Page 4 of His Secretary's Nine-Month Notice
He paused and Violet was too confused by this sudden tangent to say anything. ‘Clients have been coming and going for the past few weeks with that new takeover. You know the one I mean... Food-app developer I’m in the process of buying out... Has one of them been pestering you? Is that it? I’ve noticed that that Draper boy has been lurking by your desk...’
‘Matt, I know how to take care of myself!’ Two bright patches of colour stained her cheeks.
How pathetic did he think she was? So pathetic that she would resign from a job she loved because someone decided to chat her up?
Suddenly, she was so angry that she wanted to slap him, so she balled her small hands into fists and counted to ten.
She could feel the tension of the past few days simmering, boiling up, spilling over, and she had to bite down on the temptation to shout at him. She wasn’t the shouting sort. For a second, she wondered how he would react if his perennially unflappable PA decided to let rip.
‘Do you?’ he was asking quietly. ‘You’re quiet, Violet. Refined. Not the sort to give as good as she gets.’
‘I wish you could hear yourself, Matt Falconer,’ Violet responded, heading fast towards a flashpoint and only holding off by sheer willpower. ‘I’m not a complete idiot.’
He had the grace to flush. ‘I never said that you were.’
‘The implication was there,’ Violet retorted scornfully, and she noted the startled expression on his face, because this was a side to her he hadn’t seen. ‘You think I’m such a weak fool that if someone says “boo”,then I’m going to go crying and running away because I just can’t handle it!’
‘Not at all,’ he muttered uncomfortably.
‘I’ll have you know that I have a great deal more backbone than you probably think!’
‘I’m sure you have.’
‘Then stop patronising me!’
‘Jesus, Violet. Where is this coming from? I only came here to find out what was going on!’ He raked his fingers through his hair and Violet gathered herself, but with difficulty.
‘I’ve handed in my notice, Matt, because something has cropped up, something unexpected, and I haven’t had a choice.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I know that my email was a bit...er...brief, but going into details would have been complicated. I had no idea you would pursue the matter.’
‘You thought that I would just sit back and let you walk out on me?’ Matt demanded incredulously, and Violet blushed, because the phrasing of those words was so unintentionally intimate.
Good job you’re leaving!She mentally berated herself for all her negative thoughts involving voids opening up at the prospect of never going into that fast-paced, adrenaline-charged office ever again.Just remember how dangerous it is, having a stupid crush on your boss!
‘I’ll make sure I find a suitable replacement before I leave,’ she responded coolly. ‘I won’t leave you in the lurch.’
‘What if I decide that you’re irreplaceable?’
Violet shrugged. She wished he would tailor his remarks, which were just making her even more addled and flustered, but naturally he wouldn’t because Matt Falconer never saw fit to tailor his words or his actions to suit anyone. He was a law unto himself. That was just how he liked it and, annoyingly, he got away with it because he was so over-the-top talented at what he did.
‘No one’s irreplaceable.’
‘You say that you didn’t have a choice,’ he thought aloud, his expression clearing. He sat forward so abruptly that she blinked in sudden confusion. ‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you? I’m very progressive when it comes to things like that, but is he a dinosaur? Is that it? Someone with a value system that’s still buried in the Middle Ages? It would be a travesty for some guy to think that a pregnant woman equates to a stay-at-home partner.’
Deep-blue eyes darted down to her stomach and, horrified, Violet instinctively rested her hand on her tummy. ‘Who is he, Violet, and how is it that I don’t know a thing about him? Isn’t that taking secrecy to the very limit?’ He shot her an accusatory look from under thick, sooty lashes. ‘And tell me that you’re enough of a feminist to know that you don’t jack a great job in because some guy with antiquated expectations suggests that you do.’
Suddenly restless, he vaulted upright and walked in jerky movements to the kitchen window, staring out for a few seconds before spinning round to glare at her, clearly offended.
‘We no longer live in the Dark Ages,’ he carried on, leaving her speechless at his wild conclusions. ‘And you should know that I am more than considerate when it comes to taking care of my staff, including the ones who have babies. Is there or is there not a crèche available, expertly manned by fully trained staff, on the eighth floor?’
‘Yes, but...’
‘We’ve long left behind those bad old days of gender inequality.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mum!’ Violet was distracted enough to retort.
Frankly, she could think of nothing more wonderful, but she wasn’t going to become diverted by this non-issue. How on earth could someone with such an incredibly sharp brain be so...dense?
‘You’re not wearing a ring,’ he commented sharply. ‘Baby out of wedlock, Violet? Not what I would have expected, but then it’s very obvious that you’ve been keeping all sorts of things from me. I’m beginning to wonder whether I knew you at all! Naturally, you never gave anything away, but I thought I knew the kind of person you were. Hasn’t the man had the decency to propose to you, or has he done a runner?’
