I glanced at the chaos in my kitchen and laughed out loud. I had never gone to this much trouble for a guy, and that right there said a lot about Stu. The second I’d gotten home, I’d pulled up the Food Network, checked the refrigerator and cabinets, and set to work whipping up my version of food heaven. Okay, so it was only mac and cheese with bacon bits, but hey, I’d never made it before, and it was a big deal. Because since when did I cook?
Stu had a lot to answer for.
By the time he rang my doorbell, the kitchen was sort of presentable, and the delicious aroma that filled the apartment made my mouth water. I flung open the door and grinned. “I hope you’re hungry. Sorry I’m not naked yet, but the clean-up took—” The rest of my sentence died in my throat at his expression.
Now, I know Stu’s smiles, okay? There are several different versions. The sexy grin that gets my heart fluttering, the polite smile he gives during his meetings when someone’s had a stupidity spasm and he’s trying not to react… And what I was seeing right then was the most fake smile ever.
Something was wrong.
“Can I come in?”
That was all it took for my heart to start pounding. “Well, of course you can come in. You’re having dinner with me, remember?”
The way he looked made me think that wasn’t a certainty.
I stood aside and let him enter. “Stu? What’s wrong?” The mac and cheese was in the oven and it wasn’t about to burn. We had time to talk.
He walked into the living room. “What have you got to drink around here?”
I gestured to the shelf next to the TV. “Vodka, whiskey, Baileys… hell, I think I still have half a bottle of Midori.” I fell silent as he walked over and poured himself a measure of whiskey. “Am I gonna need one of those too?”
Stu paused, then reached for another glass.
Is he breaking up with me? Fuck, we’ve only just gotten together. Something about his quiet manner made my scalp crawl. “Stu, you’re worrying me.”
He came over and held out a glass. “The important thing to remember here is that it’s not as bad as it sounds.”
I swallowed, then took a quick swig of whiskey. “Okay, now you really are worrying me. What’s not as bad as it sounds?”
Stu gazed at me. “Did you show that dick pic to anyone?”
I bit my lip. “Now, which dick pic are we referring to? Because there have been a couple.” Then I got it. “You mean, the one I sent you by accident?” He nodded. “Nope, no one.”
“But you did tell Dean Porter about it.”
Ice crawled over the skin on my arms. “Yeah, I did. The night I sent it.”
“Why, for God’s sake?”
I stared at him. “He called me right after I got your email demanding to see me. And just then I was a mess.”
“But he’s not seen it.”
That ice was spreading, reaching through my skin, through flesh, into my heart. “Stu, what’s happened?”
He took a long drink from his glass. “What’s happened is your buddy Dean is trying his hand at a little blackmail. He doesn’t have any actual proof that we’re fucking, but he’s made some pretty good guesses. But now I know he’s not seen that pic, I can make my move.”
“What does he want?” Fuck Dean. Fuck him all to hell.
“A promotion. Or else.” Stu closed the space between us and cupped the back of my neck. “Now listen. You’re not to worry about this.”
I gaped. “Not worry—if he doesn’t get what he wants, then what? He blabs, I lose my job, God only knows what will happen to your company’s reputation, and—”
Stu drew me closer. “Listen,” he said firmly. “I am going to look into this. We haven’t done anything wrong. I’m going to talk to HR and find out where we stand, okay? But you are not going to lose your job. Why in the hell should you? If anything, you’ll be the victim in their eyes. You know, the big bad boss coercing you into sex…”
“But what if HR says we shouldn’t be—”
Stu stopped my words with a kiss, and for a moment, my fears bled away. When we parted, he looked me in the eye. “This is not going to put an end to us, you got that?”
“You can’t promise that though, can you?” I felt sick to my stomach.
The hesitation before he spoke filled me with dread. “No, I can’t make promises right this second. There’s someone I have to talk to first. But I am not going to let that… bastard spoil the best thing that has ever happened to me, okay?” He stroked my cheek. “And that would be you, Chandler Mitchell. In just over a week, you have turned my life upside down, and I am not about to lose you.” He sniffed up. “Dinner smells amazing, but to be honest—”
“You’ve lost your appetite.” So had I.
Stu nodded. “Would you mind if I went home? There’s some stuff I need to do, and ….”
I attempted a smile. “I don’t think I’d be much company anyhow this evening.” I wanted him there, but I wasn’t going to make demands. He had enough to think about.
Stu leaned in and kissed me again. “Please, don’t worry.”
“Yeah right. You’ve got about two hopes of that happening, and Bob died ages ago.”
He chuckled. “Where did you dig that one up?”
“Something my dad used to say.” I locked gazes with him. “Go home. I’ll see you in the morning at work.”
He brushed his fingertips over my cheek. “I’ll miss you tonight.”
“Ditto. Now go. You have stuff to do.” I cocked my head to one side. “Is it stuff that might help us?”
“Possibly. I don’t know for sure. Call it research.” Stu gave me another kiss. “Can the food be saved for tomorrow night?”
I nodded. “Let’s hope by then I’ll feel like eating.”
“Let’s hope by then we’re both feeling like it.” Stu put down his glass and headed for the door. I followed him, watching as he walked toward the stairs. When he was out of sight, I closed the door and bolted it.
I am gonna fucking kill Dean.
I walked into the office, my heart quaking. I’d gotten about two hours’ sleep, and I hadn’t felt this rough in a while. When the sun came up, I came to a decision, one that made me even sicker than the previous night. I knew Stu would pull out all the stops to fix this—I just doubted HR would let him do it.
That left it up to me. Because there was something I could do that would make it all go away.
Hardly anyone else had arrived, but there were still thirty minutes to go until the start of the work day. I figured I’d catch Stu while it was quiet. However, when I got to Fiona’s desk, Stu’s door was closed and Fiona was peering intently at her monitor. She glanced up with a frown as I approached. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Ganford can’t see you right now. He’s in a meeting.”
“That’s okay. I just wanted to leave this for him.” I placed a long white envelope on the corner of her desk. “Will you make sure he gets it?”
She smiled. “Of course.” Then she went back to work.