Carly whirled around. “Nothing. I was just welcoming Kay to headquarters.”
Kay looked at her in disbelief. Her voice had switched from furious to saccharine. Carly sashayed across the room toward Eli. “I’ll just go back to my desk. Let me know if you need anything.”
Kay blew out a breath and told herself to let it go. It wasn’t even worth mentioning to Eli. He’d probably assume she was taking it out of proportion or just being a typical jealous female. Men were so clueless about that kind of thing. She definitely wasn’t going to give the other woman the satisfaction of driving a wedge between them with her antics.
His past interactions with his assistant were clearly not being repeated, otherwise Carly wouldn’t feel so threatened by her. So there was that.
Tank appeared in the doorway. “Boss, can I talk to you?” His eyes landed on Kay briefly before they skittered away.
Right.
“I’ll just wait outside.” She took Hope and then left, pulling the door shut behind her. Eli smiled at her gratefully right before the door closed.
“Kicked out already?” Carly sneered.
She let out a long breath and hugged Hope closer to her side. She was way too tired for this nonsense. Of course, Carly looked perfect, slim and beautiful and she didn’t have bloodshot eyes from exhaustion. The world really wasn’t a fair place most of the time.
“Why do you stay? Working for your ex has to suck.”
Carly seemed shocked at her statement. “I don’t know. It’s a good job. I like my job. Or I used to anyway.”
“You could always get another job somewhere else.”
“Look, I’m not just being bitchy here. You seem nice enough and I’m trying to warn you. Don’t get too comfortable. As soon as he gets bored with the good-girl routine, he’ll come back where he can get what he really needs.”
“What does that mean?”
Carly’s eyes narrowed. “Have you slept in his room yet?”
Heat rose to Kay’s face as the other woman’s lips curled up in a satisfied smile. “I didn’t think so. Because you don’t look like the freaky type and there’s no way he’s getting what he needs from you.”
The door opened behind her and Kay whirled around. Tank and Eli emerged, still talking quietly. Kay looked back at Carly, who simply shrugged.
“Are you ready to go?” Eli asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Eli looked at her strangely but didn’t comment. “Well, let’s go then. There’s time for me to give you a quick tour.”
Kay followed and was extremely proud of herself for not looking back even once.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AS SOON AS they pulled into the garage, Kay unhooked her seatbelt. She could feel Eli’s eyes on her as she fumbled with the door, but he didn’t comment. He waited for her to get Hope out of the car and then held the door open for her.
Once they made it into the house, Eli entered first and disabled the alarm. As Kay got Hope settled in her play area, her mind swam with questions that had no answers. She should be thinking about what to make for dinner or enjoying a few stolen moments with Eli while the baby was distracted, except all she could think about was Carly’s words.
Have you slept in his room yet?
What was so special about his room? And how had Carly known that he hadn’t let her back there? As determined as she was not to let some bitter, jealous ex-girlfriend get to her, she couldn’t deny that her curiosity was now at a peak.
She had to get in that room.
“Would you mind keeping an eye on Hope? Just for a second while I use the bathroom.”
Eli nodded and stepped over the gate into the play area. “Of course. We’ll spend a little time building a tower with these ABC blocks. It’s never too early to start teaching her to read.”
Hope toddled over to him and he picked her up. She squealed as he swung her around and then sat with her settled in his lap. Once they were absorbed in what they were doing, Eli reciting the alphabet while Hope knocked over the blocks with destructive glee, Kay slipped down the hallway to the bedrooms.