Nick’s bemused expression morphed into a frown. “Karl?”
“Yes! Karl, my IT guy.” Kalilah answered impatiently.
“Your IT guy?” Nick questioned.
He was now standing with both hands on his hips looking at her like parent that just caught its child trying to steal cookies. She so didn’t have time for this.
“Yes! He’s the only one that ever shows up when I put in a service request. Are you a freaking parrot? Quit repeating me and find him!”
Nick appeared to be annoyed. Everything in his body language told her that he was somehow offended. He leaned forward and placed his hands on her desk.
“You are aware that you currently have the VP of IT in your office, right?”
Kalilah huffed and blew some of her hair out of her face. “So? I know quite a few people in the IT field and they all swear that their boss doesn’t know anything.”
Nick flushed. Was he angry? She considered that there might be something to his male PMS theory because he is one moody mofo.
“Well, unlike your friends’ bosses, I’M the head of IT for a reason. I teach my guys how to do their jobs. I have both extensive practical and hands-on experience.”
Kalilah shifted in her seat. He was annoying, but his passion was…sexy? Kalilah’s eyes roamed from the big hands splayed on her desk past his lightly haired arms to his heaving chest. She followed the tension in his neck to his clenched jaw and burning stare that made his eyes more brilliant than ever.
She fought the urge to be her usual sarcastic self and give him a slow clap like they did in all of the 80s movies. She glanced at her wall clock. Shit. She had ten minutes – each second that ticked on the clock started to sound like gunshots to her stressed out ears.
“Are you going to continue to recite your resume or are you going to help, Mr. Tech Guru?” The only indic
ation he gave to hearing her was a slight raise of his eyebrow.
Kalilah sighed and reached for her phone and started to call Lena, her assistant, so she could find Karl. A big warm hand wrapped around hers and took the phone out of her hand and hung it up. Her skin tingled where he’d made contact. She was fully aware the he was practically wrapped around her seated form.
Nick had both of his arms on each side of her with his head inches away from hers and deft fingers typed away on her keyboard. She began to wonder what else his fingers would be good at, and her lady parts started to tingle. She tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but his minty breath was warm air on her ear and neck. It was erotic.
Kalilah crossed and uncrossed her legs and tried not to fidget as he typed something in a black screen…aw hell, she didn’t know or care what he was doing when he smelled so damn good. She was in trouble. Nick was currently attacking some of her weaknesses. She loved when a man smelled good, and to her, there was nothing sexier than a man preforming in his element.
“Bingo!” Nick said and pulled her back into the present. “Here you go, ma’am, all fixed.” He was now standing next to her chair beaming with both of his dimples on full display.
Kalilah was so relieved and grateful that she forgot about their morning encounter. She jumped to her feet and gave him a big hug while chanting, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”
It took a moment for Kalilah to realize what she was doing. She should not be hugging her enemy. But, since she was there, she decided to get an extra sniff and squeeze before letting him go. Hey, it didn’t hurt to live a little. He was warm and cozy after all. She disengaged and hoped that he didn’t notice her hard nipples. What in the hell was wrong with her? It was time to get professional again. She now had five minutes before seeing the other Sinclair.
Nick was both relieved and disappointed when she let him go. Relieved because he was three seconds from having a full-blown erection. Disappointed because it felt right holding her soft, curvy body against his. He felt sad at the notion that something like that may never happen again. He took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes, and said what he should have said when he’d first arrived.
“Kalilah, I am sorry about this morning. I overreacted and was completely out of line. Can we start over?”
He could tell by the way Kalilah tucked her hair behind her ear and looked around her office that he’d caught her off guard. She ran her hands down the front of her dress and sat back in her chair. Nick watched her as she picked up a pen and tapped it on her desk while she considered her response. He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to stare at her profile; doubt started to shadow his hope. Nick couldn’t understand her hesitation. It wasn’t like he had confessed his undying love for her and asked her to elope. It was a simple apology.
“Kalilah. Are you ready?”
Nick could tell without looking at the door that the voice belonged to his dad. He could also detect the hint of surprise in his voice. The average person would not have caught it, but he was his dad after all and he knew his quirks. A quick glance in his direction confirmed his assessment. His dad gave him a curious glance before returning his attention back to Kalilah. Nick’s crushed hope turned into irritation when Kalilah flashed Andrew a brilliant, genuine smile that showcased her beautiful teeth.
“Yes. I will be in a moment. I had technical difficulties; hence, Nick’s presence.” She glanced in his direction her gaze not quite meeting his eyes. Yet, she managed to give his dad her full attention – big smile and all. “We’ll have this wrapped up in a minute, Andrew.”
Nick’s irritation transformed into full blown jealousy as he watched his impeccably dressed dad, probably in Armani from head to toe, stand taller and fix Kalilah with the Sinclair Grin.
“Sure, thing Lee. See you in five?”
Then he was off after shooting Nick a half salute. He guessed his dad didn’t have time to talk to his embarrassment of a child. Nick tried to control his breathing. He didn’t want to grow frustrated and turn red, the last thing he needed was for Kalilah to see him lose his cool twice in one day.
“Thank you for your help, Nick,” she said as she gathered her items and tried to head towards the door. Nick couldn’t help but feel disregarded, a feeling that was far too familiar when he was around his dad and brother. Here he was apologizing for jumping to conclusions, and Kalilah didn’t try to take the time to acknowledge his olive branch, yet his dad gets all the sunshine?