Chapter Eleven
The rest of the afternoon dragged by until I practically ran down the stairs and out of the office at 5 p.m. As soon as I got home, I headed for the shower. Like I could wash the memories of the day away. It hadn't worked.
I pushed the plate with my half-eaten sandwich aside, not hungry enough to bother with it. Propped my elbows up on the breakfast bar in the kitchen and rested my chin on my hands.
That day at the airport kept running through my head. Trying to find some clue that Beck—Kyle—had lied. Or a reason why he would have lied. But he'd introduced himself to me. He'd been the one to suggest sharing a room. The one who'd kissed me. And yeah, okay, I'd been the one to take it further…Wait, was that why? Lied because he'd wanted to get me into bed?
Except that made no sense. When we met on the plane, he couldn't have been thinking that. Unless he'd planned on joining the mile-high club. No, he introduced himself when there was already a problem with the plane.
Yet none of that made any difference whether his name was Beck or Kyle. Unless everything he'd said that day had been a lie. Oh, God. What if he had a girlfriend? A wife? That would be a fucking good reason to lie. The little of the sandwich I'd eaten sat heavy in my stomach, lurching as it tried to fight its way back up my throat.
“Stop it.” Why did I even care? Apart from not wanting to be the other woman. But I had checked. No sign of a wedding ring and our conversation came back to me. He'd joked about not having a boyfriend. Said he had no girlfriend. It was only meant to be one night together to escape the reality of my life. A life that wasn't quite working out as I'd planned. A memory to reminisce fondly over. A crazy moment that was supposed to slip quietly into my past. At least that was how it had started out. But it wouldn't do that with Kyle in the office every day.
Maybe I could call the agency and tell them I wouldn't be able to finish out the contract. They wouldn't be happy about it.
Then again, why should I risk future contracts to avoid him? He was the one in the wrong. The one who had lied.
As though Penny could sense my frustration, she nudged her head against my calf. Her front paws stretched up my leg, her way of asking for a stroke. Running my hand over her ginger fur got me a contented purr.
“I'm sorry. Not paying you enough attention, huh?” She nuzzled my hand in answer and I blew out a deep breath.
Well, sitting there was getting nothing done except making me dizzy from my thoughts chasing themselves around. My gaze landed on the Styrofoam dummy cake bases on top of the fridge. I didn't have any orders, but I could decorate one to upload a photo to my website. Put my time to good use instead of sitting there stewing over Beck.
“Okay, Penny. What kind of cake do you want?” She stalked off, tail up high behind her and clearly not interested in cake.
I grabbed the fake cake tiers and some white rolled fondant icing. Rolled it out until it was an inch thick then draped it over the Styrofoam base. Smoothed it out as I twisted the turntable the base sat on. The smoothing tool glided over the surface until it looked like the iced-over puddles in the back lane, all shiny and slick. Added three drops of red dye to the leftover fondant to make some roses. Took my frustration out on the icing, kneading it a little too hard.
The fondant marbled with red streaks then slowly turned baby pink. I cut a tiny piece off and rolled it between my fingers and palm into a ball then shaped it into a teardrop to form the centre of the rose. Then inserted a toothpick into the bottom of it. Cut off another piece of fondant, shaping it until it resembled a petal, then attached it to the bud with a brush of water to hold it in place and curled back the edges.
As it always did when I made flowers, my brain switched off. No circling thoughts, just lost in the art of creating something beautiful and intricate. The repetitiveness of the task soothing. And the finished article filled me with joy.
I let out a yawn and when I glanced at the kitchen clock realised I'd been at it for two hours. Stretching my arms above my head, my shoulders creaked. Time to call it a night. I cleaned up the kitchen, checked Penny had water, then climbed the stairs.
As I lay in bed, thoughts of Beck tried to creep back in, but I pushed them away. It was just a one-month job. I could deal with that. Probably would be able to avoid him for most of that time anyway. I curled up on my side, one arm wrapped around my pillow. I could totally do this, I told myself again as I drifted off.
The following morning, I woke before my alarm after a restless sleep. Dreams of being back on a plane again, sitting next to Beck, had had me tossing and turning. Beck holding my hand, telling me everything would be fine only to look up to find myself holding the hand of a stranger. Didn't need to be a genius to work out the meaning of those dreams.
Those were bad enough, but then they'd morphed into something more sinister. Instead of returning to the airport, the plane had crashed. Blood poured from a gash on my head and no matter how hard I yanked on the seat belt, I couldn't free myself. And Beck, rather than helping, had stood in front of me and laughed.
What was I supposed to make of that? An omen? A premonition? There were no such things as those though, were there? No logic in them for me to understand. It was just my overactive brain. It didn't mean anything.
Turning my attention back to the wardrobe, I settled on a black-and-green striped blouse paired with black trousers. And if I spent a little longer tying my hair up into a chignon and applied a little more make-up than normal…well, that had nothing to do with the fact that Beck would be at the office. Nothing at all.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Kimberly. You might believe it by the time you get to the office.” I stuck my tongue out at my reflection then headed out. If I was going to have to see Beck again, there was nothing wrong with making sure I looked professional. Or you know, attractive.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was too much to resist, so I popped into The Caffeine Cave next door to the office and got myself a cappuccino and a latte for Jaz. When I set the takeaway cup down on his desk, he gave me a grin.
“You can definitely stay.”
I settled in behind my desk and shot him an answering grin. “Good to know it only takes a cup of coffee to get into your good books.” He laughed and opened his mouth as if to reply before snapping it shut again.
“A word in my office, Kimberly. Now.”
My smile vanished at Beck's harsh tone, and I stared at Jaz as if he could save me. He nodded behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. I scrambled to my feet and hurried after Beck.
Shit, what if he didn't want me around the office? Could he fire me? For what, though? Sleeping with him before I knew he'd be my boss? Fuck that shit. I'd sue his ass if he tried it. I hadn't done anything wrong. Beck opened his office door and waved me inside.
“Take a seat.”
The click of the door shutting behind me made me jump and with a sense of foreboding, I traipsed across his office.
The room was dominated by an old wooden desk which would have been less obvious if it had a sign hanging from it saying, Compensating for a small dick—except I knew that wasn't true. At either corner of the desk there was a grey, uncomfortable looking, low-backed chair, and I took a seat in the one on the left. The window was facing me, but all I could see was the office block across the street.
Beck strolled around his desk and dropped into the leather chair across from me. Rested his arms across the top of the desk. Wearing a plain white shirt, the sleeves were rolled up to reveal muscled forearms. My gaze was drawn unconsciously to the play of his muscles as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across his wrist. Was he nervous?
He ran a hand through the short strands of his hair. The action pulled his shirt tight across his wide chest. So tight, I could make out the outline of his nipple. The shadow of darker skin around it.
Tearing my eyes away from the sight, I stared at a spot on the wall behind him. Inappropriate to perv on your boss's nipples especially if you were already in trouble.
And I hated that my body hadn't got the message from my brain. How could I still be attracted to him when I knew he'd lied to me?