The way she’d wanted him just as much as he’d wanted her.
He upped the incline once more and forced his aching quads to keep up. He had to focus today. He needed to be on his A game and not in the midst of some fucking schoolboy crush on Evelyn fucking Price.
It had been so much easier when he’d thought she hated him. Hell, he still thought she hated him. The kiss had been random and ballsy, both things he specialized in. He was sick of her pushing him down, and seeing as how he was a red-blooded male, it was impossible not to get distracted by her fantastic ass in those skintight shorts.
So kissing her had seemed like a good idea at the time. She’d punch him in the face, give him a black eye like he probably deserved for kissing a federal agent without permission, and that would be that.
But instead, she’d frozen under him like a deer caught in the high beams. Which was especially strange because he hadn’t thought Evelyn would freeze for anything, let alone him. So then he’d kissed her again and that was when they both went up in flames.
“Oh no,” said Cali from his office door.
Luke’s foot landed slightly off and he had to stumble to keep his balance on the quick moving belt. As soon as he regained himself, he rested his feet on the edge of the treadmill and caught his breath, slamming his hand down on the stop button. “You couldn’t have knocked?” he barked at Cali.
Anyone else probably would’ve been cowed by the harsh tone, but Cali just raised one blonde brow. “It’s seven thirty and you’re in the office working out. You’re never here this early. I was just dropping something off on your desk.” She emphasized the point by slowly crossing to his desk to drop off the file folder. “So you want to tell me why you’re so pissy?”
Luke stepped off the treadmill and wiped his face down with a towel. “Don’t worry about it.”
She snorted. “Easy for you to say. You being pissy directly affects the way my workday goes. So I do worry about it. And I have a distinct impression it has something to do with the intern who isn’t really an intern.”
Shit. “Don’t worry about her.”
“You pay me to worry, Luke. It’s what I’m good at, except I’m used to being able to actually fix the things that worry me. Not just sit by while they break their neck running on a treadmill.”
“That was your fault,” he reminded her.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, changing the subject.
Luke bit back a groan. He didn’t think there was one conversation in the history of man that started with that phrase and ended well. And he already had enough trouble on his plate to deal with for the day. “And what have you been thinking about?”
“About the offices opening in Seattle. And the fact that Michael seems more committed to the city than ever since he and Lori started spending every waking moment together. I don’t think you have any plans to pack up and move across the country any time soon. You’re going to need someone to head up that project.”
Was seven thirty too early for a drink? “I need you here, Cali.”
For the first time in all the years he’d known her, Cali didn’t hide the disappointment from her face. “I didn’t get my master’s degree so I could be your assistant for the rest of my life, Luke.”
“And you won’t be,” he promised. “I’m going to find a great position for you. One that will suit all your talents and will be timed right. But at the moment, there are just too many outside factors at play. I can’t take the chance that something will be messed up during your transition.”
“Don’t be a fucking coward, Luke.”
He jerked his head back. He didn’t think Cali had ever cursed at him before. “What?”
She shook her head and crossed to the door. “You and I both know there’ll never be a good time to transition me out. So if you were never planning on transferring me, you should tell me instead of stringing me along like one of those bimbos you’re always with.”
“I don’t string along the bimbos!” he called after her, but she was already walking out, shutting the door behind her.
Damn it. Maybe it was time to let Cali go. He didn’t know how many more raises he could give her before she finally got tired of this game. She was too smart to be twiddling her thumbs at the assistant’s desk, but she did so much more for the company as an assistant that he’d probably need two or three different people to replace her.
And he probably wouldn’t like any of those people as much as her.
He ran the towel over his head and through his hair. He was a sweaty mess and would need a good shower before he could get any work done. Just one more thing to add to his ever growing to-do list.