I swallowed hard and straightened my back, digging deep inside myself.I already felt like a bus had hit me after my conversation with Mark.I had one hell of a headache, and I truly wasn’t in the mood for this shit, but I sucked it up.
“Mr.Larson, I apologize.As you’ve seen, I’m normally much more attentive and on point than I was tonight.I can assure you I am taking this task seriously and will strive to do better.I will contest that Colton isn’t lying.Mr.Martins was incredibly rude most of the evening, and I was going to step in at one point and have Pamela reassign his seat, but Colton seemed to have things under control.Apparently, something must have happened on my last bathroom trip, and for that I’m sorry I wasn’t here to support him.So, to prove to you just how serious I am about fixing Mr.Fox’s career, I’ll cover the outstanding donation tonight, so he isn’t short on his goal.”
I knew I had more than enough in my emergency budget from the firm and that if it meant saving face for Kerry and Image Hackers, I’d do anything.I’d just pay back the account over time from each paycheck.
Without waiting for another word, I sat down and dug into my purse, feeling around for my corporate checkbook, when I heard Larson clear his throat.
“Miss Cooper, thank you, but that won’t be necessary.My apologies.”
“Yeah, Emma, no need.I’ll cover it,” Colton added, placing his hand on my shoulder.“I really should make a donation.It will help with everything.”
I looked at both of them and shook my head.“No, I insist,” I said, not taking no for an answer, and wrote out a check, signing and dating it, handing it to Larson.
Colton didn’t saya word the entire way home, and neither did I.We both exited the truck, and I waited while he unlocked the front door.He surprised me when he held the door open, waiting for me to enter the house instead of barging in first like he usually did.He placed his keys on the small table against the wall, like always, and kicked his shoes off.
I slipped my heels off, then sat down on the couch.I wasn’t used to wearing such high heels, and after two nights of wearing them, my feet were killing me.I rubbed my right foot, letting a soft moan escape as I dug my fingers into my foot.
“Sorry about tonight.”
“Don’t be.It was my fault.”
“No, it wasn’t.I’ll repay you,” Colton muttered as he took his suit jacket off and laid it over the back of the chair before sitting down beside me on the couch.
“Don’t worry about it.I think you did the best you could tonight, given the circumstances.Not that you didn’t try.”
“How would you know?”he questioned, tapping my leg.
“What?”I questioned, looking at him.
“Give me your foot,” he said.
I shook my head.
“Give me your foot,” he insisted, locking eyes with me.
When I knew he would not let up, I shifted in my seat, straightened my leg, and placed my foot in his lap.His large hands wrapped around my foot, enveloping it.He then dug his fingers into my foot, hitting all the right spots with just the right amount of pressure, resulting in a tingling sensation that moved through my body.
“So how would you know?”he questioned again.
“How would I know what?”I murmured, opening my eyes.
God, his hands felt amazing, better than anything I’d ever felt, and he was only rubbing my feet.
“How would you know I did the best I could tonight?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”I frowned.
“Well, to be honest, it appeared that you had your focus on something else tonight.I could have been an absolute asshole to each one of those people, and you’d never know the difference.”
“Yes, I would.”
“Right, between Mark and his harassing ways and your trip to the bathroom, it was like you weren’t even there.What’s going on between the two of you?”
He sat there, rubbing my foot, waiting for me to answer him as if he were entitled to know everything that was going on in my personal life, which I’d already made it very clear he had no right to know anything about.When I didn’t answer him, he stopped working my foot, placed his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward.
“You don’t deserve to be treated the way he is treating you.”
“How do you know how he is treating me?”I questioned.
