“I stopped by because I thought Kate might want to grab lunch.” His gaze dropped to settle on the area of her neck where Michael had just caressed her.
Still perched on the edge of the desk, Michael swiveled around to face Dominic, smiling a little too widely. “Dominic. How you doing, bud?”
“Doing fine, Michael.” Dominic didn’t give any indication of his feelings, but he didn’t return Michael’s smile. His gaze returned to Kate. “I realize we didn’t make any arrangements, but I thought you might want to catch some lunch. My mistake. I didn’t realize you would be so…busy. Next time I’ll call.” He turned as if to go.
“Dominic, wait. Michael, would you mind?”
Michael came to his feet, looking too satisfied with this latest turn of events. “Sure, Kate. But if you want to talk about this”—he lowered his voice, as if he was sharing an intimate conversation with Kate, but not low enough that Dominic couldn’t hear it—“another time, I’m here for you. Always.”
He strode to the door. “Well, see ya, Dominic.”
Dominic watched him leave and turned back to Kate.
Finally coming to her senses, Kate crossed the room and shut the door. “Dominic. I don’t know what you saw, but it’s not—”
She stopped. Actually, she had no idea what it had looked like, let alone what it was. Was Michael saying he wanted her back?
“It looked like Michael was trying to tell you he wanted you back.”
She closed her eyes. That was the same conclusion she had reached, too, so how could she deny it?
“Looks like you’re finally getting everything you wanted,” he said, his tone distant. Aloof.
Everything she wanted. Did that still include Michael?
For the past year she’d been convinced it did. And then Dominic had showed up and helped her see what life could be like without him. What it could be like with someone else. And it had seemed…pretty darn good.
But what she and Dominic had together—as they’d agreed—was only temporary.
He wasn’t exactly standing there telling her to pick him.
She looked up at his face, so achingly calm. Completely unaffected by the possibility that Michael wanted her back. And that she’d accept him.
Dominic’s gaze fell to the open FedEx envelope. “So what were you two talking about—I mean, before the big profession.”
Crap. That’s right. Michael was just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger crisis was her career…wasn’t it? “The video surveillance arrived, and it showed exactly what I feared, that not only is my client guilty, but it’s likely my boss and mentor is burying evidence.”
“You work for one hell of a boss.” He tightened his jaw, as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. “Guess you have a lot of life-changing decisions to make, then.”
She smiled wryly. “You think?”
With a sigh, she looked around the office. Seeing the diplomas, the certificate showing she’d been on law review, little trinkets she’d once prized. Proof she had worked so hard to get where she was.
And yet the one thing she really cared about right now was the opinion of the man in front of her.
A man who looked cool and detached, nothing at all like the man she’d come to know these past few weeks. And it was like small shards of glass were piercing her heart.
“Well, I can see you have a lot on your mind, so I’ll let you go.” He started to turn away, pausing as if he remembered something. “Just to give you a heads-up, I’m going to be in over my head for the next few days, getting things worked out at Sorensen while also getting my own business off the ground. I probably won’t be around until nex
t Wednesday, when the cabinets arrive. Like I said, with some extra hands, I’ll make short work of it and can be finished and out of your hair by the end of the week.”
“Oh, well, of course. I can’t wait to see those cabinets up, finally.” She faltered. What had just happened? “I’ll see you at Payton’s party next Saturday, right?” Her voice sounded desperate even to her.
He ran his hand through his hair, and she could see regret flash through his eyes. She sensed his withdrawal from her but was helpless to stop it.
“Yeah, well, it seems kind of pointless, don’t you think? I was posing as your boyfriend to help you land this partnership, but as of Friday, you’ll know the decision on that. And keeping the pretense up for Michael seems kind of…counterintuitive. He wants you back. And having me hang around would be—well, like a third wheel. And I’m not really one for wearing those monkey suits, so, if it’s all the same to you, I’ll pass.”
Why was she having such a hard time catching her breath? She was breathing in but it seemed like she wasn’t getting any air in her lungs. She felt light-headed and reached out to steady herself on the desk.