The One Nighter (7 page)

Her eyebrows furrowed together, and her lower lip extended in what was intended to be a sexy pout. “But Connor, I’ve missed you. Haven’t you missed me?”

He caught her fingers as they began to climb up his chest.

“It’s just been crazy right now. I was thinking we could talk after the party.
Maybe tomorrow?”

She tilted her head to the side as her lips formed an a
n
gry line. “Don’t mince words, Connor. If you have som
e
thing to say, just say it.”

His eyes met hers. One thing about Miranda was that she could see through a con. That combined with her pe
r
sistence proved to be a deadly combination.

Especially for him.

Especially tonight.

“Look, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I care about you a lot, but…”

Before he could get it out, she finished the sentence for him. “But you don’t want to see me anymore?”

His silence was the evidence she needed.

She shook her head. “That’s it, isn’t it?” she challenged.

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Miranda.”

Her laughter sent a chill of alarm up his spine.

“No,” she said, her voice so quiet it scared him. “You’re not sorry, yet, but you will be.”

With that, she walked away, leaving him to wonder what the cryptic warning meant.

Miranda wasn’t a vengeful person.

Was she?

* * * *

Where was he?

It had been over an hour since the last guest left. The catering company had packed up and
left,
and she had no idea where Connor was.

Jill walked over to her.

“So?” she asked.

“So, what?”
Melanie replied as she grabbed her folded letter of resignation.

Jill let out an impatient huff. “So, what’s going on b
e
tween you and Mr. Mason?” she prodded.

“Nothing,” she answered, trying her best to avoid her gaze.

Jill’s eyes narrowed. “It didn’t look like nothing to me.”

Reluctantly, she met her gaze. “Jill, I told you nothing is going on between us,” she lied.

It wasn’t true.

But then again, she couldn’t even decipher what was happening between her and Connor for herself, let alone tell other people what was going on.

“That’s good, because I would hate to think you were one of those women who would sleep with a guy to keep their job,” she said.

Anger burned at the implication. “Well, that’s not what’s happening. And I can’t believe that you would think that about me,” she lashed out.

Color crept into Jill’s cheeks at the verbal reprimand. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that people are pretty worried about their jobs right now,” she replied defensively.

Melanie let out a heavy sigh.

She knew it was true.

The office had been buzzing since Connor took over. People were on high alert, and a lot of them were beginning to wonder if they would make it to their next anniversary.

“Well, I’m not one of them. I wasn’t going to say an
y
thing until it was formally announced, but I’m handing in my resignation today,” she confessed.

Jill’s eyes widened. “Why?” she exclaimed. “I mean, out of everyone, I thought your job was the most secure. Why would you want to leave?”

Unable to hold her gaze any longer, Melanie looked away. She couldn’t tell Jill the truth. If she did, it would confirm all of her worst thoughts.

“It’s just not going to work out. I tried, but
it’s
better this way.”

Jill shook her head. “Man, he must be a bear if you don’t want to work with him.”

She wanted to correct her, but she knew that she couldn’t without giving away more than she was ready to divulge.

Concern marred Jill’s features. “I can’t believe you’re not going to be here anymore,” she remarked aloud. “Hey, I’m really sorry about what I said. I should’ve known that you would never do something sleazy like sleeping with the boss. I guess all the gossip has finally led to paranoia,” she admitted.

Shame burned through her stomach at the realization that she had done just that. Just because the circumstance was different didn’t make it any less obscene.

“It’s okay,” she replied.

Jill pulled her coat over her shoulders. “Are you ready to go?”

Melanie shook her head. “I planned to turn this in t
o
night, but I think Co
—
Mr. Mason already left. I guess I’ll just slide this under his door. You go on without me.”

Jill smiled. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called out as she headed for the back door.

Turning, she walked down the hall toward Connor’s office. She couldn’t believe he’d left.
Although she could imagine where he went.
After the display he made with M
i
randa, she figured they’d decided to take their party to a more private place.

Good.

At least she wouldn’t have to see it that way.

All in all, the night had turned out to be a total disa
s
ter.

First, she had to watch Miranda paw all over Connor. Then she had to stomach Doug Taylor flirting with her through the entire party. The ink on his divorce papers was barely dry, and he was already inviting her to his condo in the Keys. As if all of that wasn’t enough, her best friend thought she was sleeping with the boss to get ahead.

Okay, so maybe that last part was kind of true, but not for the reasons she thought.

Jealousy raged when she thought of Miranda with Co
n
nor. The woman had practically thrown herself on top of him in the middle of the party. In all her life, she had never wanted to claw another woman’s eyes out as much as she had tonight. It wasn’t that she had never been jealous b
e
fore.

She had.

But the depth of the emotion she felt was what scared her.

