Chapter 55
Chapter Fifty-Five
J ust act normal. How hard can it be?
I plastered on my best poker face and strode into the boardroom for the first scheduled appointment of the day. A handful of colleagues had already assembled, chatting over coffee cups and notebooks splayed across the long table. I plunked down on my usual seat. No sign of Neil yet.
“Hi, Amelia.” Sharon, from sales, dropped into the neighbouring chair with a smile. “How was your weekend?”
My mind reeled with snippets from the last two days. Neil’s fingertips digging into my waist, the scrape of stubble against my cheek, his low voice whispering fevered praise in my ear… My throat constricted as I scrambled for a neutral response. “Oh, you know, uneventful. I didn’t get out much. Just stayed at home. What about you?”
Sharon launched into a detailed account of an unexpected visit from her in-laws. I nodded along until the boardroom door creaked open. Neil strode in with his arresting air of authority. My heart stumbled as we made eye contact. The memory of those eyes burning into mine last night filled my mind. Clenching my thighs, I tried to peel my gaze off him, but it snagged on a reddish-purple mark peeking from his shirt collar.
Oh. My. God.
My stomach plunged. Right there, for all to see, was the blatant evidence of our passion.
A hickey.
I thought of gesturing to Neil to tighten his tie, but quickly abandoned the idea for fear of drawing more attention to it.
Blood pounded in my ears as Neil took his seat at the head of the table. The sooner this meeting got underway, the sooner I could confront Neil in private. I squirmed, trying to look anywhere but at the glaring love bite.
The presentation kicked off, the speaker sharing insights from the latest competitor-analysis document. I scribbled notes, trying in vain to keep my treacherous eyes from drifting back to Neil. He sat relaxed, radiating total composure. Either he didn’t know about the hickey, or he didn’t care. My guess was the former.
After what felt like an eternity, the meeting adjourned. I wanted to tell Neil straight away, but he lagged behind, stuck in a conversation with Sharon. I went to the bathroom. That was where I ran into Kate—a colleague who had also just come from the meeting. She was reapplying lipstick in the mirror.
“Oh, Amelia.” She paused, giving me a wicked look through her long eyelashes. “You saw it too, right?”
My heart jumped. “Saw what?”
“I noticed you staring at Neil. Don’t deny it. That was a monster of a hickey on his neck, right? Wonder who gave him that?”
I gave an airy shrug. “Maybe it’s not what it seems. He could have just got a bug bite or allergic reaction or something.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “ Sure .” She blotted her lips. “He must be seeing someone…”
“I don’t know about that. It’s his private life.”
“Oh yes, very private. Parading that around.”
“I’ll have a word with him. He should at least cover something like that up.”
“Heh, heh. How embarrassing.”
Kate flounced out of the bathroom, smirking to herself. I watched the door swing shut.
Does she know something? Or was that just her usual gossipy self?
Neil had already returned to his desk by the time I got there. He was fixated on his computer screen when I barged through his door without knocking. He glanced up, one eyebrow raised. “Everything okay?”
“No, it bloody well isn’t!” I hissed.
His eyes widened. “What’s the matter?”
“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
“No…”
I pointed to my neck. “You have a…”
Neil’s hand flew up to the spot I was gesturing to. His eyes went wide again. “I didn’t think it was visible.”
“Well, think again. And people have definitely noticed. I just got confronted by Kate. She knew exactly what it was. I had to say it was a bug bite, but I don’t think she bought it.”
Neil’s throat bobbed. For once, the man who always had it together looked a tad bewildered. He tightened the knot of his tie, pulling his collar up higher. “Better?”
“A little.” I leaned in and whispered, “Sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Neil gripped the edge of his desk, his voice dropping. “Pity. Because I wouldn’t mind if it did. Just make sure you aim lower next time.”
I pursed my lips, mustering my composure.
Neil sat back, loosening his grip on the desk. “I want that report proofed by the end of the day, Amelia.”
“Yes. I’ll get right on it.”
My legs felt like jelly as I backed away. Once settled in my chair, I dropped my forehead into my hands and exhaled a shaky sigh. That was a close call back there. We couldn’t afford to let our guards down. Not with so much at stake if anyone discovered us.
Ten minutes into my workload, the shrill ring of my desk phone broke out. I grabbed the receiver. “Hello, Neil Kingston’s office, Amelia Cross speaking.”
“Hi, Amelia, it’s Clara from Human Resources.”
My shoulders bunched at the HR manager’s clipped tone. “Clara, hi,” I forced myself to chirp. “What can I do for you?”
“Could you please pop over to my office when you get a moment? I’d like to have a chat with you.”
My mouth went dry. What’s this about? “Of course. I’m a bit busy right now, though. Later this morning?”
“How about eleven o’clock?”
“Okay. Eleven. That works. See you then.”
“Thank you, Amelia. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I slammed the phone down. Could this have to do with me and Neil? Not the hickey, surely? Maybe it was just about paperwork, but that would be a strange coincidence, given the timing.
I marched straight back into Neil’s office and told him about Clara’s request to see me. “Do you know what it’s about?” I asked.
