Chase was on the phone when I walked in, but he didn’t need to say anything to me to reveal what he was thinking. His eyes followed my every step. Even though he didn’t move, I felt like prey being hunted.
My nipples hardened. What an extraordinary talent for a man to have—the ability to incite with only a look.
I walked to the concealed control panel and pressed the button to sheath the glass with the electronic blinds. Chase’s eyes blazed as he continued his conversation, his voice growing thicker and deeper as the blinds moved across their track, each inch blocking out more of the outside world. When I shut and locked the door, he rushed whoever was on the line off the phone.
Call ended, I took slow, deliberate steps toward his desk, one heel-clad foot in front of the other. Just as I reached the corner, there were two quick raps on the door, and someone attempted to open it.
I looked to Chase. Neither of us said a word, both hoping whoever was on other side of the door would disappear.
“Chase?” Samantha called as she knocked a second time.
No such luck.
He dropped his head and groaned before getting up. “Don’t move. I’ll get rid of her.”
That task didn’t prove as easy as he’d thought. Chase opened the door, but attempted to block the entrance to his office. That only made Sam more interested in what was inside.
“What are you doing in there?”
“Working.”
“Are you alone?”
“None of your business.”
She ducked under Chase’s arm and saw me inside.
Chase’s voice indicated that his patience was wearing thin. “What did you need, Sam?”
“I was going to see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat tonight instead of tomorrow night.”
“I have plans tonight.”
“With Reese?”
He hesitated, and Sam decided his response for him.
“That’s what I thought. I’ll join you. How about six?”
Chase grumbled something and let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine.”
Shutting the door, he turned back to me, shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”
I tried not to look panicked. “She knows. What are we going to say?”
He was suddenly serious as he gazed into my eyes. “You tell me.”
Chapter 27
Reese
I had no idea what I was going to say if Samantha asked point blank.
We were meeting her at the restaurant, a small Italian place a few blocks from the office that I’d never been to before. Clearly Chase had. The manager, Benito, greeted him by name and showed us to “Chase’s special romantica table.” It was in the back, in a dark corner by a large, rustic brick fireplace.
Chase pulled out my chair.
“I take it you’ve been here before.”
He sat while the busboy set up a third place setting. We were a few minutes early, and Samantha hadn’t arrived yet.
“Sam loves this place. Pretty sure Benito thinks we’re a couple. She likes to sit by the fireplace.”
I was quiet, and I’m certain doubt registered on my face.
Chase sat back in his chair. “She’s my friend. And there’s not much she can do about it if she doesn’t like it anyway.”
I frowned. “It’s so much easier for you.”
He leaned in. “Is that what you think?”
“You’re the boss. No one is going to look at you differently or think your ideas were accepted because of who you slept with.”
“I get that. I can even understand it. So if you decide you’d rather keep things between us secret, I’ll accept that.” Chase edged closer. “But don’t think this is easy for me. You’re the first woman who’s been anything more to me than a casual f—”
He caught himself, stopping short of painting the visual he’d been about to throw out. “Anything more than a casual relationship in seven years. And we’re sitting down at a restaurant, about to have dinner with my dead ex-fiancée’s best friend, who is also the vice president of human resources for the company I own. A company where I entrust her to write policies such as the no fucking in the office policy I want to violate every goddamn time I look at you.”
Chase looked away. I stared at him. It had never occurred to me how difficult it would be for him to come clean with Samantha. For me, it was a job and stupid mistakes from my past that formed my fears. For him, it was so much more. He just made everything seem so easy to do. God, sometimes I was a giant, selfish idiot.
Before I could apologize and clear the air that hung heavy between us, Samantha was at our table. Chase stood until she sat.
“Nice to see you, Reese.” Her face was friendly and warm when she greeted me.
“You too.”
The waiter quickly appeared to take our drink orders. Samantha glanced at the wine list and asked some questions about their selections. I looked from her to Chase and was caught in his troubled gaze. He looked hurt, angry, and deflated. And I hated that I’d made him feel that way.