After everything that had happened, all she wanted to do was slide the letter under his door, go home and slip into a hot bath. When she got closer to his office, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar and the light was still on.

She took a deep breath. As much as she didn’t want to deal with things tonight, deep down, she just wanted it over.

Raising her hand, she lightly rapped her knuckles on the door.

“What?” she heard him call out.

She opened the door to find him slouched in the chair behind his desk, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

This was it.

It was time to face things and tell him she was leaving.

Chapter 10

“It’s just me,” she said, pushing the door open.

He drained the last of the whiskey in his glass before grabbing the decanter to refill it. When he didn’t say an
y
thing, she felt compelled to fill the silence.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

He lifted his chin, his eyes never meeting hers. “Finally tear
yourself
away from Taylor?” he challenged.

Pursing her lips, she answered. “I was only being nice to the clients like you asked us,” she reminded.

One eyebrow arched. “You were doing a little bit more than that.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know how you could even notice with your girlfriend climbing all over you.”

She hadn’t meant to let it slip. But before she could stop herself, it was out there.

His eyes met hers. “Miranda is not my girlfriend.”

A sarcastic laugh escaped her lips. “That’s obviously not what she thinks.”

He got up to walk around the desk, coming to stand before her. “Whatever wrong assumptions Miranda might have had were cleared up tonight. That’s why she left ea
r
ly,” he explained.

Her heart began to beat faster at the implication.

Was it possible that he was telling the truth?

If the look in his eyes wasn’t enough to cure her of d
e
lusions, his next words were.

“I don’t want Miranda. I never did,” he confessed.

“You don’t?”

A wry grin touched his mouth as he shook his head. “You know what I want,” he asserted.

Nervously, she wet her lips, his eyes following the movement.

“Now, what about Taylor?
Is he what you want?”

With a shy smile, she shook her head. “No,” she an
s
wered.

His grin widened. “Good, because account or no a
c
count, I’ve never been closer to hitting a man than I was t
o
night.”

Her eyebrows arched. “You were?” she prodded.

His nod answered her question.

“Why?”

He tilted his head to the side, silently mocking her question. “Why do you think?”

When she smiled, he pulled her against him. His lips met hers, his tongue demanding entrance. The letter slipped from her hand to the floor as she gave him what he wanted. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as her tongue mated with his in a sensual dance. He took his time explo
r
ing her, causing shivers of pleasure to dance up her spine. She felt his hands traveling down her back to grip her hips. He hauled her against him, letting her feel the hard ridge of his arousal. She gasped, the sound caught in the prison of his mouth.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

She wanted more.

Her hands slid inside his jacket to pull it over his broad shoulders. She had to touch him, to feel his skin against hers. When he eased her skirt up her thighs, she knew he felt the same overwhelming need.

A sound jolted them apart.

She turned to find Jill standing in the open door, her cheeks infused with color.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Shame swept through her as she realized what a horr
i
ble mistake she had made. Connor’s arm still remained around her waist. She grabbed it to pull it away, ignoring his momentary resistance.

Jill walked into the office to place an envelope on the conference table. “I forgot to give you the bill for the cate
r
er. They left it in the kitchen.”

Melanie’s throat went dry as she watched Jill scurry out of the office, obviously embarrassed by what she had seen.

How could she have been so careless?

So stupid?

After her talk with Jill, the other woman was bound to believe that she was nothing more than an accomplished liar. The worst part was that she couldn’t even blame her.

She had dug the
hole
herself.

And filled it in with a bunch of lies.

Lies to other people.

And lies to
herself
.

She spun around to face Connor, a frown marring her features.

His eyebrows rose. “What?”

Shaking her head, she let out a heavy sigh. Her world was falling apart. The career she had struggled so hard to build was crumbling before her eyes, and she had no idea how to stop it.

Her gaze lowered to the forgotten letter of resignation. She bent to retrieve it, but she wasn’t fast enough. Connor snatched it before she could reach it. She tried to grab it, but he held it high.

Narrowing her eyes, she met his gaze. “Give it to me,” she ordered.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong,” he prodded.

She looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go home.”

“Are you upset because Jill saw us together?” he guessed.

Rolling her eyes, she answered. “Why should I be u
p
set? Tomorrow, the whole office will think that I’m trying to sleep my way to the top.”

He tilted his head to the side. “But you’re not,” he r
e
minded.

She
pursed
her lips as she looked away. “They won’t know that.”

He lifted her chin with his finger. “Melanie, I don’t care what anyone else thinks. All I care about is what you think.”

Taking a deep breath, she gave him an honest answer. “And what if I don’t know what I think?” she admitted.

“Maybe I could help you figure it out,” he replied with a wry grin.

The corners of her mouth tilted up at his attempt to lighten the mood.

“Just give me the letter,” she said.