Page 32 of Mated To My Boss

I try to study her face, but I am too distracted by her beauty to come up with something reasonable.

The way this delicious brunette bites her lips as she thinks mesmerizes me. Her eyes suddenly look up, capturing mine like in a game of chess.

“Is everything okay?” she asks innocently. “You're staring at me.”

“Was I?” I say, playing dumb. “Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

“Hmm,” she replies, not believing me.

Chapter 12

MADELINE

“Do you still need my help?” I ask, having already organized and prepared most of the day's work.

Nate looks from one paper to another. “Uhm, no, nothing. This is really good work, Madeline.”

“Thank you,” I respond a bit curtly. I place both hands before me, lacing my fingers together.

Nate looks up at me, his beautiful eyes searching my face for any sort of answer. I know exactly why he's this confused. He is accepting that I have changed. He’s open to seeing who I am.

“Is there a problem?” I ask.

“No. It's about lunch time anyway, so I guess you're free to take a break.”

“Thank you.” I turn to walk away.

“You're just going to leave?” Nate asks, bewildered. “I thought you'd want to hang around for lunch or something.”

“Why would I do that?” I inquire in a way that comes off politely.

“I—” Nate stops himself, realizing he can't manufacture an answer for wanting me to spend time with him. “I guess that's it for today. You don't have to come by after lunch. We're basically done so you can have the rest of the day off.”

“Thank you,” I respond. I'll still be around, so just call me if you need me.”

“Okay.”

I give him one last pleasant smile before walking away. If he was any closer, he would realize just how much my heart has been beating through the conversation.

I close the door and lean against it, taking a huge breath. After getting my body under control, I walk away from Nate's intoxicating scent and head back to my aunt's office. This restraint doesn't come naturally; it's a deliberate choice.

The old me would have stayed, trying to win him over with persistent attention. But I've learned that some distances need to be crossed from both sides.

If there's something real between us, it needs to grow on its own terms, not just mine.

The empty space isn't as appealing without Aunt Cora here, but I make do. I sit on her very comfortable chair and lean into it.

Every fiber of my body wants to go back to Nate and just be around him, but this is the best thing for me if I want to make any progress. It's a hard decision, but it's still the best one.

There's a knock on the door almost immediately before someone walks in—a blonde woman that I've seen around the office a few times.

“Hey, Madeline, right?”

“Yeah …” I say carefully.

“We haven't actually been introduced. I'm Rose.”

“Oh, you're Graham's mate,” I blurt out, forcing me to cover my mouth in shame. “I'm sorry for saying it like that.”

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