Counting the Days (Counting the Billions 1)

Erin shook her head. “I doubt Abby was complaining,” she said. “I’ve seen the way that she looks at you. She’s into you. It’s clear as day.” She paused. “Actually, I’m surprised that it’s taken the two of you this long to kiss, what with all those late nights that she’s been here keeping you company for.”

I felt my ears burn, but I tried to stay focused. Even if Abby was interested in me, even if I was reading too much into the way she had run out of there, it wasn’t like we could do anything about it. “I’m her boss,” I reminded my assistant.

Erin rolled her eyes. “So keep your guys’ personal life separate from business time,” she said simply. “And I don’t know, maybe talk to HR about it? But there’s nothing in my contract that says I can’t sleep with you.” She paused, blushing bright pink. “Not that I ever wanted to—it’s just that my dad pointed that out to me.”

I snorted, but I was already distracted, thinking about what she had said. Keep our personal life separate from business time? Would Abby be okay with that? In those meetings, I would still have to treat her like everyone else.

I suddenly realized that I wasn’t so worried about if Abby was okay with that. No, I was wondering whether it was even possible for me to treat her just like anyone else. Not only that, but with the way that she had darted out of there after a kiss, I had to wonder what she was thinking. Maybe I was doing things all wrong with her.

For all my experience with women, I had never had any experiences with anyone even remotely like Abby. I found myself feeling like I was in uncharted w

aters with her.

My eyes swung back to Erin’s. She was smiling again, like she found all of this amusing. “Don’t spread this around,” I said gruffly, and she looked affronted.

“Of course not,” she said.

I chewed on my lower lip for a moment. “What do I do now?” I asked her. She was a woman herself, and I could tell that she and Abby got along very well already, despite the fact that Abby was still new to her role with the company. Maybe Erin would have some insights for me.

Erin grinned wickedly at me, though. “I think maybe you should talk to your advisor if you want advice,” she said.

I had to laugh at that. I shook my head. “I think that would be a conflict of interest,” I told her. “I’m just worried about her. She said she needed the day off so that she could collect herself. Maybe she thinks all of this was a mistake. I am her boss, after all. Maybe she thinks I’m going to fire her or something, just to get my way.”

Erin shrugged one shoulder. “It’s your company,” she reminded me. “If you wanted to, you could fire her. But I don’t think Abby would have kissed you back if she thought that you were a terrible guy who would fire a woman because you kissed her.” She frowned. “She did kiss you back, didn’t she?”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t keep the fond smile off my face. I never really hung out with the people I worked with, but I had to admit, every time Erin and I chatted, I realized that she must be a lot of fun outside of work too. Quick-witted and humorous. Caring.

But she had nothing on Abby.

“Get out of here, I have some things I want to look over before I go into my meetings,” I told Erin now, waving my hands at her. “I’m not giving you more information to gossip around the company.”

Erin widened her eyes innocently, putting a hand over her chest. “I already told you that I’d keep this quiet,” she reminded me. But she was giggling.

I shook my head and forced myself to turn my attention to the papers on my desk. That only made my thoughts swing even more sharply back to Abby. It was as though I was already so used to her presence at my side that the lack of it was disconcerting. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about her?

And more importantly, what was I going to do about it?

Suppose that Erin was right. Maybe Abby really was into me. Maybe she hadn’t fled the office because she was appalled by the fact that we had kissed. Maybe she had fled because she was afraid that it would develop into something more. Maybe she thought I was going to push her.

She didn’t strike me as a one-night-stand kind of girl. She probably wouldn’t appreciate how badly I wanted to ravish her right here, to lay claim to her in every way, to sit her up on my desk and press myself into her in the most intimate of ways. At least, not yet. She deserved more than that.

But what about me? What did I want, and what did I deserve? Was this just about sex? Or was there something more to Abby that made me want something different than what I normally wanted from the women I met?

I already knew the answer to that question, I realized with a sinking feeling to my heart. If I didn’t care about her as something more than just a one-night stand, then I wouldn’t be so worried about her right now. I didn’t know the first thing about her; I didn’t know where she might have gone off to if she was upset. And that bothered me, even more than I wanted to admit.

Even if all Abby wanted was a one-night stand, I suddenly realized that that wasn’t what I wanted. Not with her. So I had to fix things with her. But I didn’t know how.

I just hoped I could figure all of it out before it was too late and I really messed things up with her.

I glanced at my watch and swore when I saw how late it already was. This morning’s drama had apparently taken longer than I had realized. The shareholders I was due to meet with first were probably already in the conference room waiting for me. And for Abby.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, wishing my advisor was there by my side. Then, I forced a smile on my face and headed out to meet all of them.

For the first time ever since I had taken over this company, the work I did here felt hollow, less important than something else in my life. I wasn’t ready to examine that too closely, though. Not just yet. I pushed those thoughts away and tried to concentrate on the meeting.

Chapter 16

Abby