‘Thank you.’
He sent her a sidelong glance, looking for the emotion he’d witnessed not five minutes before. But there was nothing.
He had to admire her for that.
And it was time he did the same. He’d do what he should’ve done ages ago and sort out a date elsewhere, hope the distraction would help him live up to his promise and leave her the hell alone.
It was time to stop behaving like a love-sick puppy.
Love?
Where the fuck had that come from?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A FULL TWO weeks had passed since the alley incident—since Marcus had promised he would leave her alone, and she’d confessed her desire for more and scared him off entirely.
And the greater the distance he put between them, the greater was her need to have him back, to accept what little he was able to give—because the current situation was unbearable.
The change in him drove her crazy. He communicated via email, even when a simple conversation would have been quicker and easier. When she forced him to talk he rarely looked her way. In the few meetings they attended together his attention was on everyone else.
It wasn’t that he was rude. Not at all. He was businesslike, platonic—everything she’d asked for.
And she hated it.
Then there was her goal to split her time fifty-fifty. It was feasible, but her worry over letting go had had her upping her efforts to the point of exhaustion, convinced that putting in the extra time would ensure her handle on the company didn’t slip. Not for anything. Or anyone.
As for her feelings—they would go with time. They had to.
Planting her elbows on the desk, she massaged her temples and pushed through the mind fog, the emotional turmoil. She had work to get done. It was long past home-time and she was poring over financial projections that she should have finished reviewing hours ago. She squinted at the figures. The computer screen and her desk lamp offered the only light since the main office was dark and deserted.
Half an hour later she was reviewing her feedback when her office was lit up, by light leaking in from the main office outside.
Heart in her mouth, she glanced up.
Who’d be here at this hour?
Marcus.
Her pulse took charge and did its thing, and her body tripped out at the mere sight of him. As much as she tried to force it down, it just kept on coming. The feeling of being ignored for the best part of a fortnight only served to intensify it all.
Would he ignore her now, when he realised that she was still here? That she was the only one here?
To her surprise, he didn’t head to his office—he strode straight for hers.
Definitely not ignoring her, then...
Slowly she got to her feet, readying herself for his proximity, searching for what to say and the numerous reasons he might be here.
She walked to her door, reaching it at the same time as he did.
His eyes raked over her, something close to anger sparking in their depths. What was wrong now?
Cautious, she swung it open. ‘Hey.’
‘Hey, yourself,’ he said, his mouth returning to form a grim line.
‘What are you doing here?’