The Workaholic Down the Hall

by Katharine Sadler

  The Workaholic Down The Hall

  Katharine Sadler

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2018 by Katharine Sadler

  All Rights Reserved.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  Aubrey

  Noah's head was bent, his eyes on his computer screen, his focus intense and total on his work. His dark hair was longer than I'd ever seen it, and it was mussed liked he'd been running his hands through it. It had been six months since I'd seen him and something that had been tight and hard in the center of my chest eased and relaxed at the sight of him.

  His tie was loosened, his suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair, and his shoulders bunched as he frowned at what he read on his screen. I used to see him like this every day, and I'd been confident back then that he'd look up and smile, be glad to see me. He'd ask me to help him with some problem that was taunting him or he'd invite me to his place to watch a ball game. His fingers moved over the keys, quick and competent and I remembered how they'd moved over my skin, how they'd tangled with mine as he'd pressed hot kisses to my throat and thrust into me. A flash of heat washed over me at the memory, but the lust was mixed with sorrow, because one night of his hands on me had been the end of us. He sighed and mumbled something at the screen, still unaware of my presence. It was a side of him few people saw, the frustration, the worry, but I'd seen it. I'd seen him confident and sure in the board room and I'd seen him stressing over his family's business, wondering how he'd keep it afloat. I'd seen him on my couch, relaxed and rooting for our favorite teams.

  Now, I was entirely unsure of my welcome. My heart pounded with nerves and my jaw tightened as though I could physically control the next several moments, as though I could bite down hard and hold onto something I knew was lost.

  I felt the burp start in my belly as a bit of gassy discomfort and I shifted on my feet. I wasn't ready for him to look up, for him to see me. The burp rose into my throat and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it back. It was too late to run from the room. My digestive system was nothing like it had once been. I pinched my lips shut tight and managed to keep the burp mostly quiet, but it made enough of a sound to get Noah's attention. He looked up and for a moment, just the hint of a moment, his frown lifted, his gray eyes lightened, and he rose to his feet. Just as quickly, his expression slammed shut and he sat. “Did you sneak past my assistant?” His tone was sharp, curt, nothing like the way he used to speak to me.

  “She wasn't at her desk.” I took a step toward him. “Noah, I—”

  “She's the third assistant I've had to hire since you left, Aubrey. Looks like I'll need to find another.”

  “She probably just took a bathroom break. You do allow her to take bathroom breaks, don't you?” I teased him, hoping to get him to thaw a bit, hoping to get him to look at me, really look at me.

  He dropped his eyes back to his computer. “I'm busy. What do you want?”

  “I thought you might like to get lunch, so we could talk. You haven't returned my calls, Noah. I need—”

  He looked up and raw anger flickered in his eyes. “I needed my assistant, my friend, and you left without a word of explanation. I don't owe you anything.”

  “Noah, after what happened, you have to understand—”

  “I don't have to understand anything. You made your choice and I've moved on.”

  What did that mean? How had he moved on? Was he seeing someone? The thought shouldn't have bothered me, shouldn't have made my hands fist with the desire to fight, but I had as little control over my emotions lately as I had over my digestive system. “Noah, please. I want to explain, I just want—”

  “You should go,” he said, his eyes back on the computer screen. “I don't have time for this.”

  “Please.” I wasn't ashamed of begging. “Something's happened and I need—”

  “You need to hear me when I ask you to leave.” His face was now expressionless, cold. His full lips were set in a tight line, his sculpted jaw tense. “I can't do this right now. I don't want to do this at all.”

  I wanted to turn and walk out, but this wasn't just about me, not anymore. “There's something I have to tell you, Noah. Something you need to hear.”

  That intense focus of his zeroed in on my face, and his mask, the one he wore for tense business meetings, settled firmly into place. I knew I wouldn't get through that mask. I'd never seen anyone manage it, not even his sister, Jill. He rose and stalked across the room until he was so close I could smell his cologne, so close that if he dropped his gaze, if he could see anything past his own rage, he'd see how my belly had grown. But he didn't look down. I wasn't sure he was even seeing me at all. “I'm only going to say this one time, so try and pay attention. I want you to turn around and walk out, and I don't ever want to see you again. I don't want to hear your name. There is nothing you could say or do that would change my mind about that.”

  I swallowed hard. I'd suspected he wouldn't react well, but I hadn't expected him to kick me out before I'd told him about the baby. “Please, Noah, I'm just asking for five minutes of your time.”

  His mask cracked a tiny bit around the eyes and some emotion I couldn't place flitted there. I thought he was going to give in, I thought he was going to give me another chance, but the mask moved back into place as quickly as it had faded. “No,” he said. He turned from me and walked back to sit behind his desk. “Leave now, or I'll call security and have you removed from my office.”

  I swallowed hard and squared my shoulders, determined not to cry in front of him. “Noah, I'm—”

  “Is this woman bothering you?” A woman with long, blond curls, a curvy body, and a really cute outfit shoved past me and stood between me and Noah's desk like she was going to physically hold me back if necessary.

