"So?"
"So isn't it obvious?" She fluttered her hands, making the jacket open another inch.
I almost groaned out loud.
Oblivious to what she was doing to me, she continued, "Seriously, look at it from my point of view. Your last assistant – whose name I don't even know by the way –"
"Audrey."
"Fine. Audrey. Anyway,shegot fired because she let Imogen get past her."
"That's different."
"It is not," she said. "Look, maybe Audrey wasn't 'guarding the door' personally, but she was guarding your privacy, right? And then, when she failed, you got all mad and fired her with no warning."
"And you know this, how?"
"I heard the phone message, remember?"
"I meant about the warning."
"I know the sound of surprise when I hear it." Her mouth tightened. "Well, between all the sobbing, that is."
On some of this, Becka was right. Audreyhadbeen surprised. She'd been with me for nearly two years, and had been an adequate assistant until this past week. But then, she'd messed up – and more than Becka realized.
I told her, "Surprised or not, she had to go."
Becka frowned. "Can I ask you a question?"
"What?"
"It's not really professional," she warned.
"Are you gonna ask it or not?"
"Well, I'm just curious…You weren't dating her or anything, were you?"
I stiffened. "I don't 'date' my employees."
Becka persisted, "But she seemed really upset, like it was more than losing her job. Were you two friends or something?"
"No. And we're talking aboutyou. Not her."
From the look on Becka's face, she wasn't thrilled with the reminder. "So, I guess you might as well tell me…" She winced. "Am I fired?"
A smart man would've said yes, not because of the recent commotion, but because she was making me feel things, dangerous things that were best avoided.
It made no sense.She wasn't even my type. And, as far as I could tell, she had no idea what she was doing to me, even now.
Her face was flushed, and her lips were full. Her hair was a tousled, sexy mess, like she'd just been rolling around in the sheets.
My sheets.
My bed.
My mistake.For a moment there, I'd almost forgotten who I was dealing with.
So far, I'd been smart enough to keep my distance, but she'd been haunting my thoughts far too often.This wasn't good.