Page 40 of Help Wanted

His employee.

Before he had the chance to pull away, she did. Looking up into his eyes she winced and said, “I’m so sorry.”

He almost laughed, except it wasn’t funny at all.

“Why would you say you’re sorry? You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” he explained.

“I kissed you.”

That time he did laugh.

“I’m almost a foot taller than you. If I hadn’t bent down to kiss you, we wouldn’t have kissed. That makes it my fault.” He ran a palm over his hair. Shit. What did they do now? How badly had he messed it up?

“I’m the one who’s sorry, Kenley. I’m the one who crossed the line.”

“Oh.” She blinked a few times and then looked… He wasn’t sure. His best guess was impressed, though that didn’t make any sense.

“Do you think we could chalk this up to being exhausted, and having a stressful day?” He hoped. “I don’t want things to be awkward. I’ll never let anything like that happen again. I promise.

She pressed her lips together and then nodded.

“I’ll still get to go to the show?”

He smiled and nodded as he pushed the button to call the elevator to her floor. “Yes. Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen.”

Kenley’s fingertips trailed along her bottom lip and for a moment she looked sad. Maybe she didn’t want to forget their kiss? But she’d pulled away.

Smiling at him she said, “What happens on the third floor stays on the third floor?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“No problem. I guess I’ll see you back at the office?”

“Yes.”

“And we’re leaving next Friday?”

Hell. How was he supposed to spend two days with her? He’d promised nothing like this would ever happen again, but already he found himself wanting to pull her back into his arms. He nodded as he stepped onto the elevator.

“Eight a.m.,” he said as the doors closed and he was hurtled up two flights to his own floor. As he stepped into his room he had to fight the urge to turn around and go back to her.

It just couldn’t happen.

* * *

He’d asked her to forget about their kiss. The most amazing kiss she’d ever had in her life. That kiss had been going somewhere, and she’d stupidly pulled away.

At the time, she’d thought maybe she should warn him about her predicament. Surely a guy would expect a certain level of proficiency in skills she didn’t have. Fortunately she’d kept her mouth shut. She could only imagine the look on his face if she’d blurted out, “I’m a virgin!”

Forgetting about the kiss was highly unlikely. In fact, as she got off the plane in New York, that kiss still consumed her thoughts. As she dropped her things off at her house and went in to the office, she found the odds of forgetting the kiss were quite impossible.

She wanted to do it again. And not just kiss him. But he’d promised to keep things professional. Maybe her subconscious had caused her to pull away from him. The part of her brain that liked having its own place, and food in the refrigerator. The part that liked having a job, and being an essential part to Zane’s business.

She hoped that part would give the other part—the one that wanted to kiss her boss again—a good shake.

Zane didn’t come in to the office at all that afternoon. She stayed until six and hadn’t heard anything.

She frowned at her phone. Was he really doing this again? Hiding?