“I did. Now that he has the contracts, he shouldn’t need anything else for a while.”
Lanie visibly relaxed. “Thank you so much. I almost cried this morning when you weren’t here. You’re the only one he likes.”
“He doesn’t like me. He yells at me, too. I just don’t listen,” Mara replied as she settled into her desk chair.
“Anyway, I was thinking we should do happy hour tonight. Or maybe a movie? I need to get away from Jesse. He’s driving me crazy.”
Mara chuckled. She’d heard all the ins and outs of the saga of Lanie and Jesse. The two had enough drama to fuel a reality show. But she couldn’t deal with that tonight. She had her own drama to deal with.
“I can’t. I have a family dinner tonight. Plus I want to stick close to home anyway. Trent’s been traveling a lot lately.”
Lanie smiled knowingly. “Say no more. I get it. You need a little quality time with your man. Take care of business at home.” She winked and walked back to the elevator bank to go back to her floor.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Mara’s practiced smile fell. If only it was just a night of hot sex waiting for her. Lately Trent had been so distant and too tired to do much after work. He was also traveling more than ever. Except, he was strangely close-mouthed about the projects he was working on or what he was doing during the time he was gone. There was no one thing she could point to that was off but Mara just knew.
He was lying to her.
“If you’re done gossiping,” a deep voice interrupted her
thoughts. She was so startled that she jumped and knocked over her own coffee cup. The dark liquid quickly spread across her desk, snaking under her keyboard and soaking the pad of sticky notes next to her phone.
“Damn it.” She hopped up, unsurprised to see a dark stain on the front of her pale pink skirt. She inched the material up her legs, holding it away from her body. “This is just great. There’s no way this stain is coming out.”
When she looked up, Ethan stood as still as a statue, his dark eyes locked on her legs. Then he looked up at her. A muscle in his jaw ticked.
Stunned by the feral look in his eye, she immediately dropped her skirt. “Mr. Westbrooke. You startled me.”
Normally he would have had some cutting remark to make or chastised her for stating the obvious and wasting his billable hours. Instead he just blinked at her. Then said in a deceptively soft voice, “These contracts don’t contain any of the changes I requested. Find out why.”
He ran his hands through his hair, sending the dark strands into disarray. Then with one last piercing look, retreated back into his office.
* * * * *
LATER THAT DAY, Mara raced around her living room, straightening the pillows on the couch and collecting stray items of clothing she’d discarded in her frenzy to get to work that morning. Trent had originally been scheduled to fly in late but she’d gotten a text right before leaving work that he’d be home early.
By the time she made it back to her bedroom, she had a pair of gym shoes in her arms, the cardigan she’d decided not to wear that morning thrown over her shoulder and an earring she’d been missing for months in her hand.
Suddenly she stopped right in the middle of the room. “Why am I even bothering with all this stuff? I haven’t seen him in a week. I seriously doubt he’ll care about any of this.”
She dropped all the stuff in her arms next to the bed and then went into her bathroom. After yanking out her ponytail, she flipped over and fluffed her hair out, then applied another layer of lip-gloss. Just as she finished, she heard the front door open. Anticipation quickened her steps as she trotted down the hallway. Trent looked up when she entered the living room.
With a squeal she flung herself into his arms. “I’m so happy to see you!”
He fell back slightly until he hit the wall, accepting her noisy kisses all over his face. “I'm happy to see you, too. I really missed you, baby.”
The low rumble of his words spread through her. It made her heart soar to hear him say the same thing she was feeling. She looked at his suit in surprise. Usually he just wore slacks and maybe a tie. Since he was such a casual guy, he probably wouldn’t like it if he knew how arousing she found his corporate look to be.
“I missed you, too. And I'm really looking forward to having you home for a while.”
“Come with me while I unpack. I just want to look at you.”
She followed him into the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and in that moment, she could see how exhausted he was. It was all over his face, in the tight line of his lips and the pinched skin around his eyes. He looked awful.
“Why don’t you take a shower? I can help you unpack.”
A smile lifted the edges of his lips. “I think I’ll do that. Thanks. You’re the best.”
He stood and yanked his shirt over his head. She followed him with her eyes, enjoying the flex and play of the muscles in his back as he disappeared into the bathroom.