“Remember the other night?” I reach into my drawer and withdraw the thick file that the investigator provided me with last week.

“Our night together?” She shifts in her seat.

“No, not that,” I clarify. “Although, that is something we should discuss.”

Laura looks away, a faint blush forming on her cheeks.

I hide my smile and steer the conversation back on track. “I mean this.” I open up her file and withdraw the detailed information on her loans.

She leans over and looks at the papers. “Ah, yes. The loans.” Her brow puckers, and she sits back again.

“What I’m trying to do with it is help you and offer you a better deal than what you can plan on your own. It’s a guaranteed way for you to pay off your debt and have a substantial amount left over as savings while you work your way up in your field.”

Laura still doesn’t say anything, but at least she’s listening.

I plunge on. “Look, without all the debt, I’d say you’d be in decent standing. But with it, you’re going to have to fork over a significant percentage of your salary just to pay it off within the next ten years. That means cutting out all the creature comforts and getting down to bare bones necessities. Because even making these minimum payments will, of course, do nothing for all the interest accrued.”

Laura bites her lip and eyes the papers as if seeing them for the first time. She closes her eyes tightly.

“Laura?” I stand up and come around the desk.

Laura opens her eyes. “I just need a minute. I can’t...process all of this.”

“I understand.” I get up to get her a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in the corner of the office. “Drink this.”

“No, I don’t want—”

“Drink it, please.” I don’t want any arguments from her right now. She suddenly looks much smaller, and her shoulders are hunched over. “You need it. Don’t argue.”

She takes the bottle from me and brings it to her lips. Her hands are shaking, and I feel guilty. I’d rehearsed what I wanted to say to her but I hadn’t taken into account a reaction like this. I’d assumed she would consider it and see it as a golden opportunity. I did break it up between Friday and today so it would be easier to digest, but it’s obvious that it’s something that’s been weighing on her for a long time.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, setting the bottle on my desk. Her hands are still shaking, and she wraps her arms around herself.

“Are you cold? I can adjust the temperature.” I get up to do just that.

“No, I’m not really cold.” She sounds distant. “I think I should probably get back to work, there’s some stuff I can’t take home today.”

I adjust the temperature anyway and grab my jacket from my seat to drop over her shoulders. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”

“This isn’t necessary,” she says, shrugging out of the jacket. This irritates me. Why can’t she just accept what I’m giving her?

“Sit down, just for a minute.” I slip the jacket back over her shoulders. She doesn’t argue this time and wraps it tighter around herself. Shrugging it off must have made her feel colder. Good; now maybe she’ll listen to reason.

I lean against my desk in front of her, my legs extended out in front of me. “You’ll be compensated with far more money for doing exactly what you’re doing now, and with zero debt at the end. I know you want a chance to think everything through and make the best decision for yourself.” I fold my arms and take a deep breath. If I’m going to do this, I need to be absolutely clear.

“However, when I say marriage, I mean we will be sharing a bed.” I let the words sink it. I don’t think it should come as a surprise, given that we’ve already slept together. And knowing how enthusiastic she was, I don’t foresee any protests. Just thinking about that night causes me to straighten up and circle around to my seat.

“We what?” Laura looks up from her position with renewed interest.

“Would that be a problem?” I can’t believe I’m discussing this with her like this. But it’s better to leave emotions out of this bargain. If she accepts, she will be agreeing to it only because of the money, and I will agree for Bella. The sexual attraction will be there, but it’s best to put it in there so we don’t confuse our mutual attraction for anything more than it is. “I’ve had more time to think about this from all angles, so by all means, take your time in considering it.”

“No problems with that,” she murmurs. Laura looks up briefly at me before her eyes flutter down. She squares her shoulders and takes the papers off my desk to study. One of her hands is still wrapped up in my jacket. Her fingers look small and delicate on the lapel, her nails trimmed, with a hint of polish. I think about how much I found out about her through the background check and how much more I don’t know. I find myself wondering if she likes baths and if she prefers colder weather or warmer places.

Norma buzzes in, interrupting my thoughts. “Mr. Brideau? Can you take a call? I have the Lawton Group on the line, and they’re saying it’s urgent. They refuse to talk to anyone but you.”

I look at Laura and don’t say anything for a second. She misreads my meaning and stands up. “I’ll get out of your way,” she says. I want to tell her she can stay, and I find that I want her to stay, but Norma interrupts again, and I agree to take the call. I raise my finger to tell Laura to wait, but she slips out the door before I can stop her.

It’s almost an hour later before I get off the phone, and I decide to find Laura to talk to her. We have so much to discuss, and I wonder why she hasn’t had any questions. Either she’s not asking because she isn’t taking my offer seriously, or she isn’t interested in what I’m offering. I have a feeling it’s the latter, because I don’t know how much more serious I could be, after bringing Walter into the equation.