  “If you had been at your desk, Nina,” Noah said. “She wouldn't have gotten this far.”

  Nina winced, but she didn't back down. Since when had Noah become such a colossal dick? She glared at me like it was my fault she was in trouble. “You need to turn around and leave, or I'm going to call security.”

  I popped onto my tiptoes to peer over her head at Noah, but he wasn't even looking my way. He was focused on his computer screen, his fingers tapping at the keys like he'd already forgotten me.

  I almost blurted out the truth, almost told him that I was carrying his child, but I doubted he would hear anything I said. I doubted even more he'd believe me and I…I knew if I told him and his mask didn't crack or fade, if I had to face his cold denial or worse his horror or disgust, I'd fall to pieces. I'd been so emotional lately, been feeling so alone. I'd always prided myself on being independent and strong, but lately I'd just been terrified. Terrified of raising our child alone, of finding a way to tell Noah, of his rejectio
n. I'd tell him, but maybe I'd do it over email or voice mail. I knew that was the coward's way out, but my presence clearly disgusted him. Not to mention that I wasn't interested in announcing the news in front of a hostile audience.

  I turned and I walked back out of his office, past the desk that used to be mine, and to the elevator. I bit my bottom lip not to cry, because I knew, once I started, I wouldn't stop. I pulled in deep breaths through my nose as people got on and off the elevator, until I was sure I wouldn't break down.

  I stepped off the elevator and made my way to a public restroom that was a few feet from the front doors of the building. I locked myself in the first stall, rested my forehead against the cool metal door and I let it all go. I cried because it had hurt to see Noah's reaction to me. I knew I'd been wrong to disappear from his life after our night together, a night he was too drunk to remember, but I'd expected him to at least hear me out, to at least give me a chance to explain. He was done with me. He'd moved on and I was just an interruption to his day, a problem he didn't want to deal with. I cried for our baby who'd grow up without her father, without the happy family I longed to give her. I cried for myself because I had no idea how to raise a child and I was scared, I was scared that I'd hurt her, that I wouldn't be enough for her, that I wouldn't be able to provide for her the happy childhood I'd never had. I cried until I didn't have any tears left and then I pulled in a deep breath, wiped my eyes, straightened my spine, and left that bathroom stall because giving up and dissolving into a puddle of sorrow and fear was not an option.

  I walked out of the building and onto the city sidewalk. It was warm, too warm for the over-sized sweater I'd thrown over my dress, and sunny, too cheery for my glum mood. Cold and raining would better suit my mood, but it was September in Atlanta and the weather was as uncooperative as Noah. I pulled the sweater over my head and carried it as I walked the two blocks back to the office building where I was now working. I should probably use what was left of my lunch break to eat something, but the thought of food made me nauseous.

  Back at my own desk, I slumped into my seat and threw myself into my job as assistant to the CEO of the resort company, Owings Leisure. I'd worry about Noah when I was home and comfortable. Owings Leisure was a direct competitor to Noah's Reynolds Hotels and Resorts. My working for Noah's rival might be one more reason he was angry with me, but I had years of experience working in the resort industry and I hadn't wanted to leave Atlanta, so my choices had been limited.

  I listened to Alex Owings' voice mails and forwarded the important ones to him, then I went through the emails that had arrived while I was out. I looked over his schedule for the rest of the week and made the necessary adjustments. He was a workaholic to the nth degree and rarely requested breaks between meetings or business dinners. I leaned back in my seat and checked the time. It was just after two and I had nothing pending. It had been a little slow around the office over the past couple of days and I'd gotten caught up on all my outstanding projects. I looked around my desk area and sighed. Images of Noah, his mask firmly in place and shutting me out, played through my mind and I felt the tears well. I needed something to do, something complex and time-consuming.

  I picked up the phone and called around to the different departments to find out if anyone had something for me, but no one did. Like me, everyone was caught up and wondering what was coming next. We rarely had downtime at Owings Leisure and, when we did, it usually meant Alex was gearing up for another big project. As far as I could tell, the man was incapable of slowing down. He was a few years older than me, just past thirty, and he'd accomplished an amazing amount for someone his age. Unlike Noah, Alex's business wasn't a family business he'd inherited, it was one he'd built on his own.

  “Aubrey,” Alex said over the intercom of my phone, just as I was considering cleaning out old files from the server for something to do. “Can I see you in my office for a moment?”

  I crossed my fingers he had something big for me to work on and left my desk. Alex was a good boss, he was fair and honest, even if he was a bit oblivious to the fact that I had a personal life. Some people, okay most people, found Alex to be cold, insensitive, even ruthless, but I figured he had to be all those things to accomplish what he had and to be taken seriously, since he was young and he looked younger and he, sometimes, acted even younger. He was dedicated to his company, it was his dream, his whole world, and I could understand that. He was very good at what he did, he just lacked some of the social graces that might be nice to have in a boss and, well, he wasn't Noah.