“No.” He rubbed his chin, frowning. “Why don’t you listen to what she has to say? See what she wants before you worry.”
His relative calmness helped soothe my frazzled nerves. “You’re right. I shouldn’t overthink this.”
Clara Evans sat ramrod straight behind her spotless glass desk. Two ceramic pen holders shaped like cats guarded the corners by her monitor. Their sightless blue gazes seemed to track my every jerky movement. I wiped my clammy palms on my thighs.
“Thank you for coming in so promptly, Amelia,” Clara said.
I slid into the seat opposite her. “No problem. What was it you wanted to talk about?”
She leaned forward, steepling her manicured fingers under her chin. “The reason I asked you here is that a staff member informed me they saw you out to dinner with Neil Kingston on Friday evening. They were concerned it didn’t look... work-related. Would you care to comment on what happened?”
Cold sweat bloomed across my shoulder blades beneath my blouse. I resisted the urge to tug at my collar. “Thanks for your concern, but it was a coincidence that Neil and I ended up dining alone. It was supposed to be a work dinner. A few other people were meant to attend, but they all had last-minute cancellations. Ask Winston Ramsey or James Campbell. Both of them could back this up.”
Clara’s narrow eyes fixed unblinkingly to mine. “Even so, this staff member said you and Neil looked rather close.”
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance even as my heartbeat thundered in my ears. “Well, Neil and I have developed a more casual relationship since we work so closely together. Plus, we live in the same apartment building now. It’s easy for things to get misconstrued.”
Clara regarded me a moment longer before she sank back into her ergonomic chair with a creak of caster wheels across the carpet. “I see. Well, that does help explain the context, and Neil did already inform me about your living arrangements, so I was aware of that.” Her slender shoulders slumped beneath her blazer. “But I’m sure you understand why I had to address such concerns.”
“Of course. Thanks for looking out for me.”
Clara rummaged in her drawer before sliding a glossy brochure across the desktop. I scanned the serif font heading. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace .
“I want every woman at Luxmore to feel safe and empowered here. So if you ever feel coerced or pressured by a superior, you can come forward in confidence.”
“That’s reassuring to know.”
We exchanged a few more pleasantries before Clara sent me on my way. The pamphlet crinkled in my white-knuckled grip as I power-walked back to the lift. When I rounded the corner, I nearly collided with a mail trolley. “Oh! Excuse me,” I yelped, jumping aside.
The mail clerk shot me an odd look before continuing down the corridor. I punched the button until the lift door lurched open.
When I stepped into Neil’s office, he was standing in front of a window, his hands clasped behind his back. At my approach, he turned, face impassive. “Well?”
I gave him the rundown without stopping for breath. His expression remained fixed throughout.
“We can discuss this later,” he said.
Later. My insides performed a backflip. I knew he must mean tonight.
I stood on tiptoes to greet Neil with a kiss at his apartment door. But my lips grazed air. Neil pulled away from me. “Let’s talk first,” he said, an undertone of steel in his voice.
My stomach knotted. Neil strode inside and braced himself against the back of the couch. I followed him. “What’s wrong?”
He turned, dragging a hand over his jaw. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe continuing a physical relationship isn’t wise right now. Not while we’re under so much scrutiny.”
My pulse stuttered. I sank onto the other couch, hands twisting together in my lap. “You want us to stop?”
Neil shook his head, then began to pace in front of the fireplace. “Not permanently. Just until things settle down. It will make maintaining professionalism easier if we... detach emotionally.”
Detach emotionally? I understood Neil’s need for discretion, but the thought of losing our newfound intimacy wrenched my heart into my throat. I couldn’t let this happen without a fight—not after the bliss we’d shared these past few nights.
I perched on the edge of the cushion, fighting the quaver in my voice. “Not even here in your apartment?”
“It’s for the best.”
There had to be some way to make him reconsider, some flaw in his logic I could seize upon. I chose my next words carefully. “We’ve tried that kind of restraint in the past and look where it got us.” I rose from the couch and crossed the short distance between us. I placed a hand on Neil’s forearm, feeling the heat of his skin rise through his shirt. “Don’t you think keeping it all bottled up will increase the tension and make it more obvious to everyone around us?”
Neil swallowed. After a long pause, he took my hand, thumb tracing the veins on my inner wrist. “You raise a good point. I suppose fully cutting things off would only increase temptation...”
I stepped closer, tilting my chin to look up at him. “So, you’ll reconsider?”
He toyed with my fingers, his eyes darkening. “Perhaps we can find an alternative solution. Something that will reduce the scrutiny while allowing us to meet freely. I’ll give the matter more thought.”
I sagged against him, my chest unclenching. “Thank you.”
His eyelids lowered. “I think I’d do anything for you.”
“Then what about tonight?”
He drew back a fraction and cocked an eyebrow.
I flirted with his shirt collar, running my fingers back and forth over the sharp crease. “We’ve agreed it’s better to get it all out of our systems, right?”
Neil cradled my cheek in his large hand. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
He descended on my mouth.