Chapter 6
Marie didn’t sleep at all! She tossed and turned the whole night, wondering if Phillip was really going to show up at her apartment at seven o’clock.
Sure enough, at six-fifty-nine, her doorbell rang. And because she hadn’t wanted to believe it, she hadn’t packed anything. Because she hadn’t packed anything, she knew that Phillip was going to do…something. She wasn’t sure what because she just wasn’t sure about the man who had emerged now that he was no longer about to marry the beautiful Lillian.
The doorbell rang again and she could almost feel Phillip’s impatience.
She’d handled this all wrong. Marie knew she should have sat Phillip down and explained the whole situation to him. Then he wouldn’t be doing this to her. He wouldn’t have touched her for the past two days, she would still be asleep in her warm bed, and she wouldn’t feel like a zombie right now. Or someone facing a firing squad.
Phillip was going to know about her silly feelings for him. Oh, he couldn’t know how deeply she loved him, but he’d assume she had a silly crush on him. On her boss! How stupid!
“Open the door, Marie. We have a plane to catch.”
“Time for honesty,” she muttered to herself.
She smoothed a hand down her legging-covered thighs, took a deep breath, then walked to the door.
Because it was December and morning, it was chilly outside. Phillip was dressed in khaki slacks…did the man even own a pair of jeans? And a soft shirt that was covered by a leather jacket. There weren’t many times for someone to wear a leather jacket when living in New Orleans. Maybe one or two nights a year got down below freezing. Perhaps last night had been one of those nights.
Opening the door wide, she faced her worst nightmare. “If you’d just…”
She stopped what she’d been about to say as Phillip’s eyes moved up and down her figure. She realized that she probably should have changed out of the leggings and exercise shirt, but she hadn’t really been thinking too clearly this morning.
“Damn, woman!” he growled, stepping into the room. “I knew that you had a knockout figure but…” then his eyes caught something over her shoulder. The boxes! The moving boxes stuffed with her things were stacked all over her apartment. There weren’t that many boxes. An apartment dweller couldn’t really get a whole lot of stuff into the small space. But she also had a small apartment and there wasn’t a lot of space to stack the boxes.
His eyes sharpened, his hands fisted on his hips as he took in the boxes, no pictures on the wall or shelves. Everything was packed up, ready to go.
Turning around, he looked down at her. “You’ve been planning this for a while!” he snapped. “How long, Marie?” he demanded.
She shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“And where the hell are you going? You only said that you’d accepted another job. You never told me that you were leaving New Orleans!”
Woah! He was really pissed off! “Phillip, why are you so angry?” she demanded. “Does it really matter where I’m going?”
He moved closer to her, towering over her and she almost laughed at his attempt to intimidate her. But this was Phillip. He was the kindest, sweetest man she’d ever met. And certainly the most generous she’d ever worked for. Her next job was a lower salary. The trade-off was to not be in love with her boss. Well, and see him marry another woman.
The fact that Phillip wasn’t marrying Lillian…that threw a whole new wrench into her gears, didn’t it? But, of course, he would eventually marry someone. The man was in his mid-thirties and his mother was nagging him for grandchildren. Neither of those issues were a reason to marry. But Phillip would. Phillip always did the right thing. The thought flashed through her mind that Phillip wasn’t very nice when it came to business but…well, he had to be tough in order to protect people’s retirement. He did what he had to do.
Was that justification?
No. Phillip was good, kind, and a protector. That’s what he did. He protected people who invested with his firm. And he wouldn’t do anything to her now.
“Why do you think I’m angry?” he asked softly.
She smiled slightly at the threat in his voice. “I don’t know.” Crossing her arms over her stomach, she leaned back against the wall. “Why don’t you explain it to my feeble mind, Phillip?”
He placed a hand on either side of her head, leaning in. Okay, this was intimidating. Well, not exactly intimidating, she corrected. Exciting. Terrifying. Would he know? Could he somehow discern her attraction to his broad shoulders and…well, everything else about the man? Would he figure out that she’d love for him to take her into his arms and…do everything to her? Anything? Or that she wanted to…
“Stop it,” she gasped, thinking about all the things she wanted to do to this man’s body. And right now, he was just a bit too close for her exhausted mind to rein in her need to touch him. Her fingers closed into fists under her arms in an attempt to stop herself from touching him.
