Page 67 of Naughty Heart

Malcolm’s lips twitched. “Darling, if I want to kiss you, I’m going to kiss you. And I expect you to do the same with me.”

I licked my lips. “I’m not sure if I can do that.”

“Come here.” Malcolm was leaning his hips against his desk, holding his hand out to me.

I went.

Once he had me wrapped in his arms, he said, “I’ll help you practice.”

The next thing I knew, Malcolm was kissing me in his office. It didn’t take me long to get lost in him. In fact, we got so lost in one another that it wasn’t until someone cleared their throat that we realized anyone had entered the room.

I shuffled back, pulling my hand up to cover my mouth, and was horrified to see Malcolm’s parents standing there.

Shit.

Shit!

They hadn’t said anything to him about his position within the company at the party on Saturday, so they were probably here to do that now. I had probably just ruined Malcolm’s chances.

“Hey, Mom. Hi, Dad.”

“Malcolm.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Westwood,” I breathed, my cheeks burning with humiliation. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Mrs. Westwood was eyeing me, but her expression was completely unreadable. Mr. Westwood seemed to be slightly amused.

“Evelyn, would you mind giving us a minute to speak with our son privately?”

“Of course.” I nodded my head and took a step forward to move toward the door when I got stopped by Malcolm reaching his hand out to me.

My eyes widened as I looked back at him. He seemed cool as a cucumber, and I was silently freaking out. Malcolm must have noticed, because he stroked his thumb tenderly across my wrist. “Relax,” he whispered. “Everything’s fine.”

That did not help my mindset.

He gave my wrist a squeeze. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t want to lie, but I refused to tell the truth in this situation. “I’m fine.”

Malcolm sent a look my way that indicated he didn’t believe me. Even still, he gave me a wink and released me.

I scurried out of there as quickly as I could.

If I had intended to get any work done once I made it back to my office, it wouldn’t have mattered. I was useless.

I’d convinced myself that Malcolm’s parents were giving him bad news, telling him they’d decided not to start the process of transitioning him to take over the company. As much as I had hated that he hadn’t told me his intentions when he first hired me, I didn’t want this for him. I knew how much this company meant to him, and I wanted him to be able to live out his dream.

I felt like I was waiting on pins and needles for his parents to finish their meeting with him, and when the door to his office opened what felt like an eternity later, I held my breath. He looked directly across the hall at me, nothing in his stare giving me any indication as to how the meeting had gone.

“Evelyn, darling, can you come over here for a moment?”

I loved that he called me darling.

Nothing made me happier.

But I really didn’t think it was smart of him to be calling me that while we were at workandhis parents were in his office, able to hear him.

Tentatively, I stood, rounded my desk, and walked across the hall. I entered to find Malcolm’s parents seated on the couch. Their faces revealed nothing, either.