“It has the name of your firm on the card,” the nurse puzzled. “And they say, from your son, Sean.”
I hung up the phone and sat staring at it in confusion. What had just happened? Did the universe take my thoughts and make them manifest? I had been considering sending him something since I couldn’t be there in person. Did someone hear my request and make it a reality?
I remembered Meara from the day before and wondered if she’d had a hand in it. She had asked if there was anything she could do; maybe she’d gone ahead without my permission and ordered flowers.
I checked the credit card records and didn’t find a florist listed. Did that mean she paid for the arrangement out of her own funds? I had never been a recipient of such a thoughtful gesture before, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
Standing up, I crossed the room and strode out into the hall. Making quick work of the space between my office and the intern’s room, I burst into the cubical farm. Meara and Sam were working quietly, each one with her computer open and focused on a task.
My sights were set on Meara, but I had the presence of mind to ask Sam if she would give us some privacy for a second. She agreed, standing up with one wayward glance at her colleague. She wasn’t an idiot. She could see how smitten all the partners were with her coworker. I hoped that wouldn’t be a problem, but in the short term, I didn’t care.
The other woman eased out of the room, leaving the door open on principle. I didn’t care. I stepped up, watching as Meara rose to her feet. She looked confused, as if she hadn’t expected such a strong reaction.
“Did you order flowers for my father?” I asked roughly.
“Yes,” she answered. “I thought—”
My joy got the better of me, and I grabbed her. She gasped, astonished that I would break protocol in the office of all places. Sliding an arm around her waist, I pulled her to me. With an abundance of passion, I kissed her soundly, destroying every last vestige of propriety between us.
It was wrong, and I knew it, but how else was I supposed to react? Ordinary interns didn’t do things like that. They didn’t insert themselves into the private lives of their employers to send flowers to aging parents. She must have known that I would be overwhelmed with appreciation. She couldn’t have thought I would let her get away with it.
She was caught off guard, stumbling into my embrace and hesitating in her response. But half a second into the kiss, she got her bearings and kissed back. It might have been improper, illicit, criminal even, but she didn’t care. I could feel her opening up in my arms, responding to my advance with an equal amount of fervor.
It could have gone further. The way she felt, I was sure that if I wanted to undress her, she would have been all for it. But it wasn’t the time or the place. And if I read the room correctly, she was already involved with Damien.
I released her, stepping back with a satisfied glare. “Thank you,” I ground out.
Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks flushed. She looked every bit the temptress with swollen lips and shallow breath. I could have gazed at her all day long, but instead, I turned and stalked away. I wasn’t going to give in to my baser urges. She knew how I felt, and that was enough. I would leave her to my colleagues and stay out of it. Little did I know that last proclamation would be harder to keep than I thought.