Free Be Your Everything [All for Love] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Peri Elizabeth Scott Page A

she’d have allowed him far more. She countered with her own form of rudeness. “Passion makes women say things they wouldn’t normally. Men, too, apparently, although you clearly have better control than most. I repeat, it was fun. Now, please leave me alone.”
    Matthew didn’t move. He just kept staring at her. Heather stared back and ground her thigh into that raised piece of metal. She flinched back when he leaned forward. If he kissed her, he’d know. No way could she hide from him if he laid a finger on her.
    Rolling her chair out of kissing range she prepared to stand and state her case. Mr. Grayson stormed out of his office and halted abruptly. “You’re still here?” His ghost-blue eyes looked at Matthew and then her. She couldn’t interpret his expression, but it was unsettling. Mr. G might have grasped the situation and that wouldn’t be anything good. He wouldn’t like the idea that she and Matthew were an “item,” just as he didn’t like her friendship with Moesha. Grayson actually cautioned her about talking out of turn, gossiping. Heather stood, petite in a room with two tall men, feeling at a total disadvantage.
    “I’m heading out for the day, Heather. You have my schedule. Call me if anything changes. I’ll walk you to the elevator, Bourke, and give you a ride to the airport, seeing as your work here is finished. It’s on my way.”
    Matthew winced. It was a minute reaction, but Heather saw it and wondered if her boss did. Matthew straightened and flexed his shoulders. His suit jacket fell into place and he impatiently shot his cuffs.
    “Thanks, Grayson. It’ll save me finding a cab. My carry-on’s with security downstairs. Nice seeing you again, Miss Graham. Thanks for all your help.”
    Heather avoided looking at either man as they exited her office, mumbling something that might have been a gracious acknowledgment of Matthew’s farewell. She sank back into her chair and kept a neutral look on her face, pretending to read something on the computer screen. When Matthew didn’t return after what she determined a suitable amount of time, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the restroom. Locking herself in a stall, she cried, flushing the toilet to cover up her sobs. Her phone beeped to signal a text and she dug through her bag to find it. Matthew. Heather turned off the phone without reading the message, and dropped it back into her purse. He must be on his way to the airport and her tears morphed into giggles, then gulps of hysterical mirth.
    He’d asked her to dinner, so Mr. Grayson was taking Matthew on a fool’s errand. And he wouldn’t be able to come back to the office without a really convincing story. That might mean his undercover work was completed or interrupted but she had been saved further humiliation. Leaving the stall she washed her face free of tears at one of the sinks. There wasn’t much she could do about her swollen eyes. Only time would take care of that. Heather hadn’t allowed herself to cry until now and suspected there’d be lots of tears in her future. Double yay.
    After reapplying her makeup she inspected the results. Her hair was one of her best features, thick, the blonde her own color, complete with natural highlights, if not the platinum favored by Chrystal. Heather released it from the clip, needing anything she could get to hide behind today. Dark-blue eyes, slightly reddened, the lower lids puffy. Dark lashes, now dry and no longer clumped with saltwater. She touched up the circles beneath her eyes with concealer and blotted her lipstick. She’d do. If anyone remarked on her appearance she’d say she had allergies. The workday stretched out endlessly but it was better than moping at home. Moesha was taking her out for dinner, and would want a full report. Maybe she’d type one and add to the Lessons I Should Have Learned About Men.
    Yesterday afternoon had been utter hell for her, concentrating on her work so as not to alert Mr. Grayson