Page 8 of Fiona
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FIONA
The following day, I should be concentrating on my work, but it’s hard when I can’t get Michael out of my head. Michelle nearly tore me a new one when I called her on the ride home from Michael’s place and told her about how I chickened out at the last moment and left him standing there, staring after me looking so confused.
I don’t blame him. I ran hot and then cold on him without explanation. He’s never going to be able to look at me again and not think the words crazy chick. Not that I’m ever going to see him again. We never exchanged numbers, our only way of communicating is through the app on Michelle’s phone. It’s probably better this way, the temptation won’t be there to call him.
“Fi, do you have the Q4 SMP reports for last year?” My boss, Theresa yells from her office next door to mine.
“Hang on, let me check!” I call back, lifting up piles of papers on my desk looking for the red binder with all of last year’s SMP reports inside it. “It was just here.”
I get up to check and see if I left it by the printer this morning. I’ve been tasked with making copies of everything for the new owner to look over when comes into town tomorrow.
The sound of a dog barking makes me stop in my tracks and I turn just in time to have Denny jump up on his hind legs to try and hug me.
“Denny? What are you doing here?”
He barks his greeting, but I’m too distracted by the familiar deep voice coming down the hallway. My brain tells my legs to run for the safety of my office, but my heart somehow overrides all my motor functions.
I glance up just time to see Michael as he turns the corner, dressed in a suit that’s cut to fit his tone body perfectly. He stops when he sees me standing there with Denny’s front paws perched on my hip. The president of the company, Mr. Phillips, bumps into him, not realizing that he’s stopped without warning.
“Mr. Donahue, I’d like you to meet one of our more promising junior associates, Fiona Taylor.”
Michael blinks a few times in surprise like he doesn’t quite understand why he’s seeing me standing in front of him either. But then he recovers, and a wall that wasn’t around him last night, appears in his guarded expression.
“Miss Taylor, it’s nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand to me.
I look down at it and then back up at him. “It’s, um, nice to meet you too.”
His hand encircles mine and I can’t only be me that feels the spark between us. But if he does, he’s not showing it.
Regret riddled me all morning about how I ended things last night. And now that I’m face to face with him, it’s like a pile of bricks have been dumped on my head.
“Fiona, Mr. Donahue wanted to begin looking over all the paperwork you’ve collected and put together for him.”
I glance over my shoulder into my office at the piles of unorganized documents I’ve been putting together for his arrival.Tomorrow.
“You’re early,” I blurt out.
“I know. My previous plans fell through—” he stares pointedly at me. “So I thought I’d get a head start on the work.”
“I’d love to hand everything over to you but since I’m still in the process of gathering everything up.” I purposefully don’t look at Mr. Phillips or Theresa. “I take it home tonight and get it to you first thing.”
Michael turns to Mr. Donahue, who’s frown was just aimed towards me quickly turns into a smile. “I’m sure you can understand that we’ve been working tirelessly to get things ready for your arrival.”
Michael waves his comment off. “It’s not a problem. But since it looks like Fiona’s been working so hard to get everything prepared, maybe I can take her to lunch as a thank you. If that’s alright with you, of course.”
“That’s fine with me,” he says.
Michael turns to me expectantly. “Do you want to grab some lunch?” His tone hides any sign that there was anything more between us.
I want to say yes, but when I open my mouth a lie just slips out.
“I can’t, I have plans to meet up with my sister.”
“Dinner then?”
Theresa nudges me with her elbow and Mr. Phillips glares at me over Michael’s shoulder, letting me know I don’t have a say in the matter.
“Sure,” I say.
I’m not sure if I should be freaked out or excited over this new development. I decide to take a page out of Cherry’s book and think of this a second chance. If he’s able to shut off all signs that he might have felt something for me last night, then I can too. Although the fact that Michael is now my boss’s, boss’s boss does make the ethical line a bit blurry, but Cherry would let that stop her and neither will I.
