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“You shouldn’t,” I tell her.
She stares at me, like she’s not sure what to say, and I just look back, taking her in. The moment holds, stretching for a beat and then two. Then three.
Then I shake myself and rise to a standing position.
Penelope hurries to follow, brushing her clothes off and smoothing down her skirt with nervous hands. I follow the motion with my eyes, watching the way her palms skim over her ample hips, drawing attention to her shape.
And then I snap my eyes back up to her face.
“You’re not fired,” I tell her. “If I fired every assistant who spilled something in this building, we’d be doing all the admin work ourselves.”
Penelope nods, looking like she’s about to burst. “Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Harrington. You don’t know?—”
“Just don’t break my stuff,” I cut in before she can get started. “Or ruin my carpet. Be more careful when you’re in here, little bird.”
She startles at that, a half smile spreading over her face. “I’ll try.”
There’s something about it. About the way it lights up her eyes and makes her cheeks glow. It catches me off guard, and something in me thrills at the thought that I put that smile there.
Maybe being this close to her scent is affecting me. Vanilla, lemon, lavender, like a confection to sink your teeth into.
I don’t know what to do with that thought.
“I know you’re busy,” she says, edging toward the door. “So I’ll get out of your hair. Thank you again for being so understanding, Mr. Harrington.”
“Leave the door open,” I tell her, crossing to go back to my desk.
The email is still there, waiting for me to address it. I’d almost rather deal with the distraction of Penelope than these clients.
I hear her heels on the floor outside, and I look up just in time to see Parker, one of the junior developers, leaning against the wall and talking to Penelope before she passes.
“How are you settling in?” he asks her. “It can be hectic around here.”
Penelope smiles at him, and I can see the gleam in his eye from here. “I’m getting there,” she says. “Learning something new every day and trying not to embarrass myself mostly.”
“I don’t think you could do anything embarrassing,” Parker tells her, leaning in a bit more. “But if you need someone to show you around the office and tell you all the secrets, I’d be happy to.”
There’s no mistaking his tone, and there’s that flash of irritation again. Stronger now, but it had plenty to build on from the morning I’ve been having.
“Parker,” I growl, glaring out my office door. Both he and Penelope jump, but only she looks a bit guilty. “Ms. Dalton has a job to do. And so do you, so I suggest you go do it.”
“Yes, sir,” Parker mumbles, pushing off from the wall and hurrying off.
Penelope glances at me, her eyes unreadable for a split second, and then she smiles quickly and scurries off to do her own job.
At least back at her desk, there won’t be junior developers sniffing around her, trying to distract her from what she’s here to do. It’s not like she’s their assistant, after all.
My computer pings with a message, and I huff an annoyed breath before going to open it. If it’s a follow up email from these clients, I’m firing them, and Tristan and Xavier can deal with the fall out.
But no, it’s a message in the private work chat between the three of us and the board. Marked urgent.
Nothing good ever comes with the urgent marker.
When I scan the message and see that an emergency board meeting has been called, I know I was right. Usually board meetings have more notice than—I check the clock—ten minutes. Whatever they want to talk about, I have the sinking feeling I’m not going to like it.
The problem is, I have no idea what they want to discuss that’s so urgent. Last I checked there were no major issues, no fires to put out. But maybe there’s something that hasn’t been brought to my attention yet.
The thought of that pisses me off, and I sigh, pushing back from the desk to head to the conference room and see what the hell this is about