Sleeping with the Boss (Anderson Brothers, #1)(32)

It was the next article, though, the one about what had happened to his unit in Afghanistan, that ripped out her heart out and stomped it flat. Will and two other men on his mission had been injured in a roadside ambush. Even with a broken leg, he’d managed to drag the two to safety. God, to go through that, and then return to find out he’d been jilted.

Claire wiped away a tear and picked up her cell phone on her nightstand. He was only a phone call away. One simple push of the button. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not until she sorted out what had really happened between them.

After brewing some chamomile tea, she shuffled back to bed. Sleep or not, she couldn’t torture herself with looking at pictures of Will anymore. It was troubling how much she felt his absence after only this short while, and what she’d just read made her stomach churn. Bethanne Carmichael had better hope she didn’t meet up with her in a dark alley someday.





Chapter Ten


When Claire turned in her notice the next morning, Beverly asked her to finish the catalog she was working on before she left because she was the best editor they’d ever had and it was imperative it be finished in time. She had reluctantly agreed, for Heather’s agency’s reputation more than anything. It would only take the day to finish it, though honestly, she found it impossible to focus and at the rate she was going it could take her remaining week and a half.

Through her open door, she watched Chance go in and out of Michael’s office several times, but there was no sign of Will. Not that she’d expected him to show up today. Still, her heart stuttered every time someone entered the lobby, and sank every time she realized it wasn’t him.

After lunch, a crew delivered and set up rental chairs and a platform in the lobby, turning it into a makeshift stage for the private auction scheduled that night. While a woman affixed a skirt to the platform, Chance paced the lobby like a caged animal. Several times, he glanced over at the elevators as if waiting for someone.

When it appeared he was heading for her office, Claire snapped her attention back to her screen, adrenaline screaming through her body in a tingly blast. What on earth could he possibly want with her?

He stood right outside the door. “May I speak with you, Miss Maddox?”

Claire placed her hands in her lap to keep from fidgeting. “Sure.” He was smaller than Will, with brown hair that touched his shoulders. Piercing blue eyes like his brother’s studied her face as he got closer. He had the same whatever-it-was that all three brothers had, but he didn’t appeal to her in any way like Will did. Nobody had ever appealed to Claire like that.

“I hate to ask you this, but have you spoken with Will today?”

Prickles rolled over her skin. “No.”

He shifted uncomfortably and looked over his shoulder into the lobby. “Neither have I. He hasn’t answered his phone since he spoke with Michael last night. I was hoping you might have—”

“I haven’t.” She tried to focus on her screen, but she couldn’t, and he didn’t leave. “Maybe you should talk to Jacob.”

“Okay. Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “That’s not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

She leaned back in her chair and waited. His manner was nothing like Will’s assertive, direct approach.

He glanced over his shoulder out the door to the lobby, where the crew was still setting up chairs. “As you can see, we are prepping for an event tonight, and I really hate to ask it, but we could sure use some help.”

“I gave notice today and removed my name from the list to work tonight. I only agreed to stay until this catalog is edited, and I’m almost finished.”

“I know.” He twisted a ring on his right hand. “Beverly told me. I’m asking you to reconsider. We will only need help with check-in.”

“Why are you asking me rather than Hig…Mrs. Higgins?”

“Because it was an excuse to ask you if you’d heard from Will.”

Well, at least he was honest. She took a deep breath and met his steady gaze. Did he think she was a spy, too? His brother Michael did for sure. But Will didn’t. That much she was certain of. Maybe working this auction would demonstrate she had nothing to hide. Maybe not. Maybe the real reason was that deep down inside, she really wanted to see Will again and clear the air. He’d appeared crushed outside her apartment last night. After what she’d learned about him online, she knew she should at least let him know she understood why she would be suspect.

Chance leaned forward. “We really could use the help. Please reconsider. We’ll pay double for the event.”

Like that mattered. As Will pointed out so eloquently last night, she had five-f*cking-million dollars in her bank account. The only reason she was even finishing up the work in front of her was because Elite Placement had a good working relationship with this company and she didn’t want to make Heather look bad. Be responsible, Claire. “Okay. I’ll help out.”

The trademark Anderson dimples made an appearance as he smiled at her across the desk.

…

“Open the f*cking door!” Chance shouted from the front porch of Will’s house. “I know you’re in there.”

Will rolled over and landed on the floor in front of the sofa with a thud he could hardly hear or feel over the pounding inside his skull. He could, however, hear his little brother banging on his leaded glass front door.