Page 13 of Most Likely to Deny Love

“Who requested this?”

There was a moment’s hesitation, before Mia said, “The directive came from HR.”

“Who in HR?”

“Rebecca. She said it was at the request of the directors.”

“We have been discussing changing up the reporting, but neither myself nor management requested or authorized anything like what I saw in that box.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “They didn’t?”

“No.” I frowned. “What exactly did she tell you?”

Mia hesitated again, clearly torn between professional discretion and frustration. Finally, she sighed. “She said you and the board requested detailed daily activity logs for every team member, resource justification forms, and weekly peer evaluations.” She paused. “And then weekly, on an ongoing basis. As well as some retroactive reporting. All due by Friday.”

MIA

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Fuck. I hadn’t meant to tell Jack about Rebecca’s ridiculous documentation demands, but something about the intensity in his hazel eyes made the truth spill out.

Jack’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening, sending an inappropriate flutter through my stomach. I guess broody and frowny just did it for me.

“I did not request any of that.” His voice was low and controlled. “And neither did the board.”

I shifted in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “Oh.”

“How many hours have you already spent on this?”

I bit my lip, mentally calculating. “About six, maybe seven.”

“Jesus.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, mussing it so that he looked less like a corporate executive and more like… a really hot guy who just rolled out of bed.

Man, that was the last thing I needed to be thinking of right now.

“And your team?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who in your team is helping you with this?”

“Oh, um. I didn’t want to burden them,” I admitted. “I’ve been handling it myself.”

Something flickered across his face that looked a lot like concern. “You’ve been doing all of it? For your entire team?”

I straightened my spine, defensive. “I’m their manager. It’s my job to handle administrative burdens so they can focus on sales.”

“It’s your job to lead them, not drown in paperwork that shouldn’t exist in the first place,” Jack bit out, as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk. “Why didn’t you come to me about this?”

Because there is more politics going on in this office than the Cuban missile crisis and there’s no way I was going to drag you into it.

But now Jack gaze was boring into mine, demanding answers.

I crumpled. “Rebecca has connections. Her brother-in-law is Director Stevens. Going against her directly would only cause more drama for my team. I didn’t want them to have to deal with any of that.”

“I see. So you thought you had to handle it alone.” Jack’s voice softened, and the shift made something inside me ache. “Mia, that’s not how this works.”

The way he said my name, not Ms. Harris, butMia,sent warmth spreading through me.

“I’ll speak to Rebecca,” he continued, already reaching for his phone.

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