“Stop what, Marie? Stop trying to understand why you are running away from me?” The shock on her face must have given her thoughts, away because understanding lit up his eyes. “That’s what it is, isn’t it? You’re running away.” He pulled back slightly, his intelligent eyes roaming over her features and she pressed her lips together. “Why? What did I do that would spark a need for you to run?”
She shrugged, shaking her head. “Phillip, let’s just…”
“We’re not going to ‘just’ do anything, Marie. We’ve been friends for too long. You’re the best assistant I’ve ever had. We’re not abandoning this issue until I understand.”
Marie’s temper flared because Phillip never gave up on an issue until he understood. Over the time she’d been working for him, she’d seen it over and over again. With anyone else, she’d admired that determination. But when it came to herself, it angered her.
Ducking under his arm, she moved away from him, pacing through the small confines of her apartment which was limited even more by all the stupid boxes that were in her way. “Phillip! Just drop it! This is none of your business!”
“How can you say it isn’t any of my business when it’s exactly my business? You’re leaving as my assistant and, what’s more, I thought we were friends. I thought that we had more than a boss-employee relationship. So what the hell? What gives, Marie? Why are you running away without an explanation? I deserve better!”
He hadn’t raised his voice, but his smooth, steady tone only reinforced that he was furious. If his tone hadn’t clued her in, the anger in his dark eyes would have been more than enough.
With a sigh, she turned her back on him, staring out the window. “Phillip, just…”
“Talk to me, Marie. You’ve always been able to talk to me about anything.” When she remained silent, he tried a different tactic. “Is it salary? Did this other position give you a better salary? You know I’ll match any amount another firm gives you. Hell, I’ll beat any offer by ten percent.”
She gasped, swinging around to glare up at him. “Don’t you dare!”
Phillip was watching her carefully, trying to find clues. But she wasn’t giving anything away. “If you need more money, I’m damn well going to give you more money, Marie. I want you here.”
Those eyes! Her beautiful hazel eyes stared up at him. Pleading with him. But he couldn’t relent. This was too important. He’d spent the last months engaged to the wrong woman, only to discover his feelings for Marie were much more powerful than he’d realized. Now, when he finally had a chance to do something about it, she was leaving him. He couldn’t let that happen.
As she paced, Phillip couldn’t stop his eyes from dropping, enjoying her figure. The black leggings were perfect for his viewing pleasure, although he would like to ditch the shirt. Hell, he’d prefer to ditch all of her clothes, lay her out on the bed that was still unmade in the next room and take his time kissing every inch of her amazing figure.
Mentally shaking his head, he reminded himself that he needed to focus, convince her to take a chance on them as a couple, before he introduced all of those other desires. Well, first, he needed to stop her from leaving town.
“I’m waiting, Marie,” he reminded her, realizing that his voice was sounding more like a growl now.
“Phillip, I just need to start fresh, get on with my life.”
He thought about her words, watching her carefully. Usually, he understood her moods even before she did. “Are you working too many hours? You know that you don’t have to. We can skip our usual dinners together,” he told her, even though those were the highlights of his day.
“You know I love our dinners,” she told him. Still pacing. Still giving him ample opportunity to contemplate the round pertness of her butt. Damn, she was built! He knew that, had been watching her for months. It’s just now that he was allowing himself the pleasure. No longer feeling guilty for it.
“Okay, you enjoy them. I enjoy them. Your salary is adequate. You’re not working too many hours. What’s the problem? Why do you feel the need to run?”
She huffed a bit and he looked at her breasts underneath that shirt, his body tightening with the way her breasts jiggled enticingly underneath the material. Damn, she was beautiful!
“Because you’re…you!” she said, her arms waving in the air, out of patience finally. “You’re handsome and nice and strong and…” she huffed a bit. “And you call me every morning to make me laugh! You do all those nice things and you have stupidly broad shoulders! No man should have shoulders like yours! Why? Why couldn’t you just be a jerk or something? Why do you always have to say the right thing? Why are you so nice and funny and responsible and caring and…”
She paused, looking up at him with startled eyes. Almost as if she hadn’t meant to say all of that.
