All she had to do was walk into his office and his day would get a little brighter.
He stared at his reflection in the window and smiled. Jenny had given him a Herculean task, but with Allison at his side they just might pull this off. His girl would never let him down.
…
“You’re doing what?”
Allison sighed, closing the door behind Gillian. “This is the last thing I’m helping him with. Once it’s done I’ll move on.”
“Why?”
“It’s Jenny.”
Gillian shrugged. “Nice girl, but that’s got zip to do with you. It’s not like the two of you are besties. If I recall correctly she stood you up that time you tried to take her to lunch.”
“That was a while ago.” She walked around her desk, grabbing some stray papers.
“You aren’t doing this for her. If it was anyone else but Darian asking, you’d tell them exactly what they could do with their request.”
There was no stopping her eye roll. “We’ll get a wedding planner set up, and that will take care of most of the work. It’s not like we’ll be personally picking out much. This is one problem Darian can throw money at to make it go away.”
Gillian shook her head. “That’s an excuse and you know it.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Jenny is not the reason you’re dragging your feet.”
“You know I need his blessing if I ever plan to work in this town again. Breaking a contract with Darian King is not something I take lightly.”
“I’m not arguing that fact. I’m just saying I think it has more to do with the man himself.”
She shot her friend a quick glare. “I don’t want to let him down. Sue me. He hired me when no one else would.”
Gillian moved closer. “It’s not disloyal to wish for a life of your own.”
“Feels like it,” she muttered, dropping into her chair.
“You sure this is just guilt at leaving him high and dry for a while?”
“What else would it be?”
Gillian paused for a moment before saying, “Maybe you don’t want to leave him. Or hell, Ali, I don’t know. Maybe that’s all backward and he’s the real reason you want to leave, and your feelings are just making you afraid to do it. Maybe it’s both.”
Allison glanced up. “Seriously?”
“It’s not a crime to dream of someone you can’t have. And it’s not unforgivable to want to break free of such an impossible crush.”
“I’m not crushing on Darian freaking King.”
Gillian looked skeptical. “You guys have always been way closer than the average boss-executive assistant relationship requires,” she said. “All those late nights. The close proximity. I mean the man is a walking GQ ad. You really never let yourself wonder what would happen if you just slid a little closer to him on the sofa one night?”
Wonder, maybe. But she knew damn well she was not the type of woman Darian normally consorted with. And losing the working relationship they had wasn’t worth some fleeting pleasure.
Or worse, face the crushing embarrassment when he turns me down. Listening to him list all the reasons I’m not his type sounds about as fun as swimming through shark-infested waters.
“I’m not the kind of woman who sleeps with her boss.”
Gillian snorted. “Really? Because you must be the only one on the floor with that sort of moral high ground.”
A pang of annoyance zipped through her. She was well aware Darian was in demand. Not that his women ever seemed to hang around for more than a handful of weeks. She’d stopped trying to tell the endless rotation of modelesque blondes apart a long time ago.
“He’s just a man.”
“A hot, ridiculously wealthy, charming man with the power to control a huge, influential company? You’re right. Nothing at all to dream about there.”
“Not my type.”
I like having more than a snowball’s chance in hell when I pursue men ridiculously out of my league.
“Liar.” The redhead leaned over on the desk. “He’s exactly your type.”
Allison ground her teeth in annoyance. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up. I want to leave because my job description here has gone from ridiculous to impossible. My shoulders are so knotted no masseuse in the world can help me, and my stress levels are starting to give me white hairs. I’m not leaving because I’m secretly in love with a man I can’t have. I’m leaving because I need to find a way to both work and be happy.”
Gillian held up her hands in the universal don’t-kill-me-for-saying-that symbol. “Fine. Then while we’re on the subject, I’ve got a friend to introduce you to. Handsome. Smart. Funny. He’d be perfect for you.”