Page 68 of Tempt

Theo very wisely didn’t let me go. I pointed at Margaret as I gave her a piece of my mind. “You don’t know shit about the two of us and yet you’re over there throwing around some pretty nasty accusations.”

She must have been feeling safe because she had the gall to stand up and put her hands on her hips, glaring at me. “Those aren’t accusations, honey. Those are observations.”

Even though I knew Theo wasn’t going to let me go, I tried to lunge for her again.

“Babe,” he whispered, as if soft tones on one of my most sensitive spots would somehow calm me. Fat chance anything was going to work. “You’ve got to calm down.”

When I didn’t answer, Theo gave up and decided to address Margaret himself. “You might want to keep your observations to yourself unless you want me to let go.”

I expected another shot out of Margaret, but instead she froze and looked us over very carefully. “Bloody hell… you did. You fell in love with her.” She dropped into her seat, which was, mercifully, behind her.

I was so shocked I stopped fighting Theo. I think he was just as stunned as I was because he let me go. Neither of us said anything. Not until Margaret shook her head. “I’m sorry I called you a piece of ass.”

I tried to shake it off by straightening my clothes, but those words really did sting. Mostly because I loved Theo and this wasn’t a game. “This is a tense situation so I’ll forget it this time, but I swear to god—”

“My god, you’re dramatic. I get it.” She waved me off.

Dramatic?Dramatic?Theo put his hand on my shoulder before I could lose it all over again. “Let it go, darlin’.” Lucky for him I was sucker for being calleddarlin’by him in that accent. So I did. I let it go.

He kissed me on the cheek and I was done for after that. All the anger melted away and was replaced by an intense possessiveness I didn’t know I could feel. I threaded my fingers between his and held him as close as I could in front of my boss.

“I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding. Now, can we get down to the reason for this visit?”

Theo and I finally sat, but he didn’t let my hand go until I was kissing him goodbye at the elevators. I’d so completely forgotten about everything but him that I didn’t realize what I was doing until it was too late. Everyone (or almost everyone) had seen us walk out of Margaret’s office holding hands, and at least half a dozen were standing behind me at the reception desk, mouth’s on the floor, when I turned around.

Theo chuckled. “Sorry, babe. I forgot, too.” Then he leaned in and brushed a sweet kiss on my cheek before whispering, “I’d rather the whole world know I love you anyway.”

And then the bastard stepped into the elevator, leaving me reeling.

He said he loved me.

The sneaky fucking bastard.

Chapter 25

“You lying liar! You lying liar who lies!” Ava had pulled me into a conference room before I could sit down at my desk.

I couldn’t meet her eyes. Lying had gotten messy fast. “I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not. You had fun, you twisted little dirty girl!”

My cheeks turned red. I couldn’t help it. Not only was I still reeling from what Theo had just said, but now I felt embarrassed. As if everyone had just seen me walk through the office naked.

That only made Ava laugh, of course.

Luckily James snuck into the conference room and took over with the swearing and teasing. “Luis is going to be so mad he called out sick today!”

And now I was laughing so hard I was wiping tears away.

“So?” Ava asked. “It’s been him this whole time? Ever since the speakeasy?”

I nodded, feeling tingly all over again. Every single time I remembered meeting Theo that night, I had the insatiable need to go home with him. “Yeah, ever since.”

“Cheeky little liar who lies!”

James shook his head in disbelief. “Rich, handsome, and a smooth talker. I have to be his best friend. You can make this happen, right?”

I rolled my eyes at him. As if his ability to snag girls by being near Theo was at the top of my list. “I’ll see what I can do.”

---