Chapter 26

Rainey

The next day I woke up for work with a ball full of nerves in my stomach. When Tanner went to bed last night, Mom tried to talk to me about my day but I was in such a peaceful state of mind because of my son, I told her it wasn’t a big deal. I promised to talk to her after work today. I’d have a resolution by the end of the day.

I got myself and Tanner ready for the day before dropping him off downstairs with my parents.

On the train, I reminded myself why I had been so angry with Michael. He lied to me about his relationship with the woman who owned the lodge, and he flaunted it right in front of me. And Tessa’s words came into my mind. If I wasn’t willing to open up to Michael as someone more than just a boss about my son, then he probably wasn’t the one for me. It was as simple as that.

Last night I thought I’d march right up to him when he came in that morning and tell him how I felt. But when it came down to it, I hadn’t done anything wrong. He was the one who should apologize to me. If he was the typical alpha male that I suspected he was, he probably hadn’t noticed why I left. As much as it would irritate me to work for him without an apology, I wanted to give him a chance to explain himself. I’d give him until the end of the day before I said something to him.

I was playing a childish game, but he’d been the one to take me away on what turned out to be a romantic getaway. I needed to know how little he thought of me before coming after him with my ultimatum.

When I got off the train, my throat tightened, and I found it hard to breathe. I had to take several deep breaths before I was able to march forward toward the building.

Once I got to the office, I expected Michael would already be there. This was it. The moment I’d been dreading since yesterday afternoon.

I walked up to Sandra’s desk. “Good morning.”

She barely looked up at me. “Morning. Michael’s not here yet, but he sent us an email with some tasks to complete today.”

I ground my teeth together. Michael was always early. There went my initial plans. Oh well, at least I’d have some time to get started on work before he arrived.

“Okay,” I said.

Sandra continued to type on her computer without another glance.

I went to my desk in the little cubicle outside of Michael’s office. I settled in and opened my email.

The task list for Sandra was long, enough to keep her busy the rest of the day.

Mine only said for me to check specific listings. It was something I did every morning. Why did he find it necessary to remind me to do my job?

I chewed on my lip, digging my teeth into the skin. I stewed in my frustration while I completed my task in record time.

But when I heard the elevator doors opening an hour later, I opened the listings again to show Michael I’d been a good little assistant in his absence. I made a show of typing into the keyboard hard enough that even if he tried to ignore my presence, he wouldn’t be able to.

At least that’s what I thought.

Michael strode right passed me without a word. Then he closed his office door.

I turned around and stared at the door, my mouth falling open.

Was he mad at me? Oh, hell no. He had no right.

I scooped up the pile of listings I was working on and knocked on his door once before bursting inside. I checked his schedule that morning, so I knew he wasn’t on the phone with a client at the moment. He was lowering himself down into his desk chair when he looked up at me.

“I’ve completed all of these this morning. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Then, without letting him get a word in, I turned on my heel and walked out of his office and closed the door behind me.

That showed him.

My heart was fluttering, and my chest heaved. I wasn’t sure why I was reacting that way. It was a small victory for me to show that I wasn’t going to back down. He had done something wrong, and if he thought I was just going to get over it, he had another thing coming. I knew I was treading a line, but as long as I got my work done, he’d have no reason to reprimand me professionally.

He sent me an instant message outlining several more tasks for me.

Good, that would keep me busy for some time.

While working, I couldn’t help check his schedule a few times throughout the morning. He “completed” each phone call in our shared calendar by checking a little box that let Sandra and I know when he finished each one. The checkmarks kept coming while he hadn’t stepped out of his office once in that time.

As the hours went by, my resolve faltered. What if I was wrong and Michael had no idea what happened yesterday to make me leave? Maybe he thought I had to leave for some reason and was waiting for me to say something?

I tried to hold onto the promise I made myself about confronting him at the end of the day. At least if the conversation went badly, then we both could leave for the day and regroup. I hoped it wouldn’t cost me my job. Michael held no risk for hooking up with me. He held my future in his hands.

It was nearly lunch time when I got another instant message from him.

Come into my office.

My shoulders tensed but I stood up from my chair and went into his office.

“Close the door,” he said.

I did.

He stood next to the windows with his back toward me. His profile was shaded by the sunlight streaming through the windows.

I waited for him to start the conversation because he was the one to call for me.

