It was now Thursday, and though he had gotten emails and messages from her they had been totally professional without even a hint of impropriety. Which was fine, considering how hard he worked to uphold a professional culture at Dover. But that hadn’t stopped him from missing her terribly. Each day without her felt longer and more tedious than the last until today, when he decided that he couldn’t take it anymore. He had promised to take things slow, not grind them to a complete halt.
Love, he was finding, was a hell of a lot closer to madness than he had ever realized. Which was why he was quitting work early—or, in his case, on time—to rush downstairs to catch Heather before she left for the day. After days of being away from her, courage was taking over from his hesitation. Maybe now was the time to tell her how he felt about her. Tell her he loved her so that she could make her final decision.
He wasn’t going to pressure her into something serious if she wasn’t ready, but their future looked much brighter than it had several weeks ago. With the electricians coming forward to admit they had been duped, Heather looked a lot more innocent. Which meant maybe there was a chance to start a real relationship. Or, at least, a chance for him to let her know how far he was ready to go for her.
Right now, he was putting his jacket on and heading out of his office. He craned his neck, got a glimpse of the crowded elevator as its doors slid open. There was always the option of taking his rarely-used private elevator, but he needed to work the anxious energy out of him if he hoped to tell Heather the truth without making a complete fool of himself. With his mind made up, he decided to take the stairs.
Taking the stairs two at a time Simon dashed downstairs, barely breaking a sweat thanks to the effects of his morning workout routine.
As he walked over to her office to surprise her, his gaze landed on her office door. The door swung open and a tall, muscular blond guy walked out with Heather.
Simon stopped in his tracks and frowned. He recognized the man. A Dover employee. Highly respected in the accounts department. Drew something or other.
With a scowl, Simon watched as Drew leaned over to hug Heather. When they pulled away from each other, Heather smiled and waved goodbye to Drew as he walked away, heading towards Simon.
Simon forced himself to nod at Drew as he swaggered by. A painful pressure shoved down on his chest as he watched Drew disappear.
The way Heather had looked at Drew...
What emotion had been lighting up her hazel eyes? It was hard to describe the light that flashed in them. Those eyes. So full of admiration. Almost worshipful.
Clearing his throat Simon walked over to Heather, his apprehension hard to shake. “Heather. How are you?”
“Oh.” Her face fell when he approached. “Fine. What are you doing here, Simon?”
He flinched inwardly. Did she not want him here? His heart was hammering wildly at the sight of her, but his excitement at seeing her was being tempered by a dread rising in him that he couldn’t quite explain. “I thought I’d walk you to your car. Maybe makes plans for the weekend if you want.”
“Let me just grab my handbag,” she said before ducking back into her office.
Moments later she reappeared, her bang slung over her shoulder. She gave him a furtive glance, agitation radiating off her.
“Is everything okay?” he asked. “You seem distracted. If I’ve come at a bad time—”
“No, it’s not that,” she insisted sharply. “It’s nothing. It’s been a long few days.”
“I can imagine,” he said. “The electricians kind of dropped a bombshell on us over the weekend. Have you told your lawyer about what they revealed? That someone at Dover put them up to taking photos and taking my security system offline?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’ve told him.”
“Does he have some kind of plan?” he pressed. Since she refused to accept help from one of his more expensive lawyers, the least he could do was find out what her lawyer’s plan was. Maybe he’d be able to give her some useful advice.
“He thinks it’s enough to cast doubt against Gary saying I’m an unfit mother.” She forced out a heavy sigh, suddenly looking so fragile that she might break right then and there.