Page 5 of Just One Kiss

“Have I ever lied to you before?”

“Not that I know of.” Her eyes twinkled.

“Go find your boyfriend and spend the day with him,” Josh said.

Rebecca grinned. “He did ask if I wanted to go with his family to their cottage up North. Probably one of those little towns like the one you’re from.”

The sting of memories caught him off guard. “Probably,” he muttered.

“Who will you spend the weekend with?” she asked.

His mind produced no viable options, so he tossed Rebecca a look and said, “Will you stop worrying about me? You deserve the time off, so get out of here or I’m firing you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’d be lost without me.”

He responded with his own raised eyebrow accompanied by a smirk. She was right, and they both knew it, but he wouldn’t admit it out loud. Rebecca did all the things he hated, like schmoozing investors, talking with clients, marketing and generally anything that wasn’t coding or creating.

Plus, she was brilliant—a fact he didn’t take for granted.

“All right,” she said. “You’ve convinced me. But you have to promise to call me if you need anything.”

“I won’t call you no matter what,” he said. Rebecca had worked tirelessly during the latest app’s launch—she’d been the one to recognize the value in his little side project in the first place. She’d worked with test groups and managed their feedback, taking Josh’s little video game idea and turning it into what it now was—an overnight sensation.

The game might’ve been his idea, and the artwork might’ve been his, but the finished product was theirs. And he’d paid her handsomely for her loyalty and her insight. She was so much more than an assistant now.

He’d plucked her out of a programming class he’d taught at a local university, recognizing immediately that Rebecca’s mind didn’t work like everyone else’s. Not only did she understand coding, she understood marketing and she worked well with people—something that wasn’t exactly Josh’s strong suit.

They were a good team. Never mind that she was ten years younger than he was. He valued what she brought to the table. But she needed a break or she was going to burn out.

“Josh,” she said.

“Look, Becks, the last thing I want is for you to end up like me—”

“You mean brilliant and loaded?” she joked.

“I mean a workaholic with no social life.” He stood, took her by the arms, turned her around and gave her a push out the door.

“Maybe we should do something about that,” she said. “I could hook you up with one of my older sister’s friends. They’re super needy, but don’t guys like needy girls?”

Josh rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t know.”

“That’s right, because you don’t date. Or eat out. Or have friends.” She faced him. “I’m actually kind of worried about you.”

“I’m brilliant and loaded,” he said. “I’m doing just fine.”

But the words fell flat, as lies had a way of doing.

She stared at him, and Josh wished Rebecca wasn’t so observant. He’d done all he could to keep his personal life personal, but she had a way of paying attention.

Still, he maintained a bit of distance with her—part of himself that he protected from everyone, really. He wasn’t in a hurry to make new friends or have deep relationships. After all, he’d found a way to disastrously ruin the ones he’d had.

“Go,” he said.

“Fine. But I’m going to call tomorrow to make sure you’re not working.”

He practically pushed her out of the office and closed the door on her, though it didn’t have a solid impact given the fact that it was made of glass.

He watched as she packed up her things and walked out of the office into the hallway, leaving him alone with his fancy new office and his view of the lake.

---