Thoughts fleet through her softening eyes. A small smile curves her lips. She’s at least halfway convinced.
Then her eyebrows snap together into a V.
Damn it. What’s the sticking point?
“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way,” she says.
Uh-oh… Women say this when they’re about to give you some really bad news. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but your dick’s small” or “but you smell funny” or “but you just aren’t my type.”
Nothing to do but feign cool nonchalance. “Okay.”
“I overheard you and Grant talk about your dad’s birthday party.”
Fuck.
“And you said something about not taking anybody there.” There’s a hint of hurt in her gaze, vulnerability. “You also said, ‘Too damn embarrassing.’”
Well, obviously. Dad’s parties are always awful. Meeting him one on one is even worse. At least at parties, his attention’s split. In more private gatherings, you get all of his insufferableness.
“You also told me you didn’t want us to introduce each other to our families. I don’t think you should make a commitment to somebody you feel that way about,” she continues haltingly, her cheeks turning red. “Um. You should probably commit to someone you don’t mind introducing to your family, you know? And frankly, I deserve a man who is proud of me. At the very least.”
Shit. I had no idea this is how she took that off-the-cuff comment. I have to fix this now. Dad isn’t worth the angst.
I press my lips firmly on her forehead, like a stamp with my name on it. “Amy, I thought you were awesome when you came to your first interview. And I haven’t changed my mind since.”
“Thanks, but you don’t have to lie,” she says, her frown deepening. “I heard what you said when you hired me.”
Chapter Forty
Amy
Emmett looks puzzled. But how could he have forgotten?
“You said, ‘I’m going to regret this,’ before you offered me the job.” My voice is sarcastic and resentful over the fact that he’s making me relive an old humiliation. Maybe he says it to everyone he hires, which is why he can’t remember.
Yup. A total bosshole move.
He stares. If he were a cartoon character, a bright light bulb would pop up over his head. “You thought I said that because I didn’t really want to hire you?”
“Why else would you say it?”
“I wouldn’t have hired you if I thought you couldn’t hack it,” he says in an I-can’t-believe-I-have-to-explain-this voice.
“You hired Webber,” I point out.
“No, I didn’t. Someone else interviewed him. Anyway, forget Webber. The reason I said that is because I wasn’t sure I could remain purely professional. You were too attractive.”
Hmm… He could be lying. After all, we’re sleeping together, and he probably doesn’t want to piss me off with something he said a couple of years ago.
“Stop giving me that look. You know I don’t think you’re some freeloader whose slack we have to pull. Your work speaks for itself. Along with your annual review.”
Okay, that alleviates my doubts. “And all this time, I was working like mad to prove you wrong,” I mutter.
“I don’t know how you could’ve proven you weren’t hot. I was annoyed as hell you were dating all those losers.” He huffs.
I have to agree, I dated some really bad options.
He adds, “You deserve better.”