It was a small mercy she was grateful for.
Reaching into her bag, she grabbed her Dover ID in case she needed it—even just a few floors up, staff was required to use their ID. She walked down the hall towards the elevator.
Getting out of her tiny cubicle was exactly what she needed to get her mind off Simon. She hadn’t heard from him all week. Hadn’t even so much as glimpsed him. Which was fine with her. Sort of. At least, she kept telling herself it was fine. After her humiliating meeting with the board, she didn’t want him around to see her struggle to keep her head above water. He had made it abundantly clear how pathetic he thought she was. Even with his attempt at an apology, his harsh opinion of her still stung. Having him around now would just give him more ammo.
She pressed the button for the elevator and a few moments later the doors slid open. From inside the elevator, Simon spotted her and frowned.
Oh shit.
She stood, unsure what to do. Why did he have to be the one in the elevator? There was nobody else inside, so she couldn’t very well pretend like the elevator was too crowded to get inside.
“You going up?” A single eyebrow arched on his handsome face.
With her heart hammering so hard she was sure she could hear it Heather ducked into the elevator, keeping her eyes on the floor. “Hello,” she said, so softly she doubted he could hear her.
The elevator doors closed with a loud ding, making her almost leap ten feet into the air in panic. Desperate to get out of this claustrophobic space, she reached down to press the button for her floor.
Simon’s huge hand reached down at the exact same moment and his fingers brushed lightly over hers. The slight touch was like a jolt straight to her fragile heart. It awakened something she had been trying to put to sleep for days.
Her breath caught in her chest and she quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been burned.
If he had also felt a jolt, Simon didn’t show it. He lowered his head, his piercing gaze searching hers. “What floor are you headed to?”
“Tenth,” she forced out, barely able to breathe.
“Okay, your floor first then.” His deep, seductive voice poured over her. Warmed her. Brought her back to life.
“That’s okay.” She blushed, absently tapping her foot in apprehension to her unsettling reaction to him. “You got in here before me. I’ll wait for you to get out on your floor.” Had she really just said that? She just offered to ride the elevator to his floor and then go to her own? How stupid! How Simon hadn’t burst out laughing was beyond her.
“Never mind that,” he said with a shake of his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes. He looked so breathtakingly sexy she had to force herself to look away.
He pressed the button for the 10th floor and she swallowed her protest.
They stood side by side in awkward silence, his frame towering over her. His masculine cologne turned her insides to jelly, the familiar scent reminding her of all the time they had spent together. After all these years as friends, then as lovers, they were now down to a few awkwardly exchanged words.
Where had it all gone so wrong? Was Linda right? Should she have been more upfront about her previous employers’ attempt to use her? Maybe that level of honesty would have made him trust her even when the worst had come.
The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. Her floor. She rushed out of there, desperate to get away from him before the tension became unbearable.
The moment she was out, something made her turn around to glance back at him. Heather didn’t know why she did it, but it was as if her body wouldn’t let her walk away from him.
Their eyes met and he opened that harsh, sensuous mouth of his, but no words came out. Instead he just looked at her, shook his head, and the elevator doors slid closed.
AFTER SHE RETRIEVED the mockups from the printer she headed back to her office, her body rigid with anxiety the entire way back. She doubted she’d be unlucky enough to bump into Simon again, but that didn’t stop her heart from pounding like she expected to see him just around the corner.
She got back into her office and grabbed the remote for the air conditioning. Sweat was forming on her brow, as if the temperature in her office had climbed five degrees in her absence.