He looked down and, sure enough, her nipples were pressing against the thin material of her shirt. He tried. He really did. But Phillip simply couldn’t pull his eyes away from those interesting indentations.
“Stop it!” she whispered, then crossed her arms over her shirt. It was the only thing that could have pulled his eyes upwards. Only then did he see the hurt in her eyes. The wounded, scared expression.
“You like my shoulders?” was all he could ask.
One of her delicate shoulders went up, as if she might be trying to dismiss everything she’d just blurted out to him.
“And you don’t think I’m a jerk.”
He loved it when she turned those angry eyes on him. He couldn’t help it. She looked too delightful. “Phillip, you know that you’re the kind of guy every woman fantasizes about.”
That was news! Good news! “Do you?” he asked softly.
She shifted her bare feet, digging her toes into the carpet. “Do I what?”
“Fantasize about me?” he asked, moving closer.
She didn’t answer, but her lips softened. He pulled his eyes away from those soft lips that he wanted to taste, looking into her hazel eyes. There! The vulnerable look in those eyes told him what he wanted to know. Looking lower, he saw the pulse pounding at the base of her neck. It was barely there, but he’d noticed it months ago and had been fascinated by it.
Stepping closer, he stopped when he realized that his movement only increased her nervousness. She was almost cringing from him.
“Where’s your passport?” he asked, thinking that the best plan of action was to get away from here. No work. No deadlines. Nothing but sunshine, good food, and conversation. They could work this out. They just needed to get away from here where she could relax a bit.
And he could already see her in a red bikini.
Marie breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped away from her. But his question about her passport threw her off. “It’s uh…”
She stopped when he flipped the top off of the box containing all of her important documents. She wasn’t going to let that box go with the movers, so she’d set it onto the kitchen counter, right next to her purse and laptop. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer her, just lifted the plastic bag containing her passport and other vital documents, then stuffed her passport into his pocket.
“Okay, we’re set. Let’s go,” he told her, then dumped her purse into her arms and put his hand to the small of her back, pushing her out of the apartment. He grabbed her laptop as well, but wouldn’t let her carry it, swinging it over his shoulder as they walked out of the apartment.
“Where are we going?” she demanded, worried now.
“Aruba.”
She couldn’t speak for a long moment, just followed stupidly along to his car. He nudged her into the passenger seat and she watched his long legs carry him around the front of the car. Was his butt as tight as it seemed? She knew that the man went for a run every other morning, going something like five or six miles each time he went out. The other mornings, he worked out with weights. He had a complete gym in his house. A completely drool worthy gym. Or maybe it was just the man who was drool worthy?
It was too early in the morning for this, she thought and pressed her lips together as he slipped into the driver’s seat. “Phillip, I’m not going to Aruba with you.”
“As I see it,” he said as he started the engine and backed out of the parking space, “you still work for me. Am I wrong?”
“Yes. For two more weeks,” she replied stubbornly, ignoring his grunt of disagreement.
“Well then, as your employer, I’m telling you that we have meetings scheduled in Aruba in a few hours.” He pulled out of the parking lot of her apartment building and glanced over at her. “Put your seatbelt on,” he warned, then peeled out of the lot into the morning traffic. It was still too early for most of the New Orleans residents to be out and about. It was too early for her to be out and about. It was Saturday! She normally slept until nine or ten o’clock on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sundays might be a bit earlier since she went to church but Saturdays…yeah, when she wasn’t working with him on a deadline or important issue, she slept in until she was good and ready to get out of bed, then enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee for another hour or two. Apartment cleaning, getting her nails done, and picking out her movie for the evening was normally all she had on her agenda on her free Saturdays.
It occurred to her that she could have been going on dates during those free Saturdays. But how could a man compete with someone like Phillip? He was tall, handsome, kind, considerate, sexy as hell, and just…darn it, he made her shiver with awareness whenever he walked into a room. Or when she walked into his office. Or conference room. When he touched her back as he led her through a restaurant or whatever they were doing together, she’d always been painfully conscious of that touch.
“What was that sigh for?” he asked as he sped down the highway.
