‘Calm down.’ Pam popped her head into Jared’s office and added in a lower but no less aggravated voice, ‘You’re frightening Mimi, not to mention little Angus there.’
He looked down at the bundle of black and white fur in the basket. Angus whimpered while two black eyes stared up at him. He didn’t approve of dogs in the office, but this afternoon it had been unavoidable.
‘It’s okay, boy. Go back to your puppy-dog dreams. Liss’ll be here to pick you up any minute now.’ And didn’t the mutt look spiffy with his new doggy trim and shampoo?
Shaking her head, Pam watched him like an exasperated parent complaining over her unruly child. ‘I left a hard copy on your desk on Monday afternoon.’
Jared ran his hands down his cheeks and muttered, ‘Where the hell is it now, then?’ When Pam popped back out again, he muttered some more choice phrases she wouldn’t want to hear.
He stared at his desk. Or what he could see of it. He’d sort it tonight when Pam went home. It would give him something to do. He leaned back in his chair and scowled.
Maybe he wouldn’t sort it at all. He should take Angus for a walk on the beach. He’d left the little guy with Melissa too many times to count and it wasn’t fair on the dog. Or Liss—she wasn’t supposed to have pets in her apartment and was growing tired of splitting her time between her new home and his.
Sophie’s idea wasn’t working.
Sophie.
It had been over three weeks since she’d left. Three fiercely frustrating weeks where he lay in bed at night and remembered how Sophie had looked on their last evening together. How she’d felt beside him—smooth and sexy and silky.
Three long lean weeks where he didn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. Where he clocked up a ridiculous number of hours in the office and still his workload increased—no surprise there because his efficiency was decreasing.
He yanked open the filing cabinet beside his desk. Maybe he’d filed that report himself without reading it. Nope. He slammed the drawer shut again.
Sophie.
She’d smelled like summer and he found himself breathing deeply, as if he might conjure up the fragrance.
He hadn’t contacted her but he knew she’d arrived safely because Pam had informed him. That had been a damn difficult day. It could only get better, right?
Wrong.
She’d left him. Them. There wasn’t a them, he reminded himself. He’d had his chance to tell her how he felt. Days. Weeks, even. He’d always known she was leaving, she’d always been open about her plans.
She’d been honest about everything, except, it seemed, what mattered most.
She loved him.
She’d told him she loved him in the same breath she’d told him she couldn’t have children. His silence had hurt her, he knew. But how was a man supposed to get his head around that bomb two minutes before she left for the other side of the world?
His open palm connected solidly with his desk. The registered packet that he’d signed for earlier today slipped a bit and caught his eye. He reached for it. The compact book slid out, he flipped to the first page and studied his photo. He’d never had a passport. Never needed one.
Pam appeared in the doorway and she didn’t look happy. ‘Impeccable timing,’ he told her, leaning back in his chair, hands braced on the edge of his desk. ‘Shut the door, I want to talk to you.’
‘Good, because I have a few things to say to you too.’ In a firm but businesslike manner she closed the door and sat down opposite him. Shoved a hand through her unruly brown locks. ‘Does the word “resignation” mean anything to you?’
He barked out a humourless laugh. Then stared at her. She hadn’t moved. Her mouth was flat, her eyes steady on his. ‘You’re serious.’ Straightening, he rolled his chair nearer and placed his hands on the desk.
‘Maybe I am. If you don’t sort yourself out, I won’t be the only one requesting that form.’
A strange feeling slid through him and his heart thumped hard in his chest.
‘Excuses, stalling, evading,’ she went on. ‘They’ve never cut it with you, Jared, and they won’t cut it with me. You’re my friend as well as my boss, and Sophie’s as close as a sister.’
She ran out of breath but he was the one who sat back as if he’d just run a marathon. He slid the legal document across the desk. ‘So what do you say to this, then? How would you like to try out the boss’s chair for a while?’
She met his eyes. ‘Fine by me, but I’ll need a raise.’
‘You got it.’
She nodded, a smile chasing away the worry lines. ‘That’s the Jared I know.’ Rising, she kissed him on the cheek and closed the door softly behind her on her way out.