Chapter 6

Emma

“Good morning, Emma,” Max said, strolling past my desk with a smile.

“Good morning,” I chirped back. As soon as he disappeared into his office, I let out a gust of air.

It was now my third day working as Max Westfield’s assistant, and the endless lusting was still an ever-present feature in our working relationship. From my side, at least. I couldn’t help it. What was I supposed to do when he came in looking like he’d walked straight out of an Armani ad each morning? The man was sex on a stick and he knew it. He propelled himself with confidence and swagger, and I was always left bobbing and keeling in his wake.

I continued going through my emails, though there wasn’t much to look at. It was my first day working alone, although Haddie would be in and out for the rest of the week. Then it would just be me and Max. Well, and everyone else in the office, not that I ever remembered any of them existed.

The phone rang, and my hand snatched it up before it could ring again. “Mr. Westfield’s office, Emma speaking.”

“Oh, so you’re the new assistant?”

It was a woman’s voice. An older woman, by the sound of it.

“Yep, that’s me. How can I help you?”

“This is Paulina Westfield,” she replied. “I need to speak to my son.”

“Of course,” I said, nodding profusely even though she couldn’t see me. “Just give me one moment, Mrs. Westfield.”

Haddie had warned me that in the same way Max could be demanding, his mother could be a little overwhelming. Haddie hadn’t said more than that, even though she clearly wanted to.

I buzzed Max on the intercom. “I’ve got your mother on line one,” I told him.

I figured that would be that, and was preparing to dive back into emails. Then he buzzed back.

“Make up an excuse or something, and tell her I’ll call her back.”

I stared at the intercom with a furrowed brow, like Max would be able to tell how I was feeling through the contraption. Make up an excuse for his mother? That was rude. Especially since I now had to cover his ass. What if she didn’t believe my excuse?

I picked up the phone and adopted a strained smile. “Hi, Mrs. Westfield. It looks like I spoke too soon. Max is on a call, but I’ll have him call you back.”

“Of course he is,” Paulina sighed. “He’s a busy boy, that one. Too busy for his poor old mother, anyway. I’ve been interested to see who would take Haddie’s place as his gatekeeper. Tell me more about yourself, dear.”

I had not expected this to turn into a social call and had no idea what to say. Was I supposed to be trying to impress her? Would Max care if his mom didn’t like me? It seemed like a weird thing to be thinking about, considering I was his assistant and not his girlfriend, but I panicked all the same.

“I just started on Monday,” I replied slowly, giving myself more time to think of things to say. “I think your son is very nice.”

Oh God. What a dumb thing to say.

Thankfully, Paulina didn’t seem to think it was a weird at all. “He’s just wonderful, isn’t he? A shame about his manners though. He took those from his father’s side, you see. Anyway, it was lovely catching up with you Emma, but I must be off. I’m sure we’ll meet soon. Ta-ta!”

She hung up before I’d even had a chance to say goodbye. The woman could sure talk fast. I turned my head and stared back at Max’s door. His mom seemed so nice. Why would he blatantly put her off like that?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was good that he had a flaw. This was something I could work with. Sure, he was ridiculously sexy, charming, and my stomach was in knots every time our eyes met, but he was also a bit of a jerk to his mom. She was right about bad manners!

I went back to my work feeling a little better. Max had a flaw. Hooray! I never thought somebody being flawed would give me so much relief. But at least now I had a way to redirect my thoughts about him.

A couple hours later I knocked on Max’s door carrying a few documents that needed his signature. I thought I’d be better able to handle his allure now that he’d been knocked down a peg in my book, but my pulse jumped when I heard his baritone voice telling me to come in.

“I have some things for you to sign,” I said, walking toward him with my hand outstretched. I placed it all on his desk without stepping any closer than necessary.

Max wasn’t dressed down today. His suit jacket was on, tie knotted tight, and he looked ready for business. He bent his head over the papers and signed, passing them back to me a moment later. I turned to leave, but his hand caught my wrist and held me there. His touch seared through my flesh.

“Wait a sec.”

I turned and gave him a questioning look. As he dropped my hand I wondered if he’d felt the burn too.

With a sigh, Max rose to his feet and walked around the desk, leaning against it with his arms folded over his chest. “I’m not an asshole,” he said. “Though I suspect you think I am.”

What kind of statement was that? If I didn’t deny it, then I’d be calling my boss an asshole. I opened my mouth to protest, but he put up a hand to stop me.

“The thing with my mother....” He ran a hand through his hair, smiling coldly. “She’s been relentlessly trying to marry me off lately,” he explained. “Every time I talk to her it’s because she’s arranging a date with this girl or that girl. Sometimes I can deal with her, sometimes I don’t have the time or patience. Does that help a little?”

“I never said you were an asshole,” I replied.

