Sandra is on a rampage.

She’s been on a rampage since last week, when Jax came into her office as she was about to leave, his mouth pressed into a thin line. He didn’t even look at me as he came through the outer office, and he wasn’t the least bit apologetic for making Sandra late for her son’s music camp performance.

Since then, things at Basiqué have been frenetic. I’ve been in the office at 7:00 every morning because Sandra is in at 7:30. The stream of meetings is ceaseless. The orders she barks at me never stop.

On Wednesday Bryce stops at my desk, breaking away from his group of models for next month’s military wear feature.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

“Hi, Bryce,” I say, typing Sandra’s latest schedule changes furiously into my calendar. The scheduling and re-scheduling is constant.

“Things seem a little tense around here. Do you get that vibe?”

He stands close enough to talk but not so close that we could be accused of wasting time, something that’s frowned upon during the best of times at Basiqué.

“Yes. I do get that vibe. Very much so,” I tell him, finally reaching the end of the list. Not that it matters. Next time I go back into Sandra’s office, she’ll have another list. My fingers ache. Grabbing the notepad, I come around to the front of the desk to stand by Bryce.

“So what’s the breakdown?” he says in a low tone. “Is this place going under?”

“What makes you say that?”

He shoots me a skeptical look. “Don’t play innocent with me, Cate Schaffer. If something’s up around here, you’d know about it.”

“All I know is that Sandra wasn’t thrilled with how the last issue did.”

“Is that why she’s stacking all these meetings? To try and balance it out with the next one?”

I rub my forehead, trying to get rid of some of the tension between my temples. “I don’t see what else she could be doing.”

Bryce lowers his voice to a near-whisper. “Cate…we’re close friends.”

I let out a quiet laugh. “If people who only meet near this desk can be considered friends.”

“We’re best friends.” He’s wearing an impish expression.

“Sure, Bryce.”

“So why haven’t you told me that you’re dating the new owner of this joint?”

In an instant, all the playful warmth I felt from taking time to chat with Bryce vanishes. I whip my head around, eyes narrowed, voice tight and sharp. “Who told you that?”

His eyes widen at my tone. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him that way before, and I immediately feel like shit for doing it.

“I’m…I’m sorry, Bryce. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Did someone say something to you?”

“No,” he says, looking at me warily. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

“People have been feeling the pressure for a while now, what with all the rescheduling, and—” He shakes his head. “Nobody wants to be late, and nobody wants to miss anything, so a lot of work has been going on in the meeting rooms. You haven’t seen me there?”

God, I’m such a bitch.

I’ve been so caught up with Sandra, and with Jax, that they’re the only people who’ve had any of my attention lately. Bryce is one of the few people in the office who made a point of stopping to talk to me, even if I’m harried and short with him.

“I didn’t notice. I’ve been…caught up in it, and then I was sick. That’s not an excuse.”

“Sick?” His tone is filled with genuine concern. Bryce is a good guy. “Is that why you were out? I figured you were on vacation.”

“No, I…” I roll my eyes. “It’s so stupid. I kind of…fainted a little in the office a couple weeks ago.”

He reaches out and puts a hand on my elbow. “Cate, what happened?”

I try to brush it off. “At the hospital, they said it was exhaustion, but—”

“Jesus, Cate. You shouldn’t be here now. You should be on the beach in Hawaii with your billionaire boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Isn’t he?” Bryce’s grin lights up his face. “I’ve been in the meeting rooms for weeks. I’ve seen you going down to his suite every day at 5:00. It’s not a secret that you’ve been keeping him updated.” He laughs out loud. “A billionaire like Jax Hunter moves in and you think nobody noticed?”

I’m blushing from the sheer embarrassment of being caught so blatantly in this situation by Bryce. Who else knows?

I clear my throat and repeat myself. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Sure, sure,” he says. “He’s not your boyfriend.” He signs the words in quotes with his fingers. Bryce leans over and whispers in my ear. “I’ve seen you coming back from that office. The look on your face—” He shrugs, a half smile on his face accentuating his dimples. “Don’t try to tell me you’re in there discussing memos or some shit like that.”

I bite my lip. Sandra’s still absorbed in a series of approvals, and I can trust Bryce, so…

“He’s not my boyfriend yet. He’s so…” Words to describe Jax flood my mind. Sexy. Gorgeous. Unbelievably hot. Attentive…to me, at least. But also: Controlling. Dominating. Sometimes I see it outside the bedroom, when it’s not a sexy game but a worrisome characteristic. “There’s something between us, Bryce, but he wants to be able to…I don’t know. He always wants the last word. He cares about me, so much, but…”

“He’s an arrogant bastard,” Bryce says nonchalantly.

“I wouldn’t put it that way,” I say, not bothering to hide my distaste for his words.

“I’ve seen the gossip stories about him. Hell, I’ve even met him a couple of times, coming and going from here. He’s no angel, Cate.”

There’s not much sense in trying to convince Bryce otherwise—not now, when time is short. “Believe me when I say that there’s more to him than that.”

“You can’t trust him 100%, because what if he’s the only one he’ll love enough to be with forever.”

Bryce gets me.

“What should I do?”

“Is he good in bed?”

I can’t stop my wicked grin.

“I see,” says Bryce, laughing under his breath. “Give yourself some time to figure it out. No need for a hasty decision, if he’s as good inside as you say.”

“Catherine? Catherine. Come in here. I have some adjustments that need…”

I mouth “bye” at Bryce. Time’s up.

It’s not until later that I realize I’ve missed my five o’clock with Jax.