Chapter 4
ROWAN
Not a word.
Grayson hadn’t said a single word about what happened last night. All day I’d been on pins, waiting for him to bring up the single most embarrassing moment of my life, but other than work talk, it was as if the unfortunate incident hadn’t happened.
If only…
The door behind me opened, and Grayson appeared with his visitors in tow. Our eyes met over the top of my computer screen, and my heart did a little flip.
“Rowan, would you mind escorting Mr. Devereaux and his colleagues down to reception?”
I stood. “Of course. No problem.”
Grayson shook Mr. Devereaux’s hand. “Good to see you, Sebastian. I’ll have Rowan call your assistant and organize a follow-up meeting in a week. Do you want me to extend that invitation to the rest of the ROGUES board?”
ROGUES was the company that Sebastian Devereaux co-headed with five others. Grayson had been working on a joint venture with them for some time, and the negotiations were nearing the end.
“No.” Sebastian paused. “On second thought, I’ll ask Ryker if he wants to come. I’ll forward him the details if he decides to attend the next meeting.”
“Very well.”
Sebastian made small talk with me as we rode the elevator to the ground floor. I waited until their car pulled away before returning to my office where I found Emma, the Chief Operating Officer’s assistant, standing by my desk, coat on, handbag over her shoulder.
“A group of us are going for a drink. Fancy it?”
“Oh.” I glanced at Grayson’s closed door. “I’ll have to check with Grayson.”
“It’s six p.m., Rowan. You don’t have to ask Grayson’s permission to go home when your workday has finished.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not on probation.”
Emma inclined her head. “You work harder than most people here, apart from the board members. You’ll sail through your probation.”
“I hope so. It’s busy, that’s all. What with the ROGUES deal close to being signed.” I shot another look at Grayson’s door. “I’ll give it a miss if it’s all the same to you.”
She shrugged. “Your call. Just don’t burn out.”
“I won’t. Have fun.” I sat at my computer and started work on updates to a commercial contract.
Grayson’s notes were specific, but there was a lot to get through, and concentration was key to ensuring I didn’t make any mistakes.
The last stragglers left the office, and an eerie silence descended.
Grayson’s door remained closed, and only then did it occur to me that he might have left while I was escorting his visitors down to reception.
Rising from my chair, I stretched out my back and then rapped lightly on his office door.
“Come in.”
So he is still here. I poked my head inside. “I wasn’t sure if you’d left already.”
He rubbed his eyes, then checked his watch. “I hadn’t realized it was so late. What are you still doing here? I’m sure you have somewhere else you’d rather be.”
I’d rather be sitting astride your lap and kissing you until I ran out of breath. “It’s fine. I enjoy being here.” I bit down on my bottom lip. “Grayson, about last night. I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”
He smiled, pointing his Mont Blanc pen at the chair opposite his desk in an invitation to sit. Willing the heat in my face to vanish, I took him up on his invitation.
“There really is no need for the embarrassment or an apology.”
“I really like working here and I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”
He leveled me with a stare, his gaze intense. I fidgeted under the weight of his attention. “I like you working here, too,” he said, voice smooth as velvet. “And there’s no awkwardness from my perspective.”
Nerve endings in my fingertips tingled, and electricity snapped through the air as silence descended. Maybe it was my imagination, but something between us shifted. I didn’t dare move in case I broke the spell.
Instead, Grayson broke it. He pushed back his chair and walked to the corner of his office where he kept a decanter of whiskey and a tray of crystal glasses.
I took a few deep breaths to slow my thundering heart.
I’d been alone with Grayson inside his office many times, but the lack of hustle and bustle on the other side of the door lent itself to a far more intimate and thrilling affair.
Grayson poured two small measures of whiskey and returned, handing one over to me.
Our fingers brushed, and as much as I tried to hide it, I shivered in pleasure.
He perched on the edge of his desk, so close I could smell his aftershave and the hint of maleness underneath.
I pressed my thighs together, but the pressure did nothing to relieve the growing ache between my legs.
“You’re five months into your probation now, Rowan. How do you think it’s going?”
“Great. At least I think so. I really enjoy working here.” I lowered my gaze, then lifted it again. “Working for you.”
He tugged on his bottom lip. Damn, I’d love to do that with my teeth.
“Are you happy with my performance?” My voice came out husky. I cleared my throat.
His gaze lowered to my mouth. “Very.”
Oh God. I need a change of underwear. Kiss me. Go on, do it.
He brought the glass to his lips and sipped.
I swallowed my disappointment that he’d chosen to put his mouth on the glass instead of me and took a sip of my own.
The whiskey burned on its way down my throat, and while I wasn’t a fan of hard liquor, it went some way to calming the storm of fiery need turning my insides to ash.
“Do you own a cocktail dress, Rowan?”
His out-of-the-blue question surprised me. I frowned. “I—um—do I own… own a dress?”
“A cocktail dress,” he reiterated.
“I’m not sure. I have a black dress that falls just below my knees, but I wouldn’t know whether it fits the description of a cocktail dress.”
“I have an account at Harrods.” He set his glass on his desk and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Opening his wallet, he removed a black business card with gold lettering and handed it to me.
“Take tomorrow morning off and go to the ladies’ department.
Ask for Carina, give her this, and tell her I sent you.
She’ll make sure you get something suitable. ”
“But… I…” I smoothed my eyebrow. “Suitable for what?”
A veil of anticipation washed over his face. “I need a companion for a dinner tomorrow night, and you’re it.”