Page 9 of Most Likely to Deny Love (Yearbook #2)

MIA

T he words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Fuck. I hadn’t meant to tell Jack about Rebecca’s ridiculous documentation demands, but something about the intensity in his hazel eyes made the truth spill out.

Jack’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening, sending an inappropriate flutter through my stomach. I guess broody and frowny just did it for me.

“I did not request any of that.” His voice was low and controlled. “And neither did the board.”

I shifted in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “Oh.”

“How many hours have you already spent on this?”

I bit my lip, mentally calculating. “About six, maybe seven.”

“Jesus.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, mussing it so that he looked less like a corporate executive and more like… a really hot guy who just rolled out of bed.

Man, that was the last thing I needed to be thinking of right now.

“And your team?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who in your team is helping you with this?”

“Oh, um. I didn’t want to burden them,” I admitted. “I’ve been handling it myself.”

Something flickered across his face that looked a lot like concern. “You’ve been doing all of it? For your entire team?”

I straightened my spine, defensive. “I’m their manager. It’s my job to handle administrative burdens so they can focus on sales.”

“It’s your job to lead them, not drown in paperwork that shouldn’t exist in the first place,” Jack bit out, as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk. “Why didn’t you come to me about this?”

Because there is more politics going on in this office than the Cuban missile crisis and there’s no way I was going to drag you into it.

But now Jack gaze was boring into mine, demanding answers.

I crumpled. “Rebecca has connections. Her brother-in-law is Director Stevens. Going against her directly would only cause more drama for my team. I didn’t want them to have to deal with any of that.”

“I see. So you thought you had to handle it alone.” Jack’s voice softened, and the shift made something inside me ache. “Mia, that’s not how this works.”

The way he said my name, not Ms. Harris, but Mia, sent warmth spreading through me.

“I’ll speak to Rebecca,” he continued, already reaching for his phone.

“No!” The word burst out of me. “Please don’t.”

His hand stilled, eyebrows rising in question.

“If you confront her, she’ll know I said something.” I twisted my hands in my lap, hating the fear in my voice but unable to hide it. “She already dislikes me because of Tiffany. It will only make things worse.”

“Why does she dislike you because of Tiffany?”

“Because Tiffany is her niece and she’s not happy that I got the promotion to team leader that she’d earmarked for her .”

Jack studied me, his gaze so intense I had to fight the urge to look away.

“Alright,” he said finally. “I won’t speak to her directly, but I’m not letting this continue.”

Relief washed over me. “Thank you.”

“Instead,” he continued, his tone shifting to something more business-like, “I want to focus on your customer archetypes. The system you’ve developed could significantly impact our retention rates company-wide.”

I blinked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. “You want to implement it across both divisions?”

“I do. But we’d need to adapt it for Porter’s team, analyze their customer base, and develop training modules.” He glanced at his calendar on his computer screen. “It would require additional work, outside regular hours.”

My mind raced with the implications. More work was the last thing I needed, but the opportunity to see my system implemented company-wide was too tempting to pass up.

“I’m willing to put in the time,” I said, professional pride overriding my exhaustion.

“Great. How soon can you start?”

“Whenever you want me to.”

The ghost of a smile played around his lips. “How about you take the weekend to rest and regroup. We can start Monday evening. I’ll work with you directly on this.” His eyes met mine. “We’d need to keep it between us for now, until we have a complete proposal.”

The thought of spending evenings alone with Jack sent a flicker of something dangerous through me. He was my boss. There were boundaries. Professional lines that shouldn’t be crossed. But I couldn’t ignore the way my pulse quickened at the suggestion.

“Why the secrecy?” It was an effort to keep my voice steady.

“If Porter catches wind of this before it’s ready, he’ll fight it every step of the way. And given Rebecca’s... creative interpretation of my directives, I’d prefer to keep this project off her radar as well.”

It made sense. Logical, strategic sense. Yet I couldn’t help the little flare of very unprofessional excitement in my belly at the idea of spending all that time alone with him.

“One more thing,” he added, his voice lowering slightly. “It might be best if your car isn’t in the company lot during our evening sessions. If anyone notices both our vehicles here after hours regularly...”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Office gossip spread faster than wildfire, and Rebecca would be all too happy to find a reason to cause problems for me.

“I can arrange something,” I assured him, already thinking I could ask Emily to come and pick me up, or take an Uber.

“If you can make your own way in, in the morning, I’ll drive you home afterward.” His tone was casual, though there was nothing casual about the way my heart rate picked up at the thought of being alone in his car, driving through the dark.

“Honestly, I’ll be fine to get home on my own.”

“Mia.”

“Y-yes?”

“I’m not sure exactly where you live, but Esperance is a small town. Dropping you off home is not much of a sacrifice, considering what it’ll cost you to stay back. Just let me do this for you.”

Oh, well, when you put it like that, in that deep, gruff voice… “Fine. So, what time Monday?” I could only hope he couldn’t hear the slight tremor in my voice.

“Seven? Everyone should be gone by then.” He leaned back in his chair, watching me with those perceptive eyes. “Bring your data files and any analysis you’ve already done on Porter’s division.”

I nodded, gathering my papers with hands that weren’t quite steady. This was professional, I reminded myself. A work project. Nothing more.

But as I stood to leave, I caught him looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher, but something about it made my skin warm and my heart beat a little faster.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” he said, rising from his chair. “Both the archetypes and the situation with Rebecca.”

“Thank you for listening,” I replied, suddenly aware of how alone we were in his office, how the air between us seemed charged with something unspoken.

“I’ll see you Monday at seven, Mia.”

Haring him say my name like that made me wonder what it would sound like in other circumstances, in darker, more private moments. The thought sent heat rushing to my cheeks.

“Monday,” I repeated, turning quickly before he could see the effect he had on me. “I’ll be here.”

As I walked back to my office, my mind raced. Seven o’clock Monday couldn’t come fast enough.