Page 17 of Boss of Attraction

“Thanks for this.” I sat and began unwrapping the sandwich he had placed in front of my seat, along with my change.

“You’re welcome. Although I should thank you since you paid.”

“Nah, you fly, I buy.” I took a bite, and once I swallowed, I asked, “Where’s Camille?”

He shrugged. “She needed to make a call. She said she wouldn’t be long.”

“All right. We’ll fill her in on anything important when she comes back.”

We got back to work, and I reached for a manila folder. As I grabbed it, my finger slid along the edge, and I felt the sharp sting of a paper cut.

“Shit,” I muttered.

Declan swung his gaze my way. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a little paper cut.” I searched for another napkin, but the only one I had was the one my sandwich was lying on.

He rummaged through the bag from the deli, pulled out a clean one, and walked it over to me. “Here you go.”

I moved to take it from him, but when he looked down at my injured finger, he gasped. “Uh, that’s a lot of blood for a paper cut.”

“It’s a little bigger since it was from a folder. I’ll be fine.” I wrapped the napkin around my finger.

When I looked up, Declan looked slightly pale, and I remembered his words from our talk two nights ago.

“It was either that or become a doctor, but I’m too squeamish when it comes to blood.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I’m not a big fan of blood.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’m not bleeding out over here. It’s just a tiny cut,” I responded, hoping to make it seem as though it wasn’t a big deal.

Declan swayed on his feet. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and it appeared as though all the color had drained from his face.

He tried to speak, but his words came out as a whisper. “I ... I don’t feel so good.”

Without hesitation, I stood and guided him back to his chair, urging him to sit down before he collapsed.

“Lean forward and take a few deep breaths,” I directed, crouching in front of him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Just focus on your breathing.”

He followed my instructions, his breaths becoming steadier with each deep inhale and exhale. All the while, I rubbed his shoulder in an effort to comfort him.

Once his breathing evened out, I grabbed his water bottle and handed it to him. “Here, have some water.”

He took it with a shaky hand and lifted it to his lips.

After a few moments, he sat up straighter in his chair.

“Thanks,” he said, staring into my eyes. “That was embarrassing.”

I shook my head and stood. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. At least you’d told me about your blood aversion, so I didn’t worry something was really wrong.”

“Who knew you’d get a front-row seat to one of my freak-outs?” he teased as he started to relax.

“I’m just glad I didn’t have to pick you up off the ground. Not sure these old muscles could handle that.” I laughed.

He looked me up and down and smirked. “Somehow, I doubt that.”