by E. L. Todd
There was a light knock on my office door.
“Come in,” I said without looking up.
The sound of heels was on the floor. “Mr. Riley?”
I looked up and saw Rome in a black dress with a gold necklace. A gray blazer covered her arms. She looked professional and classy. “Please call me Thomas.”
“Of course,” she said. “My mistake.”
Rome was a good secretary. The transition from her to Theresa was flawless. She had all my paperwork done by the end of the day, and she took care of everything else for me. I also enjoyed her company. When she didn’t say anything else, I wondered why she was in my office. “Can I help you with something?”
She brought her hands together and rubbed them together nervously. “I don’t mean to overstep my boundary but…you’ve been a little off lately. Is everything okay?”
I thought I did a good job hiding my anger. My conversation with Theo days ago still had me shaken up. The fact Rome knew something was bothering me was both irritating and amusing. “I…” Talking about my problems with Theo was inappropriate and unprofessional. I shouldn’t mention it. “Never mind. Everything is fine. I’m just a bit tired.” I gave her a smile before I looked down at my paperwork.
“Thomas, it’s okay. You can tell me.”
I leaned back in my chair and looked at her. “When I was young, I used to have a bully that tormented me. It went on for a long time. He made my life a living hell. The other day, he came to my office and apologized for everything. He wants a relationship with me, but I’ll never want one with him. I wish he would just leave me alone, frankly.”
She came closer to my desk then sat across from me. “I see…”
“I’m over it. The past doesn’t bother me. But every time he tries to apologize, it just makes me angry.”
“He’s apologized more than once?”
I nodded.
“He seems sincere.”
“I don’t see why that matters. If I don’t want to be friends, then he needs to stop forcing it.”
She nodded. “That’s true.”
I crossed my legs then played with the watch on my wrist. “Anyway, that’s been on my mind lately. I’m sorry if my mood has affected you.”
“No, not at all,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
My eyes moved to hers and I saw concern deep within. “Well, thanks.”
“Of course.” She stood up. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
“I’m always here if you want to talk.” Then she walked out.
***
Inaudible voices trailed through my glass doors. When I glanced at Rome’s desk, I saw Matthew hovering over her. He had one hand on her desk and he kept talking to her. It didn’t look like she was saying anything back.
I assumed the guys would leave her alone by now since she’d been in the office for a few weeks. But they still seemed determined to make her the new woman they had an affair with. It got under my skin. Seeing her cornered like a rabbit reminded me of the way Theo would corner me and beat the shit out of me. Feeling weak and scared wasn’t a good sensation. I refused to let it happen to someone else.
I left my office then approached her desk. “Rome, did that fax come in?”
“Yes, it did.” She opened a folder and handed me a few papers.
“Thank you.” I stood at her desk and glanced through the papers, waiting for Matthew to leave.
“Anyway,” Matthew said. “I have a beach villa in Italy. The two of us should take a trip together…”
“I appreciate the offer, but no thank you, Matthew.”
“Come on,” he said. “Dinner?”
“I don’t date married men,” she said firmly.
I threw the papers down on her desk. “Matthew.”
He turned to me, an annoyed look in his eyes.
“My job is very important to me. I have a lot of things I need to get done. My secretary is essential to that. So, please refrain from hitting on her and harassing her. It’s affecting my work, and you know how I get when people slow me down.” I silently threatened him with my eyes, telling him to back off.
He met the look then turned away. Without another word, he walked off.
Rome released the breath she was holding. “Thank you.”
“He’ll leave you alone from now on,” I said. “Word will spread that I told him off, everyone will think I’m a jerk because I’m sleeping with you, and then they’ll all leave you alone.”
“Why would people think we’re sleeping together?”
I shrugged. “People find it hard to believe that a man and a woman can just be friends.”
She spun her pen through her fingertips. “Thomas, can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure.”
“Are you married?” She didn’t look at me as she asked the question.
Why did she care? Why did I care that she cared? “No.”
“Oh…” She fidgeted with the pen again. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No.” I would ask her the same question but I knew that was a bad idea. I couldn’t date her so I didn’t want to torment myself. If she was single, that’s all I’d be thinking about. But I doubt she would have asked me that question if she were taken. So, I had my answer anyway. “I just haven’t found the right one, I guess.” I didn’t talk about my personal life with anyone. I preferred short relationships that burned out as quickly as they began. But she didn’t need to know that.
“I was just curious,” she whispered.
The tension settled in the room. If I felt it, she probably felt it too. “I should get back to work.”
“Yeah…”
I walked back inside my office, and when the door closed behind me I didn’t feel safe. I kept thinking about that pretty brown hair, those gray eyes, and those legs that stretched for days. I didn’t want to think about her in a physical way. If I did, I’d be like all the other jerks in my office.
But it was very, very hard not to.
Nothing is Left
Book Eleven of The Forever and Ever Series
AVAILABLE NOW
Click To Purchase On Amazon
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading My Heart Skips a Beat. I hope you enjoyed reading Skye and Cayson’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you could leave a short review on Amazon.com, iTunes, or BarnesandNoble.com, it would help me so much! Those reviews are the best kind of support you can give an author. Thank you!
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E. L. Todd
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