The caption for that photo was simple, to the point.
‘My favorite time of year, my go-to hot drink, and the city I will forever call my home.’
I sighed when I read this and thought more about what Cal told me in the car. Calvin was convinced that his sister only took the job at SHDC because Dean asked her to, and that she would be on the first flight back to London the second she could.
It was all temporary for her.
Honestly, that made a lot of sense, the more I thought about it. No wonder she felt so comfortable flirting with me—and I was sure that’s what she was doing. There was no denying it anymore. If she assumed this was just a temporary position, something she would be moving on from in a couple months’ time, then of course she didn’t see the harm in having a little work-place fun.
I smiled at this realization and found that I too didn’t see the harm in having a little fun. We could flirt, maybe we could even do more than that, and no one would ever have to know about it because she would be on the other side of the pond long before anything more serious could develop.
It was the perfect situation.
Assuming neither of us caught feelings for the other.
I shook my head at the thought and went about convincing myself that it would never happen. After so many failed first dates, I was starting to think that I truly wasn’t ready to move on from Erin. I might never be. Sure, maybe I felt something for Kat when I first saw her, something Ithoughtat the time reminded me of my feelings for Erin, but now I could recognize it for what it really was—attraction. Pure and simple attraction, with no romance attached to it whatsoever.
If Kat felt the same, straightforward way about me, then maybe I didn’t have to be so worried about whether or not our relationship ventured outside of the professional realm.
Except—
I remembered that there was one problem, one person in all of this that I had yet to consider. Dean. This was Dean’s daughter for God’s sakes! His little girl, his pride and joy. I couldn’t have a fling with her, not if I wanted to be able to look Dean in the eye ever again. The man had been more than a mentor to me over the years; in a lot of ways, he was a father figure, and the friendship we had was one I very much cherished. He had always been respectful and honest with me, so I owed him the same in return. I couldn’t lie to him, which meant that I had to avoid doing anything that I would feel needed to be kept from him.
Which included letting my feelings for Kat progress.
Resolute in my decision, I got up from the couch and went to get ready for bed. I stood in front of the mirror and brushed my teeth, letting my thoughts wonder. As I stood staring back at my reflection, an image of Kat in her tight black dress drifted through my mind and before I could stop myself, I got lost in the memory. I thought of the way she laughed at all my jokes earlier that night, and the way her hair would toss from side to side when she would shake her head at me. Which she did a lot, and it drove me a little more wild each time.
I thought about her lips, and the smooth skin of her neck, and—
No!
I shut it down as quickly as possible.
Think about Dean.
The image of Dean’s smiling face was like a bucket of cold water. I forgot all about Kat, all about that evening, and brought my mind back to thoughts of work. In my head, I made myself go over the emails I’d have to return on Monday, and the meetings that I had that day. Finally, I wondered whether or not Dean would be in next week, and whether or not we would get a chance to talk.
I had a question to ask him, one that he would probably want to sit down for.
I needed to know why hereallyasked me to hire his daughter.
Had I really been doing him and his family a favor, or was there more to the story?
Chapter Seven
Kat
Islept through my first alarm Monday morning, whichneverhappened.
I supposed I was just tired, since Becca and I spent the whole weekend trying to put the furniture for my room together, and it was tiresome to say the least. After nearly 8 hours of work, both days, the desk was still only half finished, but at least we’d gotten the bed frame standing upright as well as my bedside tables. Last night, I left the apartment an hour before Ikea closed and got there just in time to buy a mattress that thankfully came in a box and required no assembly on my part.
By the time my bed somewhat resembled something I could sleep in, I crashed, and now it was morning, and I had less time than usual to get ready.
I scrambled out of bed at the insistence of my second alarm, brushed my teeth and washed my face. No time to shower, and I hadn’t had time to wash my hair the day before, but thankfully I knew exactly what to do. I watched a quick braid tutorial on YouTube and since I’d been doing my own hair for more than a decade now, I was able to pick up the style without much trouble. I paired my fancy braid with one of my favorite checkered coats and a cream-colored dress with black tights. When I came out of my room to greet Becca in the kitchen, she actually whistled at me.
“You look darling,” she said. “Honestly—how do you do it? I’ve been up for nearly an hour longer than you, and I still look like I just rolled out of bed.”
I smiled. “You look great.”