The weekend was hours away, and I was counting down the minutes. But before I could escape, he called out.
“Roe, can you come in here?”
I finished up my thought in an email to Donte, then stood and headed in.
“Hi.” My smile dropped when I found Thane out of sorts and cursing under his breath. “Everything all right?”
He shook his head. “I need you to stay late tonight.”
“I can’t.”
When his head snapped up, a deep scowl greeted me. Gone was the charming flirt, replaced by the assholian. What had him so worked up?
“You will,” he growled through clenched teeth.
My spine straightened as I stared at him with wide eyes. Did he really want to have a day one fight with me?
Fuck. Fuck, fuck.
The stress had gotten to me and I was taking it out on her, which was not what I needed or wanted to be doing. And I knew my attitude would activate hers and it was going to be another battle.
“Or what? You read my contract.”
“It also states that on occasion you can be requested to stay late.” I needed her to stay late. Worthington was on the verge of finally going through, but I received a call stating that shareholder packets had to go out today.
No warning whatsoever.
“With notice,” she stressed.
“Here is your notice.”
She wrapped her arms in front of her. “An hour before my end of day is not sufficient.”
“These shareholder notifications have to go out by eight with the last courier and no later. I was just informed of this. I need you to stay.”
She ground her teeth together, and while I loved our usual banter, that was not what was happening. Legitimate anger stewed beneath the surface.
“Fine, but if I do this, I’m taking a break now.”
The muscles in my shoulders and back let go a small bit of their tension. “Don’t worry, I’ll get some dinner delivered.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I’m saying. You want me to stay and help? Then you are going to give me time, an hour, and it’s going to be paid.”
I watched as she moved to her desk and pulled her purse from the bottom drawer.
“You never take breaks,” I reminded her.
“I do today. Keep your panties on and wait.”
I ground my teeth together as I watched her walk away. What the fuck was so damn important? It didn’t make sense to me. We were losing valuable time that could push us to missing the deadline.
However, I would rather lose an hour of her help then only have an hour of it.
Every minute that passed, I stewed until I was focused on the task.
At an hour and sixteen minutes, Roe was speed walking to my office door. She tossed her purse onto my table and kicked off her shoes before pulling her hair up and twisting it into a bun. There was a slight sheen of sweat on her skin, a few lone beads gathering. Unable to look away, I was enthralled, watching a drop of sweat roll from her hairline, around her neck, then along the swell of her cleavage.
Fuck, I wanted to dive between her breasts and lick the droplet.
“Fucking heat wave,” she said as she fanned her face. “It’s mid-September.”
“Did you have a good break?”
“I got done what I needed to, if that’s what you’re asking. And I’m ready to get this done now.”
“Glad you’re finally ready,” I ground out, instantly regretting my tone.
“No.”
“No?”
She folded her arms in front of her. “You can’t give me shit, because I’m here, helping you, when I’m supposed to be somewhere else. Unlike you, work is not my life.”
“With no boyfriend, I didn’t think you had a life outside of work.”
“It may not be much of one, but it’s mine, and it includes obligations you can’t even comprehend.” There was conviction behind her words, as well as tears. She wiped them away with her palm, then cleared her throat. “Where were we?”
Her tears stripped me, tore at my chest. I’d done that, upset her, when I wasn’t supposed to fucking be doing shit like that anymore.
“Roe… I’m sorry,” I said, holding back the urge to touch her. “I’ve been an ass and taking my frustration out on you the last two weeks.”
“I noticed.”
“I’m trying to understand, to process it in a non-asshole way, but I don’t get why you won’t go out with me. Just once.” It wasn’t the time or place, but I needed some kind of answer.
Her brow scrunched. “You think I don’t want that? Things aren’t what they appear. You don’t know what my life is like, and if you did, you’d run away. That’s why. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s because you won’t.”
I froze, staring at her as my heart pounded. She did want me, but she assumed I wouldn’t want her once her secret was revealed, whatever the fuck it was. “You don’t know that.”
“I do. You wouldn’t be the first that couldn’t handle it, and probably not the last, so… drop it.”
I desperately wanted to know what secret she was keeping. What it was that she was so convinced would make me bolt? All I wanted was a chance, but I would need to work harder for that.
By seven, we were almost done with the packets and sharing plates of sushi. Once the courier collected the envelopes, we cleaned up the trash and got ready to head out.
When they were gone and the tension of the day was over with, the bad vibes between us settled away. I glanced out the window and found the sky to be dark and the lights of the city glowing all around.
“It’s late. Let me give you a ride home,” I said as I watched her stuff her heels into her bag and slip on some flats she’d pulled out.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do. Where do you live?”
“Lenox Hill. Upper East Side.”
I froze as I stared at her. “How long have you lived there?”
“A while. Why?”
“I live in the Upper East Side.” It was an upscale area of the city, and I had to imagine a one-bedroom apartment cost a small fortune and would be tiny. Probably the size of my first apartment when I moved to New York.
“Oh great, so you’re telling me you invade my personal sanctuary outside of work hours?”
Her lip twitched up, and I finally believed she was no longer angry at me for making her stay late. Good. Of course, not being an ass probably helped my case, as well as airing out the tension.
As much as I loved to argue with her, I didn’t like the stones that settled in my stomach when she was legitimately angry.
Living in the same neighborhood could definitely have some advantages. Maybe I could figure out why she was so set that we couldn’t work, let alone go on a single fucking date that didn’t involve me tricking her into lunch.
“Technically, you invaded my sanctuary. I’ve lived there for four years.”
“Let me guess—one of the high rises?”
I grinned at her. “The twenty-ninth floor.”
She nodded and stepped forward, our bodies inches apart as she looked up at me. My hands instinctively settled on her hips as I stared into her eyes. She didn’t push them away, her palms resting against my chest.