Despite my excitement and the fact that I can’t seem to spend a few minutes without thinking of him, I hear nothing from Kit for the rest of the week.
I’ve seen him in the office, but only at meetings. No stolen touches this time.
At our next meeting with my team on Friday, I catch Kit looking at me with a frown. But he makes no move to touch me. Nor smile at me.
What’s going on?
As we adjourn the meeting, Ben asks me to join him and Angela and Tim for drinks, and Kit lifts his head from the opening page design printout he asked to take.
Feeling Kit’s gaze on me like a weight, I tell Ben I’m busy.
Ben seems displeased and walks out, and Kit smiles to himself as he returns his gaze to the papers. I’m suddenly angry at him and want to punch him. Instead, I’m glad the week is over as I head home that afternoon and wonder what’s going on.
Is he already done with me? I’m furious. Most of all hurt. Because there’s one unerring thought in the back of my mind that won’t leave me alone:
I should have seen this coming.
* * *
Monday I dress with care, wanting to look perfect. Wanting to look into Kit’s eyes and find something—a clue as to what happened between us.
I know something is wrong the moment I arrive at work.
When I enter the room, I feel as if everyone is nervous around me.
I’m suddenly nervous as well, though of course I have cause to be nervous. I slept with the boss. Not just once, but repeatedly.
And he hasn’t mentioned it for a whole week. No text. No word.
How can someone just forget to call after a night like the one we had? God, the way he touched me felt...like he was cherishing me. Like he craved me as much as I craved him. And the flowers that first night he invited me over—from Turkey!
Then again, I guess when you sleep with a billionaire, you never know what constitutes a big gesture. It probably was nothing for him to have those flowers delivered, barely making a dent in his bank account.
Suddenly, I feel like the romance is dying. Once the flower fades to nothingness, so will my connection with Kit.
I need to stop thinking I know the man. I clearly know nothing at all.
There’s a soft knock on my office door. I look up and spot Angela. She’s not her usual self. She isn’t smiling, her body language withdrawn and stiff. She’s probably a mirror image of my own mood. I frown, dread pricking like a little thorn in my stomach.
“Everything okay, Angela?”
She doesn’t say anything, closing the door behind her quietly. “The boss wants to see you.”
“Okay...”
Angela bites her nail self-consciously.
“He seemed...pissed.”
I shake my head in confusion. “Talk to me. Why is everyone on edge?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because...you are? You seem on edge. Ben, too. And Kit.” Angela perches herself on the chair opposite mine. “I only bumped into Kit in the elevator. He told me to fetch you. He wants you in his office immediately.”
“Why do you think he was angry?”
“I don’t know. He was just...unusual. Not like the calm and easygoing Kit we’ve all come to know and love.”
My hands are shaking as I shut down my browser. “Thanks, Angela. I’ll be right there.”
I’m perplexed. What could possibly faze the most unfazeable man I’ve ever met?
Things take another turn for the worse when I head out of my office and hear a commotion right by my door. I see Alastair walking toward me.
Dread churns in my stomach. Because something tells me his presence means nothing good.
I’m suddenly paranoid. Oh god. I can barely look him in the eye as he heads toward me, looking determined. “Alexandra. Can we talk?”
“Yes, Alastair...of course. Where should we talk... Kit wanted to see me...”
I scramble to follow as Alastair quickly strides in the direction of the elevators.
“Kit’s office is fine.”
I nod nervously, chewing the inside of my cheek as I follow him into the car. Once we reach the executive floor, Alastair steps out and heads to the end of the hall. He knocks on Kit’s door. “Kit. We’re coming in, boy.”
Alastair swings the door open, and my heart does a little pitiful pitter-patter as I walk in and see Kit bent over his computer, wearing a frustrated expression on his handsome face.
He looks up, his eyes dark. Clouded. My heart sinks down to my feet.
What’s going on?
Surprise replaces the dark look in Kit’s eyes when he spots his father, and the tension in his face morphs into shock as his eyes widen.
“Dad?”
Kit’s gaze meets mine and I see confusion there. I feel so guilty about what we did that it’s an effort to take a decent breath.
“Alex,” Kit’s voice drops a decibel as he addresses me.
He looks all business.
The guy who held me in his arms only a week ago is gone.
“Kit, you wanted to see me,” I say, after clearing my throat.
Kit glances at his father, his jaw squaring and his gaze shuttering.
“Of course. Show her,” Alastair tells Kit as if answering his silent question. Alastair motions to the conference table. “I’ll wait here.”
Alastair pulls out a chair, while Kit waits for me to approach his desk.
“What’s wrong?” I ask quietly, so that only Kit can hear.
“My father and I received this email,” Kit whispers, jerking his chin to motion me even closer.
I go around his desk, trying not to inhale Kit’s cologne as I peer at his computer screen. He clicks open an attachment.
I try to remain aloof and cool. When the window opens, I can’t help but gasp.
The photo is dark, but the content is clear. It’s an image of Kit and me out by the pool. Naked. There’s no question who’s in the picture—Kit’s back is turned, but his garden is so recognizable that anyone working here would know it’s him.
On the other hand, my face is in perfect focus. I blush. How many people have seen this? I don’t particularly care that my body is exposed. It’s more the fact that now everyone knows my secret. And Kit’s.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know who sent it to us,” Kit murmurs to me. I notice how dark and lifeless his amber eyes look today.
