“Yes.”
Fear and unease ran fast through my veins. It was tough to control. To steady. My first instinct was to fight. To reach out and hold on to what I could. To keep this glimmer of hope for a fresh start. And that glimmer was centered around the man before me.
“Just because we slept together doesn’t mean I can’t handle my job. I thought we left things just fine the other night. If you’re upset because of the way I . . . I took control, we can discuss that but you seemed to like it, and frankly I don’t see why you are demoting me or keeping me out of the loop unless it is your intention to drive me insane or fire me. In which case, I would regret what happened between us.”
He frowned, but I kept babbling, because all I could see was everything slipping from my hands and I had to stop the gaping wound that punctured my chest. What was even more disturbing was that this job and letter of recommendation weren’t the first thoughts in my mind. Leo was. Yes, losing my job now would be awful and it terrified me. But losing Leo? Having our time cut off, not getting to see him every day, it weighed down like a heavy boulder of sadness.
But he just stared. Not saying a word.
“And if you’re upset because of the flower stunt, I apologize again. You were right, I was jealous, and it won’t happen again. I didn’t realize you were looking for a wife and I assure you that I won’t—”
“Okay, let me stop you there,” he said. “While I’d love to watch you run your mouth and dig yourself a pretty little hole, I’m going to once agai
n clarify a few things to you.”
He walked around his desk and faced me. “The other night, you did take control and I did like it.” He picked up his coffee, the one I’d brought him. “But that wasn’t the night I was referring to. I’m changing your job description based on what I saw the night at the gala.”
I frowned in confusion and my stomach hummed. No man, no boss, had ever made me feel so on edge. Maybe it was because while I had felt what it was like to have something to lose, it was never on this scale. Somehow, this job and Leo had morphed into something I wanted to hang on to. Not that I would admit that out loud.
He took a sip of the coffee and winced. “You make a terrible cup of coffee, Miss Levine. You know what that tells me?”
Fear lit my face. I opened my mouth to reply, attempt to save my ass and fire off reasons I was good at my job, but he beat me to it.
“It tells me you’re not meant to be a coffee runner. You have more to offer.”
“What?”
“Harris called and set up a meeting for later this month. He wants to discuss more investing opportunities with Savas Shipping. That is because of you and what you said to Harris at the gala.”
Leo smiled and I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of hope. It was a dangerous thing to have. I was never one to possess much of it. I left the sunshine and good will to Amy. But Leo had a way of making me feel seen. Powerful. In more ways than one.
“In a short time, you showed me that this job and my shipping company means something to you. I’m going to be trusting you with more responsibility.”
The urge to hug him was overwhelming. I wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him. Thank him. Devour him. He trusted me. It was a feeling I wasn’t familiar with, but it felt . . . good. Too good. So good I wanted to latch on to it. Wanted more. But that good feeling wasn’t logical.
I took a step toward him, then paused. I was on the brink of getting caught up again. While I was happy about his confidence in me, it didn’t change who I was deep down: temporary.
“Now that that’s out of the way,” he said, his tone a little gruffer. “What do you know about my looking for a wife?”
I kept his stare but took a few seconds to consider my thoughts. I didn’t think Kyros would tell me something confidential since he never had before, but Leo obviously didn’t look pleased that I knew the truth about the list. I didn’t want to create strain between him and Kyros, so I stuck with the simple truth.
“All I’m aware of is that you are taking dating very seriously.”
“And how did you come to know this?”
“You handed me a list of women, Leo.”
“That’s not an answer to my question, Paige.” He took another step toward me. “Because when I handed you that list, you looked pissed. Now you’re ready to help me find a bride?”
“Yes.” It was better to cut emotional ties with Leo now. After talking with Kyros and realizing the kind of woman Leo could—should—have on his arm, I knew I couldn’t give him what he wanted. Besides, temporary seemed to be my middle name. The least I could do was help him find what he did want.
“I’m going to need a little more detail to explain that jump there.”
I wasn’t about to go into my personal revelation that I was the wrong girl for Leo. So I stuck with, “I was recently made aware of certain . . . circumstances.”
“So Kyros talked to you.”
I kept my face still but Leo obviously knew the answer already. “It was mentioned in passing. To be honest, it helped your case. Here I thought you were just a jackass with a list of women ready to amuse you.”