Page 59 of Reunion With Benefits

Fifteen

Abby paced back and forth in her office. It felt as if hours had passed, but she knew that wasn’t true. She couldn’t see the clock or hear any noise. Her curt order to her assistant to hold all of her calls and visitors—something she’d apologize for later—probably said enough for the people outside her door to scurry away.

She wasn’t one to close the door and demand peace. When she did, people knew it meant something. Since the gossip about her love life and dating Spence swirled around the office, some might even figure out the source of her frustration.

The chill refused to leave her bones. She had no idea how it was possible to feel hot and ice-cold at the same time, but there she was. The pain in her stomach and her head. Both thumped, demanding attention.

She didn’t even hear the door open. She turned, thinking to go in search of something for the headache, and ran right into Spence’s broad chest. He reached for her arms and held her, more to keep her from falling than anything else. This wasn’t a hug. There was nothing intimate about it. More of a safety-first sort of thing.

He steadied her then reached back to close the door. There, that would stop the gossip. Abby almost rolled hers eyes at the novice move.

“What are you doing here?” She thought for sure he’d hide in Derrick’s office all day. If he had a home, he might go there but he didn’t. And that bothered her, too.

All of her confusion and questions balled up together. He’d left the last time. There was nothing stopping him from going again. His reaction to the baby had been almost perfect. Sure, he wavered a bit at first but so did she. But she sensed he was waiting to see if this whole visit-home-to-Derrick thing worked out.

His hands dropped to his sides as he looked down at her. “This time you ran.”

She searched his face for any sign that they were going to be okay. Not that she wanted a handwritten agreement signed in blood. She didn’t even require some sort of long-term commitment, though her heart begged for one. But everything about him, from the fact he lived out of a bag to his office that still looked like no one had been assigned there, showed that he lived his life in a temporary fashion. She didn’t know why the Jeff Berger situation drove that point home, but it did.

Now what?

“I needed space,” she said, knowing it sounded trite and was only half-correct.

He nodded. “I get it.”

That just made the confusion inside her spin faster. “Do you?”

When he frowned at her, she decided to take hold of the conversation. That might be the only way to get through this. Then she could go home and curl up on the couch and forget everything about the last few weeks. Go back to building emotional walls and burying herself in projects in the office.

“Why haven’t you started any new projects at work?” It was so simple that she wondered why she hadn’t seen it before.

His eyes widened. “What?”

The response was fair. She hadn’t exactly built up to it, but the topic was not going away. It had taken hold in her head and she had to ride it out now. “You’re the head of new acquisitions. I think that’s the fancy title, right? But I haven’t seen you do one lick of work on anything but projects already in progress.”

His hands went to his hips and a look of pure disbelief crossed his face. He looked ten seconds from exploding. “You’re giving me a work evaluation?”

She couldn’t tell if he was stalling while his mind came up with a snappy answer or if he really didn’t understand how he came off to the world. “You’re great at the job. I doubt you even realize how good you are. It’s a natural skill for you. People listen to you. You’re organized. You can get things moving and straightened out. You’ve been the perfect closer.”

He shook his head. “What does any of this have to do with Jeff Berger?”

Nothing, everything. She wasn’t sure how to explain how it all came together in her head, so she didn’t even try.

She moved away from him, slipped behind her desk. Stood with her hands on the back of her chair. It provided a wall of sorts, a shield for what she feared was to come. “This issue is so much bigger than him.”

He threw his hands up. “Fill me in because I’m lost.”

But that tone. He wasn’t engaged and listening, wanting to get it. That tone was defensive. It was the one he used as he prepared for verbal battle. She’d heard it before. He used it on business associates and on her.

It meant he was already closing a door. She could almost feel it slam shut on her.

“You’re a good closer because what’s required of that job is wrapping up and moving on. Your specialty area.” It seemed so clear to her now. No wonder he volunteered to handle those tasks for Derrick while Ellie was on bed rest.

“We’re back to talking about my dad and what happened back then?” Spence rested his palms against her desk. Leaned down and faced off with her right over her desk. “Are you kidding me? I thought we moved forward.”

“When?”

“Isn’t that what the sex was about?”

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