Free The Sexy Boss - Sedition: Book One by Z. L. Arkadie, T. R. Bertrand Page B

nearness makes me chew nervously on my bottom lip.
    He twirls a lock of my hair, releases it, and puts his arm along his side. “I’ll be in the office when I can. Can I rely on you to hold down the fort?”
    “Sure. Absolutely.”
    Someone pulls the door open. “Nolan, the doctor is back.”
    He turns his head to look at Kelsey. “All right.” Nolan faces me again. We stare into each other’s eyes.
    “He doesn’t have time to wait for you, Nolan,” Kelsey says.
    She’s so snippy—beautiful but snippy.
    “I’ll walk you to the lobby,” he says to me.
    I think he’s perfected the art of ignoring her. I put my hand on his chest. Touching him feels so good. “No, go see to your father. I can find my way out.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “I’m positive.”
    “Nolan?” Kelsey snaps.
    He holds up a hand, gesturing her to stop. I feel as if we should kiss, but we’re both aware that we shouldn’t do it in front of present company.
    “I’ll call you soon,” Nolan says then walks to the door.
    Kelsey glares at me as though she’s starting a war between us. I break eye contact by looking at my boots, and I don’t look up until they’re gone.
    Leaving the hospital feels so good. I hate hospitals. I spent months in the hospital, watching my grandfather then my grandmother die. The ICU is the worst part.
    I get lost in the maze of hallways. I was so excited about being next to Nolan that I didn’t pay attention to how we arrived at the ICU. I finally find an elevator and hit the down button. The door slides open after a short wait.
    I’m taken aback by who I see. “Misty?”
    For a brief moment, she looks at me like the cat that just swallowed the canary, but Misty has always been quick. She puts on a fake smile. “Abby?”
    “What are you doing here?” I say.
    “I have an appointment.”
    “Oh,” I say.
    “What are you doing here?” she asks.
    “Nolan asked me to come with him.”
    “He did?”
    I can hear what she’s insinuating in her tone. “We had a lot of work to do. Now he’s going to stay. So he called me a cab. That’s all.”
    One of her eyes narrows. I notice she does that when she disapproves of something. “Right…” She checks her watch. “I have to go.”
    I flinch, taken aback. I’m shocked she isn’t finding some passive-aggressive way to scold me for being here with Nolan.
    “See you tomorrow,” she says and takes off down the hallway.
    I watch her curiously. Something about our brief encounter seems off. Regardless, I push the down button again, and when the elevator opens, I get in.
    The cab is waiting for me at the main entrance. The driver drops me off at the office, and I get back to work. By the time I’m ready to call it a day, I still haven’t heard from Nolan.
    I make it home, strip out of my clothes, and put on my pajamas and a T-shirt. After making and eating basil and tomato pasta for dinner, I still haven’t heard from Nolan. I figure that I shouldn’t take it personally. He’s under a lot of stress. I watch a little TV and go to bed.
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    I pass through Tuesday and Wednesday without seeing hide or hair of Nolan. On Thursday morning, I finally receive an email from him. He wants me to take over a meeting he’s scheduled with Chef Clark. He leaves detailed instructions of what’s to be accomplished. It’s all fairly straightforward. Our company wants to buy and franchise Chef Clark’s restaurants, and the chef’s lawyers need a provision added to the documents. At noon, I meet with the chef by videoconference, and our conversation is short, sweet, and successful.
    Misty walks past my desk, carrying a stack of files. For some reason, seeing her puts curious thoughts into my head. As long as I’ve worked with her, I’ve never seen Misty cart around that many files at once. It makes me wonder, are the acquisitions and deeds files back in the basement? It’s still strange that they were moved without my knowledge. I don’t consult paper copies