Max pushed off from the desk, rising to his full height. He towered above me, and I had to tilt my chin to look up at him. He was close. So close. And he was single. That was interesting. Not that I was going to date him or anything. Hell, I wasn’t going to date anybody anytime soon as far as I was concerned. Lance had done a number on me and jumping into another relationship would only set me back.

But that didn’t help me suppress the wild thoughts that my proximity to Max had sent swimming through my head. My skin felt like it was on fire, and I couldn’t tell whether a touch from him would bring me relief or make me burn even hotter.

“All the same, I hope that clears things up a bit for you.” Pausing, his gaze flitted over my face again in that way it sometimes did, causing my heart to jump. Then he turned and strode back around the desk.

“Anyway, I figured I should let you know since she’ll probably call fairly often. I’m actually surprised this is the first time she’s called while you’ve been here.”

“Right,” I nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.”

I scurried out of Max’s office and closed the door behind me, trying to think about what this new piece of information meant. On the one hand, it looked like his one flaw wasn’t quite as big as I’d hoped. On the other, Max was single.

‘There’s my working girl!” Willow called out as I walked through the front door.

I grimaced. “I wouldn’t say it exactly like that.”

She was sitting on the couch, her head tilted backward over it as she watched me take off my shoes and toss my keys in the bowl. “How was your day? Slay any corporate dragons?”

I snorted. “I’m the assistant to the CEO, Willow, not the new head of leasing. The only dragon I slayed today was an interfering mother.”

“Ooh, that sounds interesting. Tell me more.”

I sat down on the sofa next to Willow and briefly relayed Paulina’s mission. Willow was making some sort of craft involving feathers and popsicle sticks, and I picked a few feathers off the sofa while I talked.

“So, he’s single?” she said, with a sly look in her eyes.

I laughed, “That was my first thought. But before you say anything—no, I will not be getting involved with my boss. Single or otherwise. I need this job.”

“Yes, of course.” Willow brandished the glue gun in my direction, pointing the silver nozzle at me. “But you can’t blame me for getting a little caught up in it. Your work life is much more scandalous than mine.”

“It’s not even scandalous!” I defended.

Willow winked,“Not yet.”

I groaned and rose from the sofa, stomach gurgling. Willow must have heard it because she called after me, “I was going to make lentils for dinner. Do you want any?”

I made a face, even though she couldn’t see it. Hell, especially because she couldn’t see it. “I’ll pass.”

I was rooting through the fridge, wondering what I could cook that would be the fastest, when my phone rang. I pulled it out, expecting a telemarketer or something along those lines. Instead, Lance’s face filled my screen. The photo was the most handsome one he’d ever taken, and I remembered how I used to get excited every time he called. Now I didn’t know what to feel.

The ringing continued. From the living room, Willow yelled, “Aren’t you going to get that?”

I blinked, realizing I’d been just staring at the phone this whole time. “Yeah. I’m getting it.”

I made a snap second decision not to just let it go to voicemail, although that was probably what I should have done. But seeing Lance calling me disturbed layers of emotions that had been resting somewhat peacefully, if uneasily, until that moment. Now I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. So I just acted.

“Hello?” I answered.

The first thing that hit me was the noise. Wherever Lance was, it was loud. I could hear people shouting in the background over the sound of classic rock and roll. He was at the bar, I realized.

“Babe, hey,” Lance slurred. “How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

“Who is it?” Willow called. I ignored her.

“I’m just out with some friends,” he said. “Thought I’d give you a call. I miss talking to you.”

The words hit me like a bullet to the chest, ripping through bone and skin, then lodging right in the back of my spine. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. Hell, I needed to tell him to go fuck himself. Yet I didn’t. I missed him too, even if he had hurt me. Maybe this was just what we needed, a little time apart to see what was important. Maybe—

Willow snatched the phone from my hand and looked at the screen. She had already tapped end before I even knew what was happening.

“Hey!” I protested.

“Don’t hey me,” she said, handing the phone back. “Why did you pick up in the first place? What if you had said something you would regret?”

“Maybe I was about to tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.” I raised my chin defiantly.

My best friend fixed me with a flat look. “I find that highly unlikely, given that you looked like your jaw had come unhinged. You were blindsided and you know it.”

I considered arguing with her, but there was no point. “You’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” Willow brightened up. “But hey, think of it this way. Now you are leaving him to stew in what he did. And he’s obviously stewing. He knows he made a mistake, and you get the satisfaction of being the bigger person and moving on before him. Right?”

She clapped me on the shoulder and headed back to the couch.

Just because Willow was right, it didn’t make me feel any better about what just happened. What if he had realized he’d made a mistake? Did that mean there was a chance we’d be getting back together? I couldn’t even decide if that was what I wanted. Yes, he’d been a tremendous jerk to me, but we’d had some really good times together, too. Why did he have to call and stir me up like this?

“Come over here and help me with this,” Willow called. “It’s fun, I promise. Even if one or two of mine did come out a little phallic.”