Gavin’s face didn’t break into a smile like I hoped. If anything he looked grimmer.

“Get your things while I call for the car.”

I nearly told him we didn’t have to go out for dinner after all, but my instinct told me he’d be even more irritated if I backed out now. I didn’t want Gavin irritated with me.

I wanted him to be happy and pleased.

Feeling incredibly awkward and unsure, I stood by my desk while Gavin turned off the lights, closed his office, and locked the door. The darkness was strange. I’d never seen the space without at least his desk lamp on. 

Gavin wore his jacket and overcoat. The crimson tie gleamed beautifully against the charcoal and black.

I couldn’t deny that even with our distance this week I still found him criminally attractive. It wasn’t a good thing, but I was past doing wholesome and just things when I came here to work under false pretenses.

Gavin’s allure eroded my self-preservation faster than I could shore it up.

“Ready, Paige?”

“Sure.”

I got my things and then we walked together towards the elevator. Gavin pushed the button first. Thankfully, it opened immediately. Waiting for the elevator would surely have destroyed my ability to make small talk.

He held his arm out and allowed me to enter first before following closely behind. Even though he’d yet to touch me, my awareness of Gavin heightened to near-painful sensitivity.

I could scent his cologne as if my nose nestled against the hollow of his throat. It brought to mind spicy and exotic things. I loved it.

“I’m impressed. Girls usually storm out on me, in tears, when I snap at them like that.” 

Shook out of my erotic musings, I scrambled to answer appropriately.

“Not all girls cry, you know?”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a delicious smirk. “I can see that.”

I should’ve been proud to earn his esteem. I would’ve been if it was remotely close to my truth.

To be fair, I didn’t cry in public. I learned to control that. At least, I controlled it until I was alone and safe to unleash my sobs.

I was the biggest cry-baby when no one could see me. I wasn’t proud of that particular truth, but there it was.

“Listen, I don’t mean to be a jerk, Paige. I keep things close to the chest by nature. It’s not personal. Honestly.”

Despite their terse deliver, Gavin’s words meant more to me than I could let him know.

“I understand.”

“Do you really?”

“Yes.” I cut him a small glance. “I understand but I still stand by what I said earlier. I can’t do my job properly, Gavin, if I don’t know what you’re thinking in relation to our work. If I can’t approach you, how can I help you?”

“I never said you can’t approach me.”

“You implied it.”

He visibly brooded until we reached the bottom floor. Our steps echoed across the granite floor.

“Very well. I can’t change my communication patterns, but you can change how you relate to me. Tell me your thoughts instead.”

“And risk getting fired? No, thank you.”

“You’re fixated on this getting fired bit. It’s almost like you want me to do it. Why is that?”

Uh-oh. That question hit way too close to the truth. I had to come up with a plausible answer. Fast.

“That’s really not my intent.”

He quirked his brow but thankfully didn’t ask me to elaborate.

We went through the glass doors and stepped out into a world teeming with activity. Gavin led me to his gleaming black SUV waiting by the curb. The driver opened the door and greeted us both.

“Paige, this is my ultra-reliable driver Frank Watkins. Frank, this is Ms. Paige Winters.”

“How do you do, Ms. Winters?”

I mirrored his nod with one of my own. “Very well. Thank you for asking, Mr. Watkins.”

“Not Mr. Watkins. It makes me sound old. Please call me Frank.”

Gavin’s driver looked to be about in his fifties, but his back was as straight and strong as someone half his age. With his direct gaze and posture, I pegged him as ex-military. I liked him immediately.

“All right. Frank it is.”

He ushered me into the SUV with a curt nod softened by a friendly smile. Gavin entered right after me.

“There’s an Italian place I like to go to. Great food, low profile, genuine. Does that work for you?”

“I’m fine with that.”

Gavin leaned over and buckled me in before buckling himself. It was a little thing, probably not anything of big importance, but as these past couple of weeks had shown me, practically everything Gavin did was a big deal to me.

“Thank you.”

He frowned before smoothing out his features.

“No problem. We’d all hate for you to become a missile if we get into an accident.”

Granted it wasn’t romantic in any true sense of the meaning, but the gesture still warmed me nonetheless. I had a feeling this was going to be a common occurrence between us—if I didn’t get tossed out first because of my big mouth.

“Can I ask you something, Gavin?”

“It depends. I may not answer you, but feel free.”

“How long has Caroline worked for you?”

Gavin’s brow went up clearly in suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity. Among other things.” I wouldn’t let his protectiveness of her bother me. At least, I would try not to let it.

“Five years.”

“Five years? Wow.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am. She must have the patience of a saint. Or she’s an angel.”

Gavin laughed instead of taking offense. “She does and she is.”

Okay, it was pretty damned petty of me to feel a twinge of jealousy over someone I’d never met and who I knew was in Gavin’s life for sure. Unlike me.

“Maybe I’ll earn my wings in two weeks then.”

“I imagine you will. If you can survive me then you can survive any of these C-Level Pricks.”

“Oh, you’re not even close to being a CLP.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“I’m positive. You’re entirely too thoughtful to ever be in true danger of being labeled a prick.”

“Okay, now you’re buttering me up.”

“You’re easy to please if you call that flattery.”

Bantering with Gavin was getting more fun by the second. It took the pressure off of feeling nervous because I was going out to dinner with my boss.

It was also much easier now that Gavin wasn’t staring right through me.

“Paige, I’m not easy, as you well know, so you’re definitely buttering me up.”

“Listen, about earlier today—”

Gavin laid his hand across mine. Startled, I looked up to see he shook his head once.

“Later.”

He wanted to keep that part of the day private. “Ah, okay.”

It should’ve made the rest of our ride tense. The fact Gavin kept his hand on mine for several lingering moments kept me preoccupied for the rest of the trip.

I felt the heat of his touch like a brand long after he removed it.