Manage My Heart (New Year New Me 2)

Is her voice huskier than usual? I want to pull her body flush to mine and feel her warmth. Instead, I drop my hands and step back as we reach the seventh floor, and the doors open just in time. I satisfy my need to touch her by placing a hand on the small of her back, guiding her from the car as I soak up her nearness. The line between us blurs in my brain daily, but I’ve always pulled back before I can make her uncomfortable. What I’m about to propose is going to make that a damn sight more complicated.

“What are we going to do?”

“I can’t spend this trip bringing the deal home and dodging his handsy daughter.” I sneer at the thought of her octopus-like groping at the Christmas party. She’d been all over me like a cheap suit. “I spent the entire night ducking and dodging her. I swear I get hives when I think about mistletoe now. She tried her damnedest to catch me under one.”

“She’s easy on the eyes. All blonde hair, blue eyes, tiny waist, and long legs, if I’m thinking about the right girl.”

“Not me.” I shake my head. After all these years, I’m still not desperate enough to sink this low to gain a client.

“Oh, we’re talking vows now?”

“Trust me, Alby wouldn’t settle for less than a ring on her finger.” I roll my eyes. “If Porter wants to go the extra mile to gain the title of owner or shareholder, he’s welcome to do so. She’s vapid, spoiled, self-centered, and not my type. Not to mention, I have no plans to relocate over here to run this new branch.”

“You have a type?” she asks.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You were going through women like a man at a smorgasbord, and as far as I can tell, the only thing they all had in common was their vag—”

“Adora,” I interrupt her. Seeing judgment fill her eyes makes my chest constrict. “I had to keep Alby off my back.”

“Wow, the boss man has been after you for that long?” she asks, eyes wide.

I nod. “All year. It’s part of how I knew retirement was near. He all but said as much to me.”

“Flattering.” She flinches.

I know I sound harsh, but it’s true. “When you don’t raise your child to be self-sufficient, I think you get what you deserve in the end.”

“And the gloves are off.” She places a hand on her chest. “I’m shocked.”

I shrug. “Truth hurts.” We stop in front of our doors. “I know this is a lot to ask.”

“And yet you’re going to do it anyway?” Leaning against her door, she crosses her ankles and studies me. She never gives me an inch, and I love it.

“I am. Be mine for the next week and a half.”

Something I can’t identify rolls across her eyes. “What would that consist of, West? ’Cause you’d need to make it worth my time. Especially with the King of Creep sniffing around me. And you expect me to fend off little Ms. Infatuated, too, I assume?”

I nod and step closer, placing my hand on the wall beside her head. I lean into her. “What do you want?”

Biting her lower lip, she peers up at me through her lashes.

“What did I tell you about that?” I pull her lip free. She has no clue why. I hate it because it makes me want to suck her juicy, bottom lip into my mouth.

“I don’t think you can handle what I want.”

The challenge in her voice pulls me closer. “Try me,” I whisper, mere inches from her lips.

“Treat me like it’s real.” Her voice is soft, but I hear it the same as if she shouted from the rooftop.

“What?”

“I want the experience of being Weston Roger’s girl.” She tilts her head up and smiles.

I tuck a curl behind her ear, tracing the curve that reminds me of an elf. “That’d be hard since I haven’t had a serious relationship since early in my college years.”

“Why?”