‘Wonderful. Lovely name.’ She paused. ‘So I guess you were busy last night, then. Celebrating?’ Far too busy to catch up on boring old matters such as emails from the office.
He looked at her with an unsettling directness, as if he’d heard her thoughts. Indeed, as if he knew what she’d been enjoying last night, with him. And more of that blood pumped into her cheeks.
He smiled again, that warmth back in his eyes. ‘Melissa and I had a champagne or two.’
Melissa? He was involved. Sophie felt as if something had jabbed her skin and left her deflating piece by piece. She had to force her shoulders back and stand straight. Pam hadn’t let her in on that little snippet. She’d told her he didn’t have time for relationships, his family took precedence, that women were way down on his list, and, no, he wasn’t gay.
Sophie reminded herself quickly and sternly that it made no difference. In fact it was good. Great. Men were off her agenda for life. And she was going overseas in three weeks and five days.
She lifted her chin to demonstrate a confidence she was far from feeling. ‘I won’t hold you up. I know you have an eight a.m. meeting in Coolangatta.’ Thank heavens. She could—
‘No rush,’ he said in that steel and velvet voice that both startled and enticed.
‘I…’ She watched the way the muscles in his back shifted beneath the smooth white cotton as he sank into his plush leather chair. Held her breath and waited for her heart to stop while she watched his long tanned fingers work the keyboard and… Oh, dear… Remembered those clever fingers working on her body… The sensation peppered her skin with instant goose-bumps.
She shook the fantasy away. More important to worry about how long he’d been watching her at his desk and what he’d seen. From her position, she saw him click off his agenda and bring up his emails. Her stomach tightened. Oh, no.
‘Wouldn’t want to miss anything important…’ He glanced sideways at her, although how a glance could scour your eyes for every secret you’d ever kept and last for eternity—
Prickly heat climbed up her neck and her hand rose un-steadily to play with the button at her throat. ‘I’ll let you get on with it,’ she said, backing away before he decided to open his Deleted Items folder and flash her private thoughts onto the screen and…she’d just die of embarrassment. No, no, she reminded her stunned self, she’d deleted it permanently. She was off the hook—
‘What’s this?’ He stilled, leaning closer to the screen, blocking Sophie’s view and her heart jumped into her mouth again. ‘This is your work, I take it?’ He turned slowly towards her. His eyes seemed darker and there was a gleam there that she was sure hadn’t been there before.
She found herself backing away from his powerful gaze as if pushed by some physical force. Her hands alternately fluttered and clenched in front of her. ‘I can…explain…’
‘No need.’ He leaned back in his chair, a slow smile touching his lips. ‘I left it with Pam but I see you’ve finished it. Everything looks to be in order, you can email it today.’
The Lygon report. A sigh escaped her lips, instantly bitten off when she caught him still watching her, eyes darker than she’d thought. She straightened. ‘I’ll get right on it.’
‘This afternoon will be soon enough.’ He glanced back at the screen, then said, ‘Nothing else here that can’t wait.’
He rose and she almost sagged with relief. Her legs were like jelly and she really, really wanted to escape to her desk and regroup.
But before she could propel herself forward—rather, backward and away—he opened his briefcase, pulled out a few files. ‘Since you’re here and obviously enthusiastic to get on with the day, I’d like you to come with me.’
‘Me?’ To Coolangatta? With him? Her breath caught. ‘But…’
He looked up sharply. ‘Is that a problem?’
Uh oh. A temporary PA’s golden rule: do not irritate the boss no matter how short your stay is. ‘No. Not at all. Absolutely.’ She shook her head, then nodded. Her head spun.
‘Good.’ His eyes pinned hers so directly, so intensely, she felt as if she were being probed, naked, with twin lasers.
She flicked at her collar, lifted her blouse away from her skin, sticky now despite her morning shower, and flashed him a smile. ‘I’ll leave a note for Mimi.’
‘Fine.’ He blinked, then seemed to shake his head, the movement abrupt, and frowned at his watch. ‘Better make that call from the car on the way.’ He handed Sophie the files without looking at her. ‘These need mailing this afternoon.’ His voice was clipped as he snapped his case shut. ‘Bring Pam’s laptop, you can familiarise yourself with the project before we get there. Coffee— Forget it, we don’t have time.’