  Like Noah had been that morning, Alex was focused on his computer screen. Unlike Noah, Alex was alert and chipper, excited even, his eyes bright, his hair neatly trimmed, his jaw clean-shaven. My heart tugged with worry for Noah, at how stressed and miserable he'd looked, before I reminded myself he didn't want my worry or my time. He wanted nothing to do with me. “Alex,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

  He looked up, and I almost laughed at the surprise on his face. He'd called me into his office and, in the two seconds it had taken me to get there, gotten so pulled into his work that he'd forgotten all about me. I envied his passion for his job and for his company.

  “Aubrey,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

  I knew he didn't really want me to answer that, but I'd discovered Alex Owings was easily grossed out and I'd been having some fun with him lately. “A bit gassy today. She's really moving around in there and kicking up some major unhappiness in my stomach.”

  He swallowed hard, his skin going just the faintest shade of green and I bit back a laugh. It really was too much fun to see the uber-serious, hard-working, ruthless CEO go green at the mention of intestinal issues. “I'm, um,…Yes, well, I called you in here to thank you for sending me the schedule for tomorrow. I don't know how I'd survive without you.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down. Alex never complimented me unless he wanted something.

  He stared right back. “I'd like you to call Regina and let her know I won't be able to see her for dinner tonight.” He cleared his throat. “Or for any dinner ever again.”

  “No.” I bit back another laugh. Alex, as self-assured as he was in the workplace, was completely incapable of breaking up with the women he dated. I'd done it for him one time and I wasn't going to do it again. Okay, truth be told, I didn't break up with her the way he'd asked. I told her he was a chicken shit with commitment issues, and he was such a weenie he had to ask his assistant to dump his girlfriends. I was trying to suggest she was better off without him, she disagreed. She'd keyed his car. I thought that'd be the end of his asking me to dump women for him, but Regina must be a scary one.

  He frowned and glanced at his computer like he was too busy to be bothered with my peccadilloes. “I have an important meeting tonight, and I can't make our dinner. Please let her know.”

  “I call bullshit.” Yes, I was aware that was not the way an employee should talk to an employer, but I'd learned early on when to stand my ground with Alex, otherwise he'd have me taking his car to the car wash and picking up his dry cleaning. He might be an amazing CEO and a fair boss, but he'd clearly been a spoiled child and didn't understand boundaries unless he was slapped in the face with them.

  He sighed. “Look, Aubrey, I tried, okay. I told her I didn't want to see her anymore and she…She got really mad. We're talking nuclear mad, Aubrey. She'd already planned our wedding and named our children. She's insane, and I'm too young and good-looking to die.”

  Alex had only been seeing Regina for a little over a month, so I found his assessment of her mental state accurate. “Is Regina an MMA fighter or a body builder?”

  He winced. He knew what was coming. “No.”

  “Then I think you'll survive, tough guy. Go to dinner with her and end it, like an adult.”

  “I should fire you.”

  “Try it. I'll sue you six ways from Sunday for firing a pregnant woman.”

  He grinned. “You'd probably
win and take me for every penny I'm worth, and I'd be helpless to stop it, because I couldn't survive a day without you.”

  “Still not calling Regina.”

  He frowned. “I'll give you a raise. Five percent.”

  “Not worth it.” It totally would be worth a five percent raise, but letting Alex cross a boundary even for a sweet raise would only lead to more trouble. I had no interest in getting involved in his personal life in any way ever again.

  He sighed. “Fine. I'll dump her myself.” He ran a hand through his hair and stared at the phone on his desk like it might sprout tentacles and gouge out his eyes. “This is the price I pay for picking up women at a strip club.”

  I didn't manage to hold back my gasp of shock. I didn't have any illusions that Alex was a choir boy, but I couldn't picture him hanging out at a strip club.

  He rolled his eyes. “Not my idea. An old friend invited me out for drinks.” He shook his head. “We don't have much in common anymore.”

  I didn't know a lot about Alex, but I knew he hadn't grown up in the nicest part of Atlanta and, as far as I could tell, he didn't have any friends, no one he could trust, no one he could call when he was looking for some fun. If I ever took an interest in Alex's personal life, which I had no intention of ever doing, I'd say he was lonely.

  “That happens,” I said.

  He nodded. “It does.” He bent his head over his computer, conversation over.

  “Do you have anything for me to work on? I'm all caught up and bored out of my mind.”

  “Nah,” he said. “I've got something percolating, but nothing you can help me with, yet. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?” He glanced at his watch. “It's after three anyway.”

  I sighed. I did not want to go back to my condo and think about Noah and the baby and single motherhood. “Maybe one of the other departments could use some help?” I already knew they didn't, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

  “Nope. Go on home. I'll pay you like you were here.” He waved me off, but then stopped, his hand still in the air. “Don't forget we're flying out on Saturday to visit that Florida property.”