Her Festive Baby Bombshell

Caruso smiled at her. “You’re a real go-getter. I can see why Finn scooped you up. You must make his life so easy at the office.”

“Actually, he and I, well, we don’t normally work together.”

“Really?” Caruso turned to Finn. “What’s wrong with you? How could you let this bright young lady get away from you?”

Finn kept a stony expression, not wanting any of them to get a hint that there was far more to this relationship than either of them was letting on. “I already had a fully capable assistant by the time Holly was hired. She normally works in the legal department, but with my assistant eloping, Holly agreed to fill in.”

“And she’s done an excellent job with her research.” Caruso turned a smile to Holly.

“Yes, she has,” Mr. McMurray agreed. “It isn’t exactly the most straightforward option, but it definitely deserves further investigation.”

Finn was proud that she’d taken the initiative, but he was not expecting the next words out of his mouth. “And we need to give her presentation some serious consideration.”

“Agreed.” The word echoed around the table.

Holly’s hesitant smile broadened into a full-fledged smile that lit up her eyes. “Thank you all for listening to me.” Her cloaked gaze met Finn’s. “I have work to do. I’ll be in my cabin should you need me.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

WHAT HAD SHE been thinking?

Holly paced in her cabin, going over the meeting in her mind—more specifically the deepening frown on Finn’s face as she’d presented her idea to distribute the gifts. Why had she even bothered? It wasn’t like it was part of her job duties—far from it. But there was something about Project Santa that drew her in. She’d wanted to help.

And now she’d made a mess of things. Having Finn upset with her would not help her get the personal recommendation she needed to land the new job and get her the big pay increase she needed to secure her mother’s early retirement.

She should have kept the ideas to herself. When would she ever learn? When it came to Finn, she found herself acting first and thinking later. Just like that kiss in his cabin. If they hadn’t been interrupted, she knew there would have been no stopping them. Her logic and sanity had gotten lost in the steamy heat of the moment.

Going forward, she would be the perfect employee and that included keeping her hands to herself. She glanced down, realizing she’d been wringing her hands together. She groaned.

She knew Finn was going to shoot down her proposal. His disapproval had been written all over his face. She didn’t understand his reaction. It wasn’t like he had a better suggestion. No matter what Finn said, she still believed in her grass-roots approach.

Knock-knock.

For a moment she considered ignoring it. She wasn’t in any state of mind to deal with Finn. She didn’t think it was possible to paste on a smile right now and act like the perfect, obedient assistant. And that would be detrimental to her ultimate goal—leaving Lockwood—leaving Finn.

Knock-knock.

“Holly, I know you’re in there. We need to talk.” Finn’s tone was cool and restrained.

She hesitated. He was obviously not happy with her. And on this yacht, even though it was quite spacious, she wouldn’t be able to avoid him for long. So she might as well get it over with.

She took a calming breath, choking down her frustration. On wooden legs, she moved toward the door. Her stomach felt as though a rock had settled in the bottom of it. You can do this.

She swung the door open. “Can I do something for you?”

“Yes. I need an explanation of what happened at the meeting.” He strode past her and stopped in the middle of the room.

Was it that he didn’t like her idea? Or was he upset that it had been her idea and not his? She’d heard rumors that he was a bit of a control freak.

She swallowed hard. “I presented an idea I thought would save Project Santa. What else is there to explain?”

“When did you have time to come up with this idea?”

“Last night when you were playing cards.”

His gaze narrowed in on her. “You should have brought it to my attention before making the presentation.” His voice rumbled as he spoke. “We should have gone over it together. I’m not accustomed to having employees take the lead on one of my projects without consulting me.”