disbelief erupted from her throat as searing jealousy coursed through her at the idea of another woman filling her place at CIS and perhaps in Marcus's life.
"I'm sure she's a lot more fun," she couldn't help saying cattily, remembering Marcus's many jokes about her being a human robot.
She had never felt like a robot around him.
In fact, right now her body was reacting in a most human, most feminine way to the slight touch of Marcus's hand against her face. She should have slapped his hand away or, at the very least, jerked her face from contact with that clever finger, but the feel of his casual touch had sent a sharp ache of longing through her.
She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, bring it back to her face and let it rest there against her cheek indefinitely. How pathetic was that?
Marcus's inner laughter was even more blatant now. "Well, she's interesting. I'll give her that much, but you were definitely more fun."
What did he mean? Did he want to imply he'd slept with the new secretary too, but she wasn't as good in bed as her? Or did he mean that she had held out against his flirtations, unlike herself? The tormenting thoughts chased through Veronica's head and absorbed her concentration so that he had almost made it past the gray walls of her cubicle before she realized he was leaving.
"Wait," she blurted out before thinking.
He turned, his body already halfway into the corridor. "Don't worry. You can take your time looking into office accommodations for me this morning. I'll be busy getting a feel for a couple of other departments. I'll get back with you around lunch-time."
And with that he was gone. She stared at the open doorway and wished she had a real office, something she could shut herself up in and collect her thoughts without risk of interruption. That wasn't going to happen.
Besides, she had work to do. Not only did she have her own work to finish, an unending task, but now she had to find and furbish office space for Marcus. She picked up the phone to call a friend in space allocation. Even with Mr. Kline's personal approval, getting Marcus set up in an office that morning wasn't going to be easy.
Fifteen minutes later, she barely controlled the urge to slam her receiver in its cradle. The only office space available on such short notice was kitty-corner to Veronica's cubicle. For the time Marcus would be at Kline Tech, he'd be working mere feet from her. He couldn't have planned a more effective torment if he tried.
And the worst of it was that she knew he hadn't had a word to say about it.
Marcus tunneled his fingers through his hair as he waited for the elevator to reach the floor that housed the design team. Why had he teased Ronnie like that? He had decided last night to tell her that he hadn't meant the blackmail threat. He wasn't sure how he could extricate himself from it without losing some of his pride and she'd already walked all over his ego by leaving him, but he didn't want her back in his bed on those terms.
He shouldn't want her back in his bed at all. She was a spy, a liar… a thief of corporate secrets.
Telling himself that did not lessen the pleasure he'd felt at the evidence of her jealousy of CIS's new secretary one iota. He'd gone on baiting her just to see the way her soft gray eyes turned almost obsidian and her pale skin colored in her agitation. She'd tried to hide it, but he knew her responses too well.
He smiled inwardly. Her little comment about the new secretary being more fun couldn't be fur-ther from the truth. He liked Alex's mom a lot, but he wouldn't describe Priscilla Redding as fun. She'd loosened up since marrying again, but she still exuded good breeding and propriety.
The idea of another woman in his life had really flustered Ronnie, though. Did that mean she still cared about him?
More importantly, did that mean she hadn't replaced him in her life, or in her
"I'm sure she's a lot more fun," she couldn't help saying cattily, remembering Marcus's many jokes about her being a human robot.
She had never felt like a robot around him.
In fact, right now her body was reacting in a most human, most feminine way to the slight touch of Marcus's hand against her face. She should have slapped his hand away or, at the very least, jerked her face from contact with that clever finger, but the feel of his casual touch had sent a sharp ache of longing through her.
She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, bring it back to her face and let it rest there against her cheek indefinitely. How pathetic was that?
Marcus's inner laughter was even more blatant now. "Well, she's interesting. I'll give her that much, but you were definitely more fun."
What did he mean? Did he want to imply he'd slept with the new secretary too, but she wasn't as good in bed as her? Or did he mean that she had held out against his flirtations, unlike herself? The tormenting thoughts chased through Veronica's head and absorbed her concentration so that he had almost made it past the gray walls of her cubicle before she realized he was leaving.
"Wait," she blurted out before thinking.
He turned, his body already halfway into the corridor. "Don't worry. You can take your time looking into office accommodations for me this morning. I'll be busy getting a feel for a couple of other departments. I'll get back with you around lunch-time."
And with that he was gone. She stared at the open doorway and wished she had a real office, something she could shut herself up in and collect her thoughts without risk of interruption. That wasn't going to happen.
Besides, she had work to do. Not only did she have her own work to finish, an unending task, but now she had to find and furbish office space for Marcus. She picked up the phone to call a friend in space allocation. Even with Mr. Kline's personal approval, getting Marcus set up in an office that morning wasn't going to be easy.
Fifteen minutes later, she barely controlled the urge to slam her receiver in its cradle. The only office space available on such short notice was kitty-corner to Veronica's cubicle. For the time Marcus would be at Kline Tech, he'd be working mere feet from her. He couldn't have planned a more effective torment if he tried.
And the worst of it was that she knew he hadn't had a word to say about it.
Marcus tunneled his fingers through his hair as he waited for the elevator to reach the floor that housed the design team. Why had he teased Ronnie like that? He had decided last night to tell her that he hadn't meant the blackmail threat. He wasn't sure how he could extricate himself from it without losing some of his pride and she'd already walked all over his ego by leaving him, but he didn't want her back in his bed on those terms.
He shouldn't want her back in his bed at all. She was a spy, a liar… a thief of corporate secrets.
Telling himself that did not lessen the pleasure he'd felt at the evidence of her jealousy of CIS's new secretary one iota. He'd gone on baiting her just to see the way her soft gray eyes turned almost obsidian and her pale skin colored in her agitation. She'd tried to hide it, but he knew her responses too well.
He smiled inwardly. Her little comment about the new secretary being more fun couldn't be fur-ther from the truth. He liked Alex's mom a lot, but he wouldn't describe Priscilla Redding as fun. She'd loosened up since marrying again, but she still exuded good breeding and propriety.
The idea of another woman in his life had really flustered Ronnie, though. Did that mean she still cared about him?
More importantly, did that mean she hadn't replaced him in her life, or in her
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