“Good to see you too,” I said, turning and pushing the door closed with my butt.
He spun around to face me looking more disheveled than I’d ever seen him before. His hair was standing on end like he’d tugged the strands all day hoping they would give. His tie was gone, the top two buttons of his shirt were open, and his eyes were wild, darting back and forth among my features.
“Why did you have to do it, Cammie?” he asked.
I pressed my palms together in front of my chest. “Save the lecture please. You already fired me. I spent all day moaning to Brooklyn because I have no job and no prospects. So please, take off your boss hat and put on your boyfriend hat.”
His features eased, the wrinkles in his forehead going slack.
“Boyfriend?”
My eyes widened.
“It was a slip of the tongue. Besides, it’d take me like two hours to explain what we really are, so the label will have to do for right now.”
The edge of his mouth hitched up. “I think the label should stay.”
I wasn’t sure if I agreed, not before we discussed the voicemail message.
“Was it chaos the rest of the day?” I asked, pressing my hands to his chest and leading him back toward the couch.
He shook his head. “No, Alan was under orders to keep the situation private. And I fired Hannah.”
“You what?!”
He’d slipped in that detail so subtly that I almost didn’t hear it. He’d fired Hannah? I couldn’t say she didn’t deserve it, but it still felt a little harsh.
I watched him sink down onto the couch and lean back against the cushions. It was probably his first break of the day. I cringed at the knowledge that I was the cause of his fatigue.
“Trust me, I'd rather have arsonists working for me than conniving gossips,” he said, assuring me of his decision.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to comprehend how so much had changed in one day.
“I see.”
“What will you do for work? I can’t believe I had to fire you, Cammie. You left me no choice.” His eyes pleaded with me to understand. “You know there was no other way, right?”
I nodded and offered him a solemn smile. I couldn’t answer his questions about what I’d do because I didn’t know the answers myself, so I just stayed quiet.
“Come here,” he said, reaching his hand out to catch the tips of my fingers. A current of lust shot through me as our skin touched. It’d been the worst day I’d had in a very long time, but I had Grayson all to myself now and he looked so sweet and tired. I let him pull me down and then I straddled his hips with my legs. I hadn’t changed out of my work clothes yet so my twist-tie dress slipped up my thighs with the help of Grayson’s fingers brushing it higher and higher. His designer slacks rubbed against the back of my legs, tickling my skin.
“A boyfriend ought to make his girlfriend feel better after a long day.” He spoke in whispers as one hand slipped beneath my dress. His other hand twisted my hair into a long rope and then he tugged gently, once, so that I was forced to tip my head back or suffer a shock of pain to my neck.
His lips found the juncture between my chin and neck, the sensitive little groove that when he kissed, shot goose bumps down my spine.
“I can’t believe you fired me today,” I spoke.
“I can’t believe you broke into my office,” he said.
I shook my head, recalling the messages I’d heard on his answering machine. It was the perfect opportunity to bring them up and yet I couldn’t make myself do it.
“I really didn’t want to break into your office. I’m so sorry I did,” I hummed, letting my fingers slide down his chest.
For the next hour Grayson and I made each other forget the horrors of the day. He kissed away my embarrassment and I brushed away his disappointment. Eventually, he picked me up and carried me into my room, but as we lay in bed later that night, I knew that things weren’t cleared up. The chaos of the day had distracted me momentarily, but there was still so much I had to ask him about. A part of me knew that once I brought up the messages, we wouldn’t be able to get back to this happy place—the place before I left for Paris and before he told me something I wouldn’t be able to forgive.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Later that night, I stared up at my ceiling, which was cast in shadows from the light streaming through the open blinds. A lone street lamp outside produced more light than I thought possible, but it wasn’t the reason I lay awake. Grayson slept beside me, wrapped around me like a coiled snake, snoring gently and keeping me safe and warm. He seemed perfectly content, but I was still hanging in limbo, worried about what the next day would bring. We’d yet to discuss his voicemail messages, but I knew I’d have to bring them up tomorrow morning.