Page 56 of His Temptation
“I’ve got some gossip for you,” she says a bit too loudly as she leans over my desk.
I can see Lincoln watching us from the corner of my eye.
“What’s that?” I whisper, hoping she’ll catch on that she’s talking a little loud for gossip.
“Someone in the office has a crush on you.”
I swear she says it even louder this time. I can’t even manage to look over at Lincoln. I’m too humiliated.
“Oh, I see.”
“That’s all you have to say? Don’t you want to know who?”
“Shh,” I say as I hold a finger over my lips. “People can hear.”
She waves her hand like that doesn’t faze her. “Anyway, we are all going out for drinks tonight. He’s going to be there, and I told him I’d get you to go. It’s Brendon from marketing. He’s really hot, and apparently, he has been asking around about you.”
“I don’t think I know who that is,” I tell her.
This time, I steal enough courage to look over at Lincoln, who is watching with dark, angry eyes. Ugh, I don’t have time to deal with his mood swings right now.
“Well, you’ll find out tonight. Six o’clock. We’re all going to Daintree, the rooftop bar in Midtown.”
“I don’t know if I can get off in time,” I tell her, thinking that’ll be a good enough excuse. I’m not ready to date someone right now.
She takes several steps until she’s at the barrier of Lincoln’s office. My heart drops into my stomach. What in the world is she doing?
“Mr. Monroe. Roy, Marissa, and Carson are letting us off work on time today so we can go to happy hour with some colleagues. You wouldn’t mind letting Kylie off work on time for once to come with us, would you?”
My head falls into my hands. She’s going to get my ass fired. I knew she was outgoing and had anI don’t give a fuckattitude, but this is too far. I can’t bear to look. She’s told me many times that she has such a good relationship with the VPs that she knows they wouldn’t let Lincoln fire her, but I’m not so sure.
“It doesn’t sound like you’re giving me much choice. I imagine if I say no, Marissa will be in my office within minutes,” his deep voice says with disdain.
She laughs. “You know her too well. Thanks, Mr. Monroe. It’s good to let your staff mingle. Good for morale.”
As she walks away, she winks at me like she didn’t just throw a grenade into my boss’s office, leaving me to deal with the destruction.
To say Lincoln is in a bad mood for the rest of the day is an understatement. He barks orders at me like he’s some kind of tyrant. I’ve never seen him behave this way, even when I first started. I’d be concerned about him if I didn’t also want to slap him.
Morgan sends me an email fifteen minutes before we’re supposed to leave, telling me to freshen up my makeup and unbutton some of my top buttons on my blouse. Despite my not having any desire to do this, it does feel nice that someone else has interest in me.
If my boss is going to drop me like an old designer bag, I should give another man a chance.
I grab my purse and run over to the restroom, realizing how badly I need to pee as well. I’ve held it since lunch, but I’ve been too distracted with Lincoln to notice. All locks are red, signaling that they are being used. I hop from one heel to the other as my bladder threatens to embarrass me.
“Shit,” I mutter to myself as I shuffle back to my desk and run into Lincoln’s office.
He looks up at me and stands quickly, like he’s about to go to war for me.
“I have to pee. So bad. All the other restrooms are being used.”
His shoulders relax. “Fine. Use mine.”
“Thank you,” I call out as I run to the door.
Once I’ve relieved myself, I feel slightly embarrassed that I had to run into his bathroom like a toddler caught holding it too long. I wonder what it means that he was instantly on alert when I ran in here. It’s like the bastard cares about me but can’t admit it to himself.
I guess that would have to mean that I care about him, which I don’t. I don’t care about him at all. Not at all.
