“You sure about that?”
No. “Pretty sure. ”
“I don’t think you are. ”
I fake boredom that I’m far from feeling at this point. “Oh, yeah? What makes you say that?”
He reaches over, runs his fingers lightly over the hollow of my throat. “I can see your pulse right here. It’s beating fast. That’s a big sign that someone isn’t telling the truth. ”
“Don’t get too excited. ” I force the words past a suddenly tight throat. His hand on my skin is strangely soothing and also incredibly exciting. I want to lean into him, to arch my neck and press against that hand in encouragement. Not that I have any intention of letting him know what he does to me. “I’m just nervous. ”
It’s the wrong thing to say. I know it as soon as the words slip past my lips. His eyes take on a wicked gleam that only makes my pulse beat faster.
“Do I make you nervous, Chloe?”
“You’re my boss. Of course talking to you makes me nervous. ”
Ethan doesn’t like that. I can see it in his eyes and in the way his jaw clenches. He doesn’t take his hand away, but his fingers stop their gentle, rhythmic stroking. I miss it immediately, feel bereft, though I don’t know why.
“Why do you always have to do that?” he demands.
“Do what?” If he doesn’t take his hand away soon, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions. Like leaping on him and demanding that he touch me all over. Only the knowledge that I would regret it—greatly—keeps me seated with my legs primly crossed.
Well, that and the fact that I’ll probably freeze up the second he touches me, really touches me. I’m not that woman, the one who can throw caution to the wind and just enjoy wherever the ride takes her. Not when it means giving up control. And certainly not when it means yielding to a man who could hurt me as easily as pleasure me. I did that once and look what it got me.
“Why do you have to bring everything back to the fact that I’m your employer?”
“Because you are. The power dynamics at work here are a pretty big issue whether you want to admit it or not. ”
He drops his hand, sits back abruptly. Which is exactly what I want him to do. So why do I suddenly feel even more lost than usual?
Chapter Six
“Have I misunderstood?” he asks after a moment, a truly horrified look on his face. “Am I overstepping my boundaries?”
“Well, duh. I thought I made that clear earlier. ”
For a second he looks a little sick, very different from the confident man I’ve seen up until this point. But then his face closes up and all I get is blankness when he says, “I’m sorry. I thought I made it clear earlier that your internship is completely safe. No matter what happens or doesn’t happen between us, you’ll never have anything to worry about on that front. ”
“Jesus, Ethan, I didn’t say I thought you were sexually harassing me. I said that you’d overstepped your bounds when you went to my boss and gave me the best assignment. I don’t need your favors. Especially when they end up causing me nothing but grief. ”
Though his face doesn’t change and he’s no longer touching me, I can feel the tension slowly leak from him. “You’re wrong about why you got that assignment, you know. ”
“Oh, really? So you’re saying I got it on my merits?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. ” He meets my disbelieving gaze levelly. “I told you, I read your file last night. I was incredibly impressed, not just with your grades but with the paper you submitted with your application. On intellectual property. ”
“I know the one. ” Suddenly my heart is beating hard for a whole different reason.
“I was fascinated. The argument you made was original, well researched, and well thought out, and also happens to be exactly what I believe about those cases and that particular issue. ”
I stare at him. “It’s not a popular stand. In fact, I nearly didn’t submit that paper at all because I was afraid it would work against me. ”
“But you did submit it. And while your opinion varies even from that of my chief counsel, it dovetails nicely with my own. If I hadn’t met you, I might not have given you the Trifecta merger based solely on the merits of that paper, but I would have seriously considered it. Having met you and been impressed by both your intellect and your spirit, it was a no-brainer. I’d decided to request that you do the research for the merger even before I saw you this morning. ”
I stare at him, trying to judge his level of sincerity. He certainly looks like he’s telling the truth, but that doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. CEOs for Dummies and all that—I’m sure he’s an expert liar when he wants to be.
But I want to believe him, so badly that it’s a burning in my gut. Because if what he’s saying is true, if he believes in me because of my brain and not just because of how I look, then I don’t want to give up this project. I want to grab on to it with both hands and show him—show everyone—just what I can do. Maybe that’s arrogant, but I don’t give a damn.