Page 10 of Devil in the Details

And what made this ten times worse was the fact that he wasn’t saying anything, just staring at me, smiling like he was amused I was losing my damn mind and making a fool of myself.

He stayed silent for long moments and then cleared his throat and shifted on his chair. “How about we get back to business?” And just like that, Pope was professional, a man about to interview me as if I were nothing more than someone who’d come in off the street.

A part of me liked that, because it kind of got rid of the awkwardness of the situation, got back to the fact that I was just a would-be employee. But another part—a stronger part—didn’t like it.

I wanted him to see me as more than just a resume. And those thoughts were dangerous. They weren’t reality, because nothing could happen between us. I didn’t need a relationship complicating my life, especially not with a man who I was trying to get a job from.

“Yeah, okay,” I said and straightened, trying to look the professional I was attempting to be right now and not the girl who’d woken up in his bed.

For the next ten minutes, Pope went over my resume, asking questions, as if this were a PowerPoint presentation and he wanted all the details right down to how many hours I worked a week.

And then came the part I dreaded, the part that would most likely end this interview and guarantee I would leave and not get a call back.

And that stung more than anything else, because for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t want Pope to think less of me.

It didn’t matter if me being fired had been a load of shit.

It was the perception that he’d see me as some kind of failure, that I wasn’t smart or successful, or even knew what the hell I was doing that had this sour feeling in my gut.

“Listen,” I said before he could bring up my last employment.

“I’m just going to come out and say this, because I’ve lost two previous job opportunities over this, and if that’s how this interview goes, I’d rather get it done and over with.

” I swallowed, my throat so rough, so dry and tight.

“I just want it out in the open.” He didn’t speak or move, or hell, even show any expression.

I wondered if he already knew. Surely he had to?

And then he tipped his head in my direction for me to continue.

“My last employment with Brookwood Financial Holdings was terminated, because my employer didn’t like the fact that I hadn’t rescheduled an appointment.

Although it was my fault, because that was my job, I do have to say it was extreme.

” There, I’d said it. I wasn’t about to tell him how Felix Brookwood was, how he was stern and strict and how he’d gone through more secretaries than was normal.

When I was finished speaking, I smoothed my hands down my thighs, my heart racing as we stared at each other. He didn’t say anything in response, and the tension between us could have been cut with a knife.

But overall, I thought I was doing a pretty damn good job of looking like I had my shit together. At least I hoped I did.

“So, yes, I was fired from my last position, a position I’m actually now being interviewed for.

But I’m not a bad employee. I didn’t screw up regularly.

In fact, I thought I did a really great job at my tasks.

But I am human.” The words were out, and the fact that I was the one in control of this situation made me feel incredibly better about it all.

Pope glanced down at the resume, and I could see the wheels turning in his head, as if he was trying to figure out how to break this to me easily. And when he lifted his head and looked at me, I felt the air leave me.

“Olive, I’ll be honest.”

Here we go.

“I don’t care about any of that.”

I blinked several times. “Excuse me?” Those two words left me before I could stop them.

“The job is yours if you want it.” He sounded professional, as if this truly was just another interview and not something more. But it was. I’d been wrong to think he’d felt nothing last night at dinner. The way he looked at me, as if he wanted to own me, sped right into my core.

I knew my eyes were wide. He offered me the job after knowing I’d gotten fired from my last one?

“Don’t look so shocked,” he finally said and leaned back in the chair, the leather making a soft sound from his weight settling.

“You’re qualified for this position, I like your personality, and I think you’d be a great fit here.

” For just a second, I swore I saw something move across his face.

But it was gone just as suddenly. “I think you’d be a great addition to my department.

” He cleared his throat, and I felt heat slam into me from his words.

“I also like that you took this situation and made it your own. You’re the one who explained to me about it all. I admire that.”

“You would? You did?”

He nodded, and that sexy smirk came back.

I didn’t know what to say. I was shocked, yeah, but I think I was more aroused in this very moment.

I looked down at my hands, which were clasped tightly together on my lap.

