It was bad enough that I had missed the PGA Championship this last weekend, but now, the Tour were going into the playoff season for the FedEx Cup. A whole month of some of the best golf in the world, and I'd get to watch it from the sidelines. Worse … from a TV screen.
I tried not to think about that. One problem at a time. The one I could deal with presently was Heidi.
It was official. I was her boss. And I would be her boss for the next year-unless, by some miracle, another job opened up in the company. That seemed unlikely, considering my new position.
But I could make Heidi come around.
I needed to talk to her. To make her understand what had happened that day. I couldn't accept that, just because we were in this situation now, we couldn't have something between us again. She'd seemed resolved to walk away, and I was as determined to convince her otherwise.
How much could have changed in the last month?
I exited Morgan's office and took the elevator back down to my floor. My mind was buzzing with all the work that had been dropped at my feet, coupled with the fact that I would have to interact with Heidi on a regular basis. At least I wasn't sitting around, worrying about whether or not I'd ever recover enough to do the one thing I loved.
That was a positive.
Albeit, a strange one.
I rounded the corner that led to my office and couldn't help myself. I turned to search Heidi out. She was resting against her desk, facing my direction. A group of engineering guys was standing around her in deep discussion. One guy was leaning over something on her desk. He said something to her, and she shook her head. Whatever she said next made everyone in the area crack up laughing. Even she tilted her head back and laughed. That mane of blonde hair fell like a waterfall down her back.
God, it was good to see her laugh.
I knew that I should walk away. That I shouldn't stare at her like this.
We'd talked long into the night about how much she loved her job and how proud she was that she had started at the bottom and raised herself up. After everything she had done to get to where she was, she must find me despicable to come in with no experience and become her boss. I'd happened upon this position by sheer luck of birth.
Yet I couldn't stop watching her. She had been this way with me once, and I'd walked away. It was the smart move. But knowing that I was leaving Miranda only made it harder.
Gorgeous, uninhibited, and completely in her element.
This was how she should always be. Not bottled up with anger and frustration. Tense with misunderstandings. From now on, I'd make it my mission to make her laugh.
Her head jerked toward me, as if she had felt my eyes on her like a laser. Her cheeks heated, but she didn't look away. Gone was the fun and playful girl from a minute ago. In her place was that feral creature who kept me on my toes. Never sure if she was going to walk away or devour me whole.
I didn't like the guessing games with her. The best thing about Heidi was, you always knew exactly where you stood. But, right now, I felt as if I were in a fun house with mirrors reflecting back at me, revealing a million different versions of reality.
As I held her gaze, I shattered every mirror but the real one in her eyes.
She seemed to realize that she had given herself away and quickly turned away from me. But I'd seen enough to know the truth.
This wasn't over. This was far from over.
Eleven
Heidi
To say the least, the last five days had been the most uncomfortable of my life. If I'd thought I would be able to avoid Landon, I'd been wrong. Very wrong.
I knew I needed to figure out a way to live with my new reality. But, at present, I wanted to get the fuck out of the office and not have to deal with Landon being there. I didn't do well as a contained creature. Holding on to my emotions was like waiting for a jack-in-the-box to pop open.
That was why I'd agreed to meet Nick for dinner after work. This was the third date, and I couldn't have Landon Wright in my head when I went into this. I could almost convince myself that I was looking forward to it.
My hand strayed to my hair, and I tucked a lock behind my ear. Even though Landon's office was on the way out, I promised myself I wouldn't take a peek and see what he was doing. I didn't need to know if he looked frazzled, as he had for the last couple of days. I wasn't going to see if he'd already taken off his jacket, removed his tie, and rolled up his sleeves. Those things weren't important.
Yet my eyes darted in there anyway.
To my surprise, he had his jacket and tie in place. His hair wasn't mussed, like he had been running his fingers through it in irritation all day. He looked relaxed. And, when he saw me, he smiled.
Oh, fuck.
I'm a goner.
"Hey," Landon said. He stepped out of his office and leaned against the door.
My heart stuttered. "Hey."