I see the honest frustration there, and while a part of me wants to reach out and comfort him, I’m so hurt and shocked by the image that I can’t even move.
I’m completely dumbfounded. I stare at the photo again. Then the email subject line catches my eye: Desperate for a promotion much?
Humiliated, I move away from the computer, feeling nauseated. I don’t want to leave Cupid’s Arrow. I found a home in this company. So what the hell am I meant to do when a naked photo of me with the boss is out there, circulating—emailed to both my bosses? I clutch my stomach, the shock feeling like physical pain.
And that’s when it hits me.
It just hits me.
That Alastair is watching me. Alastair...whom I have completely betrayed.
Who will fire me, on the spot, like I deserve to be fired.
“I—I can’t believe this. How did someone even get the photo?” I ask Kit as he starts heading for the conference table. I follow him, my whole body trembling.
Someone else might try to claim Photoshop was involved, but I’m not an idiot. I work on a design team. And the people who work for me would clearly see the image had not been retouched.
“Come here. Both of you,” Alastair demands, rapping his knuckles on the table.
Kit’s jaw is clenched, and he motions me forward. Heart sinking in dread, I force myself to meet Alastair’s gaze as we reach the conference table. I can’t believe anyone would do this to me.
I feel sick.
I exhale, trying to get myself under control.
Kit takes the head of the table, and I sit down to his left. Right across from Alastair. Who used to love me. Adore me. And now... I dread looking into his eyes and seeing the disappointment there.
“You’re not fit to manage this company,” Alastair tells Kit plainly. “And since this young lady here has been sleeping with you, she’s been failing to give me an honest report about you as well...” Alastair levels me with a glance, his normally kind eyes fierce. “I expected more from you, Alex.”
Kit. Moving inside me. Touching me. Kissing me.
“Alastair...” I begin.
“It’s my fault. I seduced her.”
Both Alastair and I whip around to stare at Kit.
“She was a pain in my ass.” Kit’s eyes gleam as he holds my gaze. “I wanted her off my back. I decided to seduce her and get some space to actually get some work done around here.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
I blink. My eyes sting.
“It was all my fault,” Kit repeats, addressing his father now. “Alex did nothing wrong. Her only mistake was trusting a guy like me not to take advantage of her.”
“That’s not true.” My voice is stern, belying the way I really feel: like I’m breaking inside. “You didn’t take advantage of me.” I shake my head in bewilderment. “Kit...how could you say that?”
Do you really mean it?
Alastair seems thoughtful. As Kit looks at his father, waiting for Alastair’s decree, I feel my cheeks turn hotter and hotter. The room starts feeling too small, claustrophobically small.
“It was all on me, Alastair,” I whisper, emphatically shaking my head as I meet both their gazes. “I’ll resign. I cannot taint Cupid’s Arrow, nor your reputation—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” says Kit.
“Absolutely not,” Alastair repeats. His phone starts buzzing on the table. He picks up. “Talk to me,” he barks into the receiver.
I meet Kit’s unreadable gaze. I’m so hurt I can’t even speak for fear of crying in front of him.
As Alastair listens to the caller on the other end of the line, I search for the words I need to tell Kit.
“You’re trying to take the blame,” I quietly accuse, “but I won’t let you.”
“Watch me,” he answers. Just as quietly, and with steely resolve.
Alastair hangs up.
“That was my systems security guy. I asked him to trace the email. It was surprisingly easy. Ben Roberts is the sender.”
Disbelief shakes me. “Ben?” I gasp. My whole world tilts. How did he even know I would be there?
That’s when it hits me. Ben was with us in the elevator when Kit told me he’d see me that night. Did he follow me?
Completely shocked by the news, I shake my head in denial. “Ben is my friend. He’d never do this to me.”
Kit narrows his eyes and leans back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studies me. “You’re so sure?”
“I’m sure. He’s my friend!” I insist, still unwilling to let the truth sink in.
Kit’s frown is deepening by the second. He tilts his head, a cloud of darkness shrouding his eyes. “Did you set me up, Alex? Arrange for him to be there? Were you two planning to oust me from the company?”
“Excuse me?”
Once Kit speaks his fears out loud, it’s as if the possibility of it all hits him, and he laughs in disgust. “Wow. The one woman who’s breached my defenses was out to get me all along.” He pushes his chair back and stands, pacing, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.
“Kit, I would never...”
He turns around to face me, his eyes shooting daggers at me. “You kept defending him—covering up for him. He was always around you...” Kit’s features grow tighter, his voice angrier with every word. Each one a slap to my pride, my heart and my wishful hopes for what could have been.
Alastair watches in silence, then looks me dead in the eye. “You never did want my son here, did you, Alex?”
“Alastair—”
“I’ll accept your resignation. Have it delivered to Kit by tomorrow at the end of the day.” Alastair pushes his chair back, his stance closed off and unapproachable.
I sit there, blinking, as Alastair gives Kit a warning. “I trusted you, Kit, and you’ve betrayed my trust. I’ll move back into my office and watch things from up close. I will determine whether you’re fit to run Cupid’s Arrow. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Kit says tightly.
Kit’s gaze never leaves me as Alastair exits the office.
I have trouble forcing myself to stand.
My eyes burn in embarrassment and my heart is in tatters in my chest. I can hardly walk, but I can’t wait to get out of here. I stand up slowly, as gracefully as I can, and start for the door when Kit’s words stop me.
“Look at me.”