Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

“A laudable point. And very true. But I didn’t feel violated or uncomfortable. It wasn’t intentional. I know that.”

“As long as you don’t think…”

Ty raised an eyebrow when Vicki’s voice tapered off. He took another sip of his terrible coffee while waiting for her to complete the sentence. When she clamped her mouth shut and didn’t continue, he couldn’t resist prompting her. “Don’t think what?”

“That I-that I think of you like that. And…oh, God, I now realize that me asking if you were in a relationship—in the light of this, uh, revelation—may have cultivated the wrong idea. It was nothing like that. I’m truly sorry, Ty.”

“Apology accepted,” he said with an easy shrug, and she sank back in relief, pushing that curl from her eyes again. He set aside his coffee mug, folded his arms over his chest, and stared at her for a moment, before asking—completely against his better judgment, “Why did you want to know about my relationship status?”

She stacked her hands on top of the desk. “I was curious. You know everything about me. I mean, you know the intimate minutiae of my everyday life. How I take my coffee, when I go to bed, when I get up, who my friends are, what they do. You know what I do for fun. My favorite food. You know more about me than most people do and I wanted to, I don’t know…level the playing field a bit maybe?”

He rubbed a hand over his jaw and contemplated her for a moment.

“The things I know about you are necessary for me to effectively do my job.”

“I know but they’re still personal. Little slices of me that usually take others weeks, months, sometimes even years, to discover.”

“There is nothing to be gained from you knowing more about me.”

“Because I’m your job? And you would prefer none of your personal life to seep into your work space?”

Damn it, there was that shimmer in her lovely eyes again. But she was correct. He did not want any semblance of Tyler Chambers, the man, to intrude into this part of his life. He had to remain impersonal in order to maintain the high level of professionalism he took such pride in.

She was not a friend. She could never be a friend. Friendships meant personal investment. And that was dangerous. Ty had seen people get sloppy when friends or loved ones were in potential danger.

“I understand.” Her words were whispered into the strained silence. She offered him a small, insincere smile, and returned her attention to her paperwork. “Well, I’d better get this done, or we’ll never get out of here tonight.”

“You still want company?”

She looked at him over the top of her glasses, and nodded after only the smallest of hesitations. “Please.”

Considering the conversation they’d just had, he’d honestly expected her to say no. His teeth raked his bottom lip, and the movement drew her gaze. Her stare sharpened, grew heated…A low simmering burn, just enough to make Ty a little hot under the collar.

He cleared his throat and broke the spell. She blinked, flushed, and diverted her attention to her work.

But Ty found himself inexplicably tempted to draw that gaze once more.

He shook his head, annoyed with himself, and quietly took one of the seats across from her.

She slanted him a grateful—somewhat distracted—smile, and Ty nodded before settling back to watch her work.

“Hey,” Vicki greeted wearily as she trudged into the living room, and fell into a graceless heap on the plush sofa next to Hugh.

He gave her a concerned sidelong glance, and offered her some popcorn from the bowl perched on his lap. Vicki grabbed a handful, and kicked off her shoes to curl her feet under her bum.

“You look knackered.”

“Hmm.” She really couldn’t be bothered to talk right now.

“Rough day?”

“I fired Cassie.”

“Why?”

“Her mother died.” Her heavy head dropped onto the back of the sofa, and she stared sightlessly at the explosive action taking place on the massive wall-mounted TV above the fireplace. She sensed Hugh turning toward her.

“Her mum died, and you fired her? What?”

“No.” Vicki smothered a yawn. She didn’t want to rehash everything that had happened with Cassie. But her brothers could be annoyingly dogged at times, and she knew that Hugh was going to push the matter if she didn’t elaborate. “She’s been using her mum as an excuse for tardiness and absence since she started working for me. But it seems her mother died long before Cassie started working at Bloomin’ Paradise.”

“You’re joking?”

“Not even a little.” Vicki yawned again. “Not the best time to lose an employee.”

“Yes, but way past time to fire her.”

“Yes.”

“So how did you catch her in the lie?”

“Ty…ler.” Best not to have Hugh question her about the nickname as well. Talking about firing Cassie was bad enough but discussing Ty was definitely not on the cards. Not when she was so tired. Her brother could ferret out most of her secrets at the best of times—he would have her confessing to groping Tyler in no time. “Seems he’s known about it since he started.”