“I said no!” I jumped up from his chair, away from him and his stupid phone call. “I’m not doing it, Donovan,” I hissed with finality.
It might be tempting to go along with the investigation—for somebody else. There was so much I didn’t know about him, but I didn’t want to learn about him from a report. I wanted him to show me who he was in person. I wanted to uncover him, layer by layer, the way that people do when they meet someone that fascinates them so entirely that they can’t get enough until they hear everything from his own lips.
Donovan’s jaw set, his mouth pressed together in a tight line as he held me in a hard unmoving stare. Several heavy beats passed.
Finally, he brought the receiver back to his own ear, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Until he started talking. “Ferris, the order is for a complete background report on me with surveillance. Solo surveillance only. No need for a tail if Sabrina is in my company. Photos. No videos. Send to the email that you have on file for her but send the invoice to me.”
I crossed my arms under my breasts and tried to decide if I was angry or disappointed.
Donovan finished the call and hung up the phone with a sharp clack that suggested he was as frustrated as I was, and for some reason that lessened my irritation a degree or two.
“You don’t have to look so wounded,” he said, coolly. “You said I didn’t have to give this up.”
“That didn’t mean that you should try and force me into the same behavior.” How could he not understand?
“This is what I know, Sabrina. You wanted answers; this is how I know how to give them.”
There was a sincerity in his tone that awoke something in me, made me the one to understand—he wasn’t trying to make me mad. He wasn’t trying to hurt me. He wasn’t trying to overrule my wishes. He was doing the best he could with what he knew, and this was what he knew. Surveillance. Stalking. Sneaking around.
It was up to me to teach him differently. I’d have to teach him trust.
And to teach him trust, I’d first have to show him trust.
“I don’t need that report.” When it came to my email, I’d just delete it, I’d decided. “But if that’s what you need to do, I understand. Right now, what I need is for you to tell me once again that you don’t have feelings for Sun.” I took a deep breath—this was going to be hard. “And I’ll believe you.”
He came to me in three easy steps. Putting his hand on my chin, he tilted it up to meet his eyes. “I don’t feel anything for Sun. I’ve never felt anything for her. She was always just a distraction so that I wouldn’t go crazy from how much I loved you.”
My chest tightened and a knot formed in the back of my throat. I pushed up to the balls of my feet and pressed my forehead to his. “Thank you. I believe you.”
Chapter 15
Monday came faster than it seemed possible, as it often did. With Weston gone, my workload had doubled. On top of his absence, the end of the year always brought new campaigns. Existing clients wanted to get a head start on the new year; new clients were knocking on the door with resolutions for a better business going forward.
Fortunately, I had little time for worrying about office gossip or private investigators. I didn't even have time to eat lunch. By afternoon, I realized how easily I could be buried under the demands. I canceled everything unnecessary and came to terms with the fact that I would be running back and forth between my office and Weston's all week.
Wednesday morning I gave up, gathered what was important from my space, and moved into his.
"You look good in a room this size," Donovan said when he came in to check on me that evening.
I looked up from the stacks of strategy reports in front of me and blinked several times. I'd darkened the glass walls of the office so that the other staff members wouldn’t distract me, but it had the downside of closing me off to the world. My phone had died hours ago. I glanced at the window behind me and realized for the first time that it was dark. Nighttime dark.
"I guess I lost track of time." I stretched my legs out in front of me and flexed a foot. I'd long ago slipped off my shoes.
Donovan sat in the chair across from me and rested his ankle on the opposite knee. "You’ve been doing that a lot this week."
It wasn't exactly accusatory, but I had the sense that he was trying to tell me something.
"I'm sorry I haven't had any time for you. I had no idea this would be so hard. I didn't think Weston did anything."
"Weston doesn't do anything. This is the best his job has ever been done. The rest of us are never going to let you leave." He smiled, and I knew he wasn’t saying it just to be kind. "And don't worry about me. I'm taking you away this weekend."
I cocked my head, intrigued with this new information. "Oh really?" I had planned on working all weekend. There was no other way to get through everything I needed to without doing so, even though I'd worked until almost ten every night so far this week.
"You can't work every second of your life and still expect to do a good job, Sabrina. Trust me, I know. You have to have a little downtime."
I folded my arms under my breasts. "And you have so much downtime. Tell me Mr. Kincaid, what hobbies do you have? What occupies your weekends besides work?"
"You."
Okay. He won.
"And I will allow you to have time to work this weekend as well, as long as you occupy part of your weekend with me."
The only reason I didn't say anything right away was because I was too busy melting inside. "You make it really hard for a girl to argue."
"That's the whole point." His brow wrinkled as if he were thinking. "I have to admit, it’s a whole lot easier just telling you to go places. Though it was more fun devising ways to get you where I wanted you to be."
"Asking me. You ask me to go places. You don't tell me."
"Yeah. That's what I do." He smirked, and I couldn't decide if he was indulging me or if I was indulging him, but when I thought about it, I didn't really want to find out.
"So where is it that you want me to be this weekend?" I asked, gathering the papers in front of me into organized piles for the morning. I’d worked long enough today. My brain was mush at this point. "Do I get to know? Or is it a surprise?"
He considered before answering. "My parents’ country house in Washington, Connecticut. They will be there as well. I apologize for that. My mother hates the city in the winter, and she pretty much stays in Washington from the weekend after Thanksgiving until New Year's. But it's a big house, and my father is just as much of a workaholic as we are, so we won't have to spend very much time with them."
I couldn't stop smiling. "You're taking me to meet your parents?”
He raised a brow. "Did you hear anything else I said?"
"Not really." I was practically giddy. Schoolgirl giddy. "Meeting the guy’s parents, Donovan… That's a big deal. I’m really kind of flustered right now."
His eyes grew warm and soft like melted cookies. "You're a big deal to me," he said quietly, and the air left my lungs. With more energy, he went on. "I'm serious, though. My parents are cold and formal. Don't expect much from them. They will engage with you transactionally."