She glanced at his speedometer and cringed when she realized he was going about eighty miles an hour. “What’s the rush?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“We’re late. You weren’t ready to go, as instructed.” He glanced at her for a moment, heat in his eyes as he said, “You know you’re in trouble for that, right?”
Now, why did that excite her so much?
She cleared her throat and pulled her eyes away from him. “I’m not going to Aruba with you. I don’t have any clothes and there’s no way I can work down there. So just…”
“We’ll get everything you need when we land.”
“Not my files.”
“For what I have planned,” he pointed out as he turned right, heading towards the private air field, “you won’t need files or your laptop.”
She didn’t want to ask. She shouldn’t ask. It was pointless to ask! He’d just tell her something that she didn’t want to know. But…
“What do you have planned?” she asked.
He turned, the heat still in his eyes, but this time, there was also a leer curling his lips that sent her pulse into overdrive and tightened every muscle in her stomach. Anticipation hit her. Hard!
“Oh, you’ll just have to wait and see,” he promised.
A moment later, he pulled into the parking lot of the private airfield. Turning off the engine, he twisted so that he was looking at her. “Ready?”
She looked down at her purse. “Obviously, I’m not. I don’t have any clothes!”
“Not a problem. There are stores.”
She gritted her teeth. “Phillip, I’m not buying…”
“Of course you’re not. I am.”
With that, he stepped out of the vehicle and moved to the trunk of his car. She didn’t see anything since she was still sitting in the passenger seat, biting her lip as she looked at his plane. It was sitting on the tarmac, ready and waiting for them to board. She’d done this many times in the past. Working with Phillip meant a lot of travel. She’d been to some amazing places, but it had always been business. And she hadn’t just told the man that he had sexy shoulders. Or broad shoulders? She couldn’t remember and it was too early in the morning to figure things out. Also, she was tired, not having slept all night because of the craziness of the last twenty-four hours.
Phillip was…different now. More relaxed than she’d seen him in months. He was smiling more, there wasn’t that tension about him, and he was….
The door opened and she turned to look at him. “Ready?”
“No!” she snapped.
“Too bad,” he replied and took her purse, tossing it over his shoulder along with his duffel bag. “The pilot has started the engines. We’re wasting fuel now.”
Marie gasped and jumped out of the car. If there was one thing guaranteed to get her moving, it was waste of any kind, she was just too efficient to ignore that.
“You’re an evil man,” she snapped as she walked across the parking lot, her flip flops snapping against her feet. She followed, but only because she wasn’t sure what else to do. He was right. He was her boss. And yeah, they’d often worked and relaxed on his trips.
This was different. Yes, he still had her computer. But she knew that this was different. Dangerously different!
“Phillip?”
He turned to her, looking into her eyes and she wanted to melt into all of those yummy muscles, have his arms wrap around her. She wanted him to tell her that this wouldn’t change their relationship in any way. Maybe if she promised to stay with him, things wouldn’t change. Maybe if…
“Trust me, Marie,” he said softly, his hand reaching up to cup her cheek gently. His thumb rubbed against her skin. With just that small movement…she was a goner. When he touched her like that, he could order her to fly to the moon and she’d start flapping her arms.
She loved his touch and pressed her cheek against the warm palm of his hand, enjoying, for just a moment, the way it felt to be touched by Phillip.
But only a moment. With a sigh, she pulled away. “I trust you, Phillip,” she told him. She didn’t necessarily trust herself though. And that was the bigger problem.
“Good. Then let’s just get on the plane.” He paused, that thumb rubbing underneath her eyes gently, “You can get a bit of sleep, and by the time you wake up, we’ll be in Aruba. Okay?”
She didn’t inhale, because she would have only filled her lungs with the incredibly wonderful scent of Phillip. So instead, she nodded. “That’s fine.”
“Good. Let’s go,” he said and took her hand. He only released it when they climbed the narrow stairs that led to the plane.
Once inside the plane’s cabin, she curled up in one of the large, leather chairs, shook her head when the flight attendant asked if she wanted anything to drink, then pressed the chair back, and closed her eyes. It took her a long time to finally fall asleep since too many thoughts were flying through her mind. She didn’t want to think about being in a warm, tropical island with Phillip. She didn’t want to think about anything. But her mind kept flitting from one scenario to another where she revealed her secret feelings for the man.