Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(25)

The thing that bothered me the most was a fear that she had the wrong idea about me. Yes, I yearned for her, but that wasn’t why I hired her. She needed to know that I didn’t expect her to sleep with me in order to keep her job or to get perks. I hated that somehow, what we had done could impact her job. Even if nobody found out about our sexual past, which I was going to make sure nobody did, I knew it impacted her mentally.

What I thought would be an interesting challenge had turned out to be more difficult than I had anticipated. Resisting her was nearly impossible, but I wanted to keep her around even if I couldn't touch her. Seeing her, talking to her, made me feel things I hadn't felt in a long time, and I wasn't just talking about my dick. She was the epitome of a breath of fresh air. Around her, I felt something instead of empty and numb. In order to keep her around, I had to get my shit together.

Movement in the marketing department caught my eye. Analyn stood and gathered her belongings. She exited her office, saying a few things to her , and then she headed for the elevator.

I was out of the meeting room in a flash, although trying not to look too eager. I nonchalantly hurried to the elevator to catch her before the doors closed. I stepped in just as the car doors slid shut.

She looked up at me with a combination of nerves and wariness.

I hated that. I hated that I was the source of it. "I'm sorry."

She held up her hand and shook her head. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to be alone together."

I ran my hand through my hair. "I know that I made a miscalculation by inviting you to lunch. The truth is, Analyn, I'm stuck on you.”

Her breath hitched, and I hoped my revelation didn’t do more harm than good.

Just to make sure I wasn’t fucking up worse, I hurried on. “I hate that I've made you feel uncomfortable or that you might think that I hired you for any other reason than that you were the best candidate for the job. From now on, I promise I'm going to be hands off.” I held my hands up and then shoved them in my pockets to highlight my sincerity. “You're going to be able to focus on your work without my interference." I sent up a silent prayer for the strength to allow me to follow through with that. "I will work to avoid you, and of course, you can do the same. I don't want you to quit. Or if you are going to quit, I don't want to be the reason for it."

She didn’t say anything as the elevator arrived at the lobby. When the doors opened, I followed her out, through the lobby and out of the building.

Finally, unable to deal with the uncertainty and needing to know what she was thinking, I gently took her arm, turning her to look at me. "I hope you'll stay. "

She was silent for a moment, and I damn near got on my knees to beg her to stay. What was going on that she had such an effect on me?

She scanned the area, and I cursed myself for not paying more attention to who might see this conversation.

Finally, she let out a sigh. "I like my job, Reed. I want to stay. But I really need to think about things." She turned away, heading toward the parking garage, and as much as I wanted to run after her, now was the moment I needed to prove to her that I could follow through on my promise. I needed to leave her alone. I needed to avoid her.

Reluctantly, I turned away, heading back into the building and up to my office’s floor.

As I entered my office, Catherine followed me in. "Is there a problem with Ms. Watts?"

"Not at all." I sat down in my chair thinking I'd bury myself in work, but I didn’t think I’d be able to stop my mind from ruminating on Analyn.

"It just seems that you're paying a great deal of attention to her. I checked in with the rest of the marketing department, and they all seem to like her. They say she's competent and creative. But if there is something going on, you can let me know."

"I was just making sure she's settling in properly." I found myself irked at Catherine's interference. I wanted to ask her why she was watching Analyn so closely, but maybe she watched all the staff so closely. Hadn't I relied on her to take care of things so I didn't have to?

"I don't remember you paying this much attention to our previous hires. What's going on?"

What the hell? She was acting like my mother. Or wife. She was overstepping. At least that was what it felt like.

Perhaps this was normal, and I was the one who was different. It didn’t matter the reason. What mattered was that I didn’t like her interference or her feeling that she was entitled to know the inner workings of my mind.

I looked up at her, and my expression must've been fierce because she flinched. "I appreciate all that you do for me, Catherine, but you don't run my life. What I do or don't do, who I pay attention to or ignore, is really none of your business unless I say it is. Again, I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but I don't need you to delve into every little thing that I do in the office. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work I want to finish."

Catherine straightened, lifting her chin, almost in defiance. "Of course. I'll leave you to it." She turned, leaving my office. The door nearly slammed as she closed it behind her.

Fuck. I couldn't afford to have Catherine be upset with me. Everything I had just said to her was true. She wasn't entitled to know every little thing about what I did at work. But I had given her enough power and control that of course she would be observant about what was going on at the office. I had to hope that she didn't read anything into the attention I had given Analyn.