Sleeping with the Boss (Anderson Brothers, #1)(19)
“And?”
In her mind, she could picture Heather pacing her office like she did when she was excited. “And I edited the remainder of the estate jewelry auction brochure. Then, I had lunch.”
“Did he”—she cleared her throat—“talk to you?”
She stopped the pencil mid-roll. “Not today.” But last night he’d done amazing things she wouldn’t tell Heather about over the phone—like the mind-bending make-out session up against her door. “He’s not even here.”
“Oh…” Heather didn’t even try to mask the disappointment in her voice.
She flicked the pencil, setting it back into motion again, catching it right before it rolled off the end of the desk, then pushing it back the other direction. “I did hear from Mr. Sinclair, though. The money should be in my account any second now and will be available in a few days.”
“Cool! You’ll be rich,” Heather said.
The thought of having that much money made Claire’s head spin when she really thought about it. It was a bit terrifying, actually. “Yes. I’ll be rich. And free to get the hell out of New York.”
“Woo! You’re out of here—which, by the way, makes me as sad as it does happy for you. I wish you weren’t dead-set on that internship with Dr. Jolly.”
Claire didn’t even bother correcting her. She’d called Dr. Jahi that since they took his class together years ago.
“Can’t you get an internship closer to home—to me? I’m gonna miss you, girl.” There was a moment of silence from Heather, which wasn’t typical. “Well, okay.” Her voice cracked a bit. “So, I bet you’re ready to party! Let’s do it.”
“I’ll be ready to party once the money hits my bank account. Until then, I’ll keep working here until my passport comes in, and start boxing up my things at home.”
“There are companies for that, you know. You don’t have to always do everything yourself.”
Claire dropped the pencil back into the cup. “Yeah, but I don’t like people snooping.” A sound came from behind her. She spun in her chair to discover Will in her doorway and her heart sped up at the sight of him. “Listen, I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Is he there?” Heather asked.
Heck, yeah, he was there; all hot man in blue jeans and a button-down shirt leaning against her doorframe like something out of a really great dream. “Bye, Heather.”
“Oh my God. He’s there. Is he in your office?”
She hit “end” and dropped the phone in her purse as she met Will’s eyes. “Hey.”
He looked as if he were studying her, rather than greeting her. His slightly narrowed eyes focused on her with such intensity, she held her breath. “Hey, yourself,” he finally answered.
Well, this was awkward. It was as if he were waiting for her to say or do something. “Um, so, we’re still on?”
“Is there a reason we shouldn’t be?”
Something was wrong. He was probably having second thoughts now that he was here.
“None that I can think of.” She smiled, but he didn’t smile back. Crap.
…
Will hadn’t sneaked up on Claire intentionally, but holy shit, what he’d heard was shocking. In the brief moments of her phone call he’d overheard, he discovered that someone named Mr. Sinclair was wiring enough money to her account to make her rich. This, right before she planned to leave the country. Surely it was coincidental.
His stomach sank and his heart pounded in his ears. A full-blown skirmish was going on in his head and heart. What would he do if she turned out to be the spy? He let out the breath he’d been holding way too long and relaxed his balled-up fists. Hell, who was he kidding? He couldn’t walk away now if she were holding a live grenade. Their connection was so intense he couldn’t end this even if he had to. And he didn’t want to. His instincts were right. He knew they were.
Claire gripped the edge of her desk. Her deep, quick breaths caused her breasts to swell above the low neckline of her blouse. Just the sight of her made his entire body go hard, especially a certain part. He couldn’t believe he’d only known her a couple of days; she seemed to have invaded every waking part of his life…his dreams, too. Only in his dreams, her hair was not bound in a knot on the back of her head, like it was now, and they weren’t just staring at each other awkwardly. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Give me a second to shut my computer down and get my things.”
He nodded and stepped into the lobby, shooting Jim a quick text to check out the transaction between Claire’s bank and Sinclair, whoever the hell he was. The sooner this was cleared up, the better. Then tomorrow, he’d really focus on the case and bury this once and for all. As for tonight, he planned to focus only on Claire Maddox, who had just emerged from her office looking like a waking fantasy. With a shirt that tied at her waist with a bow, she looked like a present waiting to be unwrapped. Damn. She had taken her hair down, and it softened her features. His fingers twitched as he imagined running them through the soft gold waves that fell well past her shoulder blades.
“You look fantastic,” he said, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her to the elevator. Not that she needed guiding, but he sure needed to touch her.