We both stood there across the room from each other in perfect silence. The tension in the air thickened but I held on strong to my resolve.

He finally turned around, scrubbed at his chin and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to address the elephant in the room.”

Here it was.

“I have a hard time understanding why you left yesterday afternoon. I thought…” he paused and fixed me with his piercing blue-green eyes. “I thought we were on the same page with what was going on between us.”

“We were,” I said, lifting my chin. “But watching that woman throw herself into your arms changed everything.”

He cocked his head. “Anything that happens in my home is my business—”

“You were just kissing me,” I hissed, not wanting Sandra to hear our conversation.

“If you would let me finish,” he snapped.

I opened my hands in front of me. “Go ahead.” I wanted to see him explain himself out of this one.

“Natalia and I have known each other since we were young. She is like a sister to me and yesterday she had some rather terrible news to tell me. I can see where you thought she was a little forward but that’s our relationship.”

My stomach dropped out from under me.

But Michael continued, “And I found it quite embarrassing when I wanted to introduce my assistant to my oldest friend, and yet you were nowhere to be found. So right now, I should be the one asking you what happened yesterday afternoon.”

“Michael, I’m so sorry,” I said as my entire body flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t know.”

“Obviously.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I scrambled to rectify my mistake. “It’s not what you think.”

“Enlighten me, then,” he said.

“I can’t. I’m dealing with some personal things right now. And after yesterday I think it would be best if we kept things professional between us.”

“Rainey, you weren’t feeling this way yesterday.”

“I know. But even after seeing you with Natalia, I realized that this wouldn't work between us. Not if I want to keep my job. I only want to do my job and focus on my life right now. I don’t have time to get mixed up in relationship drama.”

Michael let out a heavy sigh. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is,” I said quickly. He was clearly not happy with me. But it was better to have this discussion ahead of time before things got too serious and complicated between us.

“Are we done with this conversation?” he asked.

“Yes.” I started for the door.

“Get your things. We’re going to lunch.”

I hesitated.

“You’re still my assistant,” he said as he walked over to me. He lifted his jacket from the hook by the door, and I shuffled out of the room.

By the time I got my scarf, hat, gloves, and jacket on, he was already waiting for me by the elevator. I picked up my pace and met him there just as the doors were opening.

“After you,” he said, and I got into the elevator, pressing myself to one side of it.

Michael stood in the middle, clearly not getting the point that I was trying to avoid being so close to him. He pulled out his phone and furiously started typing on it. I suspected he was avoiding me in a different way.

When we got to the car, Constantine held the door open for me. I thanked him with a big smile on my face.

I looked over at Michael who was looking at me with a strange expression. Then he folded himself into the backseat of the car.

I got into the car too and scooted myself as close to the door as I could.

Michael gave Constantine the name of a restaurant I hadn’t heard before, and we were off.

He stared out the window, and I found myself glancing over at him several times. I couldn’t help the stirring inside of me from looking at him. Everything that had helped me fall for him was coming back in full force. He was devastatingly handsome, and for some reason, the scowl on his face made him even more attractive.

What was wrong with me?

His phone rang, and he looked at the screen before ending the call and shoving the phone back into his pocket.

“You can answer that,” I said.

“I’ll call back later.”

I rolled my eyes. “This is why I wanted to keep it professional—”

Then my phone rang. It was Killian. His ringtone made anyone nearby cringe, including me. It was my way of knowing it was him calling before I could even look at the screen. I reached into my bag and pressed the button to stop the ringing.

“Who was that?” Michael asked.

“No one,” I said quickly.

“It appears I’m not the only one with secrets.”

“I never said I didn’t have secrets. Which is why I wanted to keep it professional. There’s no reason why we need to delve into each other’s lives if nothing is going to come of it.”

He nodded a few times before speaking. “You’re right. We should keep this professional. It was a mistake to cross the line, and I hoped I didn’t offend you.”

I scoffed and glanced at Constantine. He had his eyes firmly on the road. “We’re both adults. Of course, you didn’t offend me. It might have been a misstep, but I hope that we can move this professional relationship forward and leave this behind us.”

“I agree,” he said curtly. It seemed like this wasn’t what he wanted, but he was throwing his signals all over the place. And I didn’t have the energy to play games anymore. Whatever had happened between us was over. And we would both be better off for it.