. For people who come to visit.”
“My office?” Hunter glanced back at me, a small crease between his eyebrows.
Uncertainty churned in my stomach. “Th-there was the extra room, so I figured I’d put a desk in it for you. You know, so you don’t have to sit at the kitchen table like you did over the weekend…”
He stared at me in silence for a moment before turning back to his computer. I stood awkwardly, not sure if I should say something further. I didn’t want him to think I was asking him to move in or anything, but I did have that extra room, and it had plenty of space…
I opened my mouth to explain, but then closed it again. The man had bought a building for me—buying him a desk with his own money and putting it in the spare room wasn’t a trip down lover’s lane. If anything, it was a nod to him for purchasing the building in the first place.
Without another word, I about-faced and walked from the room. I wouldn’t tiptoe around him. It wasn’t my style. Mostly.
“Okay, then,” I said, returning to my desk.
“Atta girl!” Brenda exclaimed, not bothering to look over.