Page 31 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

The world stops.

Rewinds.

Plays back in slow motion.

"What are you implying?" My voice comes out steadier than I feel.

He steps closer, and I catch a hint of his cologne – something expensive and subtle that definitely shouldn't be this distracting.

"I'm not implying anything, Mac." The way he says my nickname sends warmth down my spine. "I'm just noting an interesting correlation."

"Correlation isn't causation." I back up, hitting his desk. "Any statistician will tell you that."

"True." He's close enough now that I can see the glittering gold shimmer in his green eyes. "But any CEO will tell you that patterns matter."

"And what pattern are you seeing exactly?"

His hands land on the desk on either side of me, caging me in. "One that suggests you might be more invested in changing Drake Enterprises than your job title indicates."

I should leave. Should maintain professional distance. Should definitely not be noticing how his perfectly tailored shirt pulls across his shoulders, or how his proximity is making it hard to think.

"Careful, Mr. Drake." I manage to keep my voice steady. "That sounds dangerously close to an accusation."

"Not an accusation." His voice drops lower. "An observation."

"About?"

"About how someone who supposedly hates everything I stand for keeps looking at me like..."

"Like what?"

The tension between us crackles like a live wire.

A knock at the door saves us both.

"Mr. Drake?" Emma's voice carries through the wood. "The TechVibe CEO is on line one."

Alex steps back, and I can breathe again.

"We're not done with this conversation," he warns.

"Yes, we are." I grab my tablet, heading for the door. "We have real problems to solve. Whatever you think you've figured out about me... let it go."

"I'm not very good at letting things go, Ms. Gallo."

"Then maybe that should be your next personal growth project."

I escape before he can respond, my heart pounding. In my office, I find a new stack of feedback forms on my desk and Lucia gone to lunch.

My phone buzzes – a text from my sister:

LUCIA:I screwed up. Showed Nonna a pic of Drake and now she wants to know if your "handsome boss” has any food allergies. Also, she's making a pile of food again because you missed Sunday dinner.

I ignore it, pulling up my blog draft instead:

"TECH TRUTH: Sometimes the hardest part of changing a system isn't identifying the problems – it's admitting that the solutions might come from unexpected places. #PlotTwist #CorporateCulture"

I stare at it for a long moment before deleting the whole thing.

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