I wanted this job. I needed it. But I also needed to make sure he knew there couldn’t be anything between us.

Then again, I sure as hell didn’t want to exactly come out and say that if he already put that wall between us romantically.

I glanced up, and a little gasp of surprise left me, as Pope was standing and had walked around his desk without me even realizing it.

Here I was sitting, my head tipped back as I stared at him.

He was still a few feet away from me, but I didn’t know if I liked that.

I felt at a disadvantage, and right now, I needed to keep myself in control.

“What are you doing?” I don’t know why I said those words. He could do whatever he wanted. I was in his office, after all. But this seemed… personal.

“I’m offering you the position, Olive.”

I forced myself to stand, smoothed my hands down my skirt, and took a deep, steadying breath.

“It’s yours if you want it,” he said in that masculine, deep, oh so sexy voice of his.

I felt this little tingle race up my spine. “And you’re okay with the fact that we went on a date and I was… in your bed this morning? Like, that’s not going to cause problems, make things weird?”

“You mean, is it a conflict of interest?” The corner of his mouth kicked up momentarily.

I didn’t know if I thought he’d laugh, shrug it off, or act like I was being ridiculous. Because he didn’t do any of those things. In fact, he took a step forward and looked even more serious than before.

“Pope.” I whispered his name.

“The truth?”

Those two words that came from him made it feel like cement filled my body. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even speak. I did nod, however.

He lowered his gaze to my lips, and I forced myself not to lick them in response.

“I want more, Olive. And I know you do too.” His voice was low, heated, and moved through every single part of my body.

Oh my God. He’d actually said them. I did lick my lips then and tried to act like I had my shit together. “You don’t know what I want,” I whispered, but it was a lie.

He didn’t speak, didn’t even touch me. He stood just a foot from where I was now, his body heat slamming into me, the sexual chemistry I felt moving between us like a third person in the room.

“You and I both know that’s a fucking lie.” His face was stoic as he said those words.

He took a small step toward me and I held my ground, refused to back down, to look like all I wanted to do was submit to him and give myself over.

Because I did. God, I really did.

“You can say whatever you want, but the way you look at me, your body’s reaction when I’m near, tells me another story about how you feel about me… about what you want between us.” He was calm, collected. And here I was, feeling like I’d just run a marathon.

“It was one blind date,” I said softly.

He looked at me right in the eyes. “Was it?” He lifted an eyebrow, as if daring me to say it had been. “You didn’t feel something? You didn’t sense that connection? You didn’t think it was more than just one blind date?”

I had to act like none of that mattered. I had to act like he didn’t matter, right? I needed this job, probably wouldn’t get offered another one any time soon. Getting involved with Pope would be bad business. I didn’t want to fuck this up.

“I need this job, and… being with you won’t work if I’m your employee, Pope.”

He didn’t say anything in response for long moments, just continued to look at me, continued to invade my personal space. Not that I was complaining. I liked him close, liked that he wanted me this much.

I felt this incredible energy move between us, but I couldn’t submit to it.

I couldn’t let myself give in. I’d never had a man desire me so much that he blatantly told me what he wanted.

And then he took a step back, and I exhaled, feeling a rush of coldness fill me.

It wasn’t the bad kind of frigidness—more like drinking a glass of ice water on a hot day when you were dying of thirst.

“What you probably don’t know about me, Miss Morris, is that I’m extremely ambitious in going after the things I want.” The way he said my name, all formal-like, had those tendrils of desire moving back through me.

“What does that mean?” I asked softly. I had an idea of what he was getting at, and a part of me wanted him to say it. I wanted to see if I could push him, to see how far he’d actually go for me.

I wanted to see if he desired me as much as he said he did.

And then he took a step toward me, and another one, until I swore if I exhaled deeply my chest would brush against his.

I had my head tipped back slightly so I could look into his face, the height and the width of his shoulders blocking everything else out behind him.

“You know what it means.”

I did. But I still wanted him to say it.

“It means that I won’t stop until I get what I want.” He lowered his gaze to my mouth. “And what I want is you.”