Page 14 of Nailed

And just as I was cresting that wave to release, there was a knock on the other side of the door.

“Jamie?”

CHAPTER7

Sarah

Iheld my knuckles away from Jamie’s door, hesitating before knocking again.

The voice I’d heard was probably someone’s TV. He probably wasn’t even up here yet. I’d rushed to my room after discovering he wasn’t going to the dinner; he had to still be downstairs showering or something.

The image of Jamie’s chest hair dripping with water flashed before my eyes, but I willed it away.

“Jamie? It’s Sarah.”

This was a stupid idea. I’d practiced my talk day and night for two straight weeks. I could do this without his help.

I hugged my briefcase to my chest and was about to spin on my heel and hightail it downstairs via the stairwell to avoid embarrassment when the door swung open.

If I thought seeing my boss downstairs in swim trunks had thrown my insides on an upside-down roller coaster, seeing him standing there in a robe nearly did me in.

So much for avoiding embarrassment.

Though it was all on my side. Jamie had the scowl to end all scowls carved into his gorgeous face.

“I—” I stammered. Clearly, he’d decided to shower up here, and I’d interrupted him.Idiot!

“What do you want, Cooper?”

But I couldn’t speak.

The robe wasn’t designed for a man his size. The tie was up around his ribs and provided no coverage for the massive bulge I’d seen his wet trunks clinging to downstairs, and the bottom came only to the top of his knees.

“Cooper? You just going to stare, or did you want something from me?”

Mortification flooded through me. But it was quickly followed by a rush of hot anger. Enough was enough.

“Jamie,” I said, “Please. Just for this weekend, can we pretend to get along like we did before? I’m not asking for much. Just a little civility so… so Reilly Contracting can look like a cohesive unit.”

I kept going over my presentation in my room, but it was missing something. It was only after I saw him at the pool that I realized there was someone here who could help me find it.

Never mind that he was my grumpy boss; Jamie was the master of public speaking, and I needed to find my voice tomorrow if I wanted to knock it out of the park to impress future employers. Maybe I should have felt guilty about my ulterior motive, but Jamie had acted like a caveman for the better part of a year.

He owed me.

Jamie’s mouth flattened into a thin line, and I was sure he was going to tell me to get lost.

But he didn’t. He grunted, “Fine. What can I help you with?”

I put on a bright smile. “Well, um, I was hoping you might be willing to listen to me rehearse my presentation. I normally do it myself in the car. It’s the best place to… never mind. You don’t need to know that. Anyway, I didn’t get the chance to practice because of… well, my car exploding. As you know.”

The words came out in a rush. But he hadn’t slammed the door yet, so I kept going.

“I’ve practiced a lot already, but I thought maybe you could give me some pointers. Seeing as you’re the one everyone looks forward to hearing from every year.”

Jamie’s thick brows furrowed.

I waited.

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