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“That’s odd.” He reaches under the table and places his hand on my upper thigh, causing me to gasp at the intimate touch.
I should slap his hand away, but my body hums like a live wire. I’m more grateful than ever that I wore pants today. If I were wearing one of my normal skirts, I’d be begging him to do much more than rest his hand on my thigh.
He gestures to my laptop. “Can I?”
I scoot the machine over until it is sitting in front of him. “Sure. Be my guest.”
He slowly scrolls through the database, studying the photographs as if he is committing them to memory. When we reach the end, he sits back and rubs his chin.
“How do we not have any information about this man? How could I not know he was lying to me the entire time?”
I turn to look at him. “Mistakes happen.”
“But I shouldn’t be making mistakes, not when it’s as important as this.”
I hate seeing him beat himself up like this, especially when it’s something he couldn’t have seen coming. “Joseph, look at me. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s impossible not to, but we are a team, and we will figure this out together.”
I clamp my mouth shut.
Why the hell did I just say that? Why do I always feel the need to intervene when Joseph is going through these phases?
Something glimmers in his eyes as his gaze hardens on me.
Is it anger or lust?
The silence drones on as our gazes stay locked on one another. The shrill ringing of Arturo’s phone causes my heart to leap out of my chest. I jump in my seat and glare at Joseph when he chuckles at me.
I push my chair away as he leans in closer to me.
“How about I go grab us some water?”
Rushing away from him and the meeting room, I head to the kitchen and grab three bottles of water out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter.
Joseph sneaks up behind me and slams the refrigerator door closed. “We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing left for us to talk about.” I say with a sigh.
I try to push past him, but he wraps his arms around my waist and pushes me up against the refrigerator.
“We have everything to discuss.”
I reach between our bodies and push on his chest. The harder I push, the closer he steps to me. A smirk forms on his face when my nails dig into his shirt.
“You said no, Joseph.”
“I was stupid and hesitated. There’s no other woman for me. It’s always been you.”
My heart aches from his sweet words, but there’s no going back now. “I-I can’t. I mean, we can’t.”
“Why?” His breath tickles my lips, leaving me wanting to close the gap between us.
“Because-” I pause. I can’t tell him the truth. “Because I work for your father.”
“So?”
“I need to stay professional.”
He leans forward and whispers in my ear. His warm breath sends chill bumps down my spine as pleasure shoots to my core. “You always are when you are at work.”