Seated beside Jennie at the conference table in Mac Campbell’s office, Sophie struggled to focus her thoughts on the business at hand. Her heart throbbed with an unfamiliar ache. How very absurd that she should go all atwitter over a man like Gavin Stanwyck.
“Sophie, I do hope you’ll take some time to consider your choice.” Jennie’s mouth thinned. “Alex does not require a definite commitment until the end of the week.”
“I realize this change of heart must appear quite sudden,” Sophie said. “I will allow myself another night to mull the decision before notifying Professor Quinn.”
Matthew Colton entered, settling into the chair beside his wife. “I’ve just returned from a meeting with the Home Secretary. He extends his gratitude to Miss Atherton for a job well done.”
Sophie held back an unexpected wave of emotion. “Thank you.”
“I concur with his assessment. You’ve done a fine job, Sophie. We are indeed fortunate to have you aboard,” Colton said. “Having said that, I encourage you to become a part of Professor Quinn’s upcoming endeavor, if the prospect appeals to you. Your position with the agency is entirely secure.”
Across the table from Jennie, MacAllister Campbell penned a notation on a diagram. Stone-faced, he cast Sophie a glance, offering a nod of affirmation before he turned his attention back to the document. He’d taken the truth of Rebecca Beddingham’s betrayal hard. The man had trusted his secretary for so many years. Perhaps, he’d cared for her more than she’d known. Judging from the pain he tried to hide, her actions and death had carved a hole in his heart.
Another woman now sat at Miss Beddingham’s desk, a precisely spoken widow whose salt-and-pepper hair framed an exquisite face.
“You can’t go in there.” Mrs. Jenkins’s shrill tones drifted through the closed door.
A heartbeat later, the door swung open. The secretary pursued the man who’d dared to intrude.
Gavin.
Sophie’s heart thudded against her ribs.
What in blazes is he up to?
Campbell came to his feet, blocking Gavin’s path. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I have unfinished business with Miss Atherton.”
Sophie stifled a gasp.Why is he here?
Campbell shook his head. “This is neither the time nor the place. Leave now.”
“What I have to say cannot wait.” Gavin turned to her. “I was wrong, Sophie. So bloody wrong.”
His raw words ripped through the shell Sophie had erected around herself. Damn him.
“How very interesting.” Jennie leaned back in her chair, fixing him with a wry smile. “Just when I thought Hades would become a frigid wasteland before you would ever speak those words, Mr. Stanwyck.”
“Admitting I am an utter fool does not come easily,” Gavin said. “But I cannot risk losing Sophie.”
Colton eyed Gavin as if debating whether to toss him out on his arse, wound be damned, or hear him out. He shot Jennie a speaking glance.
“Do go on, Professor,” Jennie said. “Or would you prefer that we afford you some privacy?”
Gavin shook his head. “Thank you, but I do not require privacy for what I am about to say. Sophie, you have an opportunity to work with one of Britain’s foremost Egyptologists. You must pour your energies into your passion.”
Sophie’s insides jumbled in knots. Emotions she desperately tried to hold back scorched her throat. “I don’t understand—”
“As I’ve said, I was wrong,” he went on. “I thought I was doing the right thing…being noble, as you put it. But I was a damned fool.”
Sophie pulled in a breath, slow and controlled. Her heart found a new beat. “Gavin…this is so very sudden. So very unexpected. I don’t know what to say.”
He raked a hand through his hair, in that way of his. “I understand. I should not have come here.” Facing the others, he offered a brisk nod. “My apologies for the intrusion.”
His footsteps heavy against the wood, he left her, closing the door behind his broad back.
Campbell shot Jennie a glance. “It seems my suspicions were correct.”
