Page 22 of Ten Rules for Faking It
“I don’t want to fire you. You’re excellent at your job,” Chris said.
Everly blinked rapidly and then looked down at the table, shuffled the papers together. “That’s nice of you to say.”
Chris’s hand covered Everly’s, and that flicker she’d felt earlier when just their knees touched seemed more like a flash fire when he left it there. No shields now. His gaze captivated her with its sharp focus, like he wanted to seedeeper.More clearly. Or maybe he wanted her to be the one who looked a little further.
“I’m not in the habit of saying things to be nice. It’s true, Everly. If I’ve made you feel otherwise, I apologize.”
Pulling her hand from under his in hopes of settling the rapid pace of her pulse, she tapped the papers against the table, straightening them. “Thank you. I’m going to take these by my folks’. My father is a lawyer. I’ll have him review them and get them back to you tomorrow.”
Chris leaned back in his own chair, crossed one leg over the other knee. “A lawyer. Hmm. What type?”
Everly smirked. “Divorce. It’ll come in handy one day if my mom and dad ever decide they’ve had enough of threatening to leave each other for good.”
His lips tilted downward, but instead of making an offhand comment about how weird that was, a response she often got, he shook his head. “That sounds hard on you.”
Her fingers flexed on the papers. Most people didn’t get that itwashard on her. “It’s not like I’m a kid anymore.”
He watched her carefully. “No. You’re not. But our parents’ behavior can impact us as adults more than we expect.”
It felt unsettling that he’d somehow said the exact right thing.
Chris stood up as she did. He pushed both hands into the pockets of his suit pants. He hadn’t put his jacket or tie back on, and the somewhat relaxed state was disarming. Healmostseemed normal. “My father is on his sixth engagement.”
Everly’s jaw dropped. “Wow. That’s a lot of diamond rings.”
This time, it was his lips that curled into a smirk. A sexy I’ll-see-your-crazy-parents-and-raise-you one. “Yeah. That about covers it. He’s only gone through with it three times. Not sure he’ll actually marry this one, but she’s closer to his age this time.”
“Does he live here in LA?” Questions popped into her busy brain. Did he like any of the stepmothers? How old was he when his parents divorced? Was a clean break and moving on better, from a kid’s perspective, than constantly reuniting? She worked with this man every day and hardly knew anything about him.
“No. He’s in New York. Most of my family is.”
“Are you close with your mom?”
The smile, which made the curve of his cheeks and one, small dimple pop, was genuine and warm. It made Everly’s insides dance with an unfamiliar feeling.
“We talk often. She likes to travel and prefers tropical islands.”
“Can’t say I blame her.” She glanced at the time. If she left for her parents’ house now, she might catch them at dinnertimeand swing a meal out of it. When things were good between them, she made it a point to visit. It didn’t eliminate the guilt of avoiding them when they were separated, but it gave them less ammunition to say they never saw her. Maybe one day, they’d make the connection between the state of their marriage and her visits. Her stomach rumbled loudly.
Chris’s laughter made her cheeks heat, and when he arched a brow and stared at her stomach, she covered it with her hand in response. Like somehow that would hide that the sandwich she’d eaten for lunch wasn’t enough.
“Let me buy you dinner,” he said.
Everly’s breath twisted in her chest, coming out sharply. The words hung between them as she looked up into his dark eyes.
Chris ran one hand through his hair. “We’ve been going over this for hours. No harm finishing up while feeding you, right? It seems like the least I can do.”
The least he could do because… what? He felt guilty? She wasn’t sure, but she also wasn’t sure about being alone with him any more while her heart felt unsettled. It was as if there were an invisible danger sign flashing in the back of her mind. His quiet offer and the way his smile confused her should come with a warning:This is not the Chris for you.
She shouldn’t even need that reminder. The adrenaline of the day must be wearing off for her thoughts to be so scattered. Most people didn’t understand the amount of energy it took to be inside of her own head. She wore herself out sometimes. “Actually, I should get these papers over to my dad. Then we’ll be able to sign off tomorrow and start promotion.”
When he didn’t argue, it was easy to believe he’d only asked out of obligation. “Besides, you’ll be paying for enough of my dinners starting soon. You should probably save your boss some money. You don’t even know yet if he’ll sign off on this.”
He nodded, lookingalmostdisappointed.As if. Why would he be?She shook off the feeling as he stepped aside and gestured to the door. “Let me worry about that. Pitched properly, there’s no reason for this not to fly.” His tone wasn’t brusque, but it didn’t have the easy cadence they’d found in the last couple of hours.
You always do this. You make things awkward.Everly tightened her grip on her bag, unsure what she’d said that shifted the atmosphere between them. She’d spend a good portion of her evening replaying everything she’d said, trying to figure it out, though.
His reserved mask slowly slipped back into place. He walked behind his desk, looked down at his calendar.