“Hey.” Sam strolls in just as I hang up on the call. He’s munching on a sandwich. “You busy?”

“Yes and no,” I reply. I find myself slightly bothered by him lately, and wish the feeling would go away. I’m not sure how he’ll react to my decision to ask Laura to marry me, especially since he’s barely seen us in the same room together.

Sam isn’t fazed by my response. He continues to bite into his sandwich and comes to stand by my desk. I see the moment when his eyes fall on Laura’s file, and I reach for it immediately to put it away. I don’t want to tell him anything about the proposal because I don’t want him influencing her decision in any way.

“Did you finish talking to Laura earlier?” Sam takes another bite and gives me a look that says he knows more than he’s letting on.

“Yes, is there a problem?” I know I sound defensive, but I can’t help it. Between the two of us, Sam has always been the charmer, and I can’t afford to take the chance of him being interested in her too.

“No, no problem, I just don’t want you taking all the talent around here.” He looks amused. He finishes his sandwich and helps himself to a tissue from behind my desk.

I don’t like feeling like I’m in the hot seat, so I change the topic. “I just got off the phone with the Lawton Group. I suspect they’ll be getting everything sorted out and sent your way within the week.”

Sam settles in to discuss some details, and I feel my impatience with him slip away. I love how well we work together.

I almost want to tell him about Laura, but I stop myself. I need to talk to her first. It’s mid-afternoon, and she’s probably trying to finish her work before she goes home. Really, we need to have a lengthy discussion in private, uninterrupted by phone calls and visitors.

Sam’s face is animated as he discusses a side venture he’s been thinking about taking up for a while. I stay quiet. The thought of him leaving almost always weighs me down with an unsettled feeling. But I wonder if it might be the best thing for him because his position with me is stagnating.

“Those are some great ideas, Sam,” I encourage him. “I think you’re on the right track. Just give it some time, and some of those issues might iron themselves out.”

Sam grins. “I just haven’t figured out the most important part, which is, how can I function without the help I have now? I don’t know what I did before Laura came here. Everything is so much more...efficient.”

“You’ll do fine on your own; don’t underestimate yourself.” I grunt. So much for encouragement. “Also, I don’t think Laura is going to be interested in moving to do the same thing she’s doing now. What will be stopping her from taking over your position and adding to her salary?”

An unreadable expression passes over his face, and he rises from his chair. “Yeah, right. Hey, listen, I’m going to go finish up some work. I’ll let you know if Lawton calls me later to finalize.”

“Yeah, give them a week,” I stress. “Don’t overwhelm them.”

After Sam leaves, I pull out my phone. My thumb hovers over Laura’s number, and I pause, my own words to Sam echoing in my head. I push the phone away and turn in my chair to look out the window. It’s starting to rain, and I watch the droplets hit the pane and slide down slowly.

Agitated, I push away from my desk and decide to find Laura. I need to talk to her, even if it’s just to get a sense of what she’s feeling.

“Mr. Brideau?” A tall blonde pokes her head through. I suppress a groan. She always manages to find me alone. I know I’ve seen her around the office for a while but I don’t recall her name. At first, I thought she was working up the courage to ask for a raise. But I quickly realized she was just flirting with me and not picking up on the signals I was sending to deter her.

“Yes?” I wonder where Norma is. She never lets anyone slip by without announcing them first.

“I just wanted to have a talk with you, if that’s okay.” She’s edging in and closing the door behind her.

“Actually, I was just stepping out,” I tell her. “You can talk to me for a minute, but I’ll be able to give you more time if you schedule something with Norma.” I don’t bother trying to be subtle.

“Oh, we can stay here. It’ll just be a minute.” Her hand is on the knob, and she’s standing between me and the door.

“Let’s go,” I say firmly. “I need to leave.”

I step closer to her, and she hesitates before twisting the knob and allowing me out. She follows me, pausing to smooth her skirt and the necklace at her throat. I see a few people look up with interest at her, but she sticks her nose in the air and breezes past them. I almost feel as if I’m following her when she picks up her pace.

Once we near the conference room, she stops and examines her nails. “The room is busy. You know what, maybe I should schedule something later. I don’t want to be a bother.”

I nod and keep quiet. She waits for a few beats as if waiting for me to assure her that she’s no bother at all. I don’t. Something about her seems a bit off to me.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Brideau,” she says, leaning in toward me to touch my arm.

I want to snatch my arm away, but it will be too obvious. “No problem,” I lie.

Turning on her heel, she clips away toward the elevator, and I shake my head. I don’t know what that was about, and I don’t think I want to find out. One glance into the conference room tells me Laura is gone. I walk back to my office in disappointment. I will just have to wait until she’s ready to come to me.