anger as was the case earlier in the day.
“I know what you mean. I’ve got to be honest with you Holly, I promised myself that I would not bring up work or the Gideon project and as pleasant as this whole afternoon has been, deep down I am going crazy with the need to go and work on it!” He could have kicked himself. Sure, being honest was all part and parcel of being in the friend role but in that moment Stephen was sure that he had just blown everything; all of the headway he’d made in the friendship category was gone.
“As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t mind having something productive to do. As long as we set a time limit, I’ll help you. I am not going to stay up all night working, though. Is that okay?”
He could have kissed her right then and there but Stephen was sure that if he did, the topic of work and friendship would certainly be the furthest thing from his mind. Watching Holly all day, laughing with her, had been mildly arousing. He wasn’t used to being attracted to a woman under these circumstances and he certainly shouldn’t be feeling it towards his assistant. He had to get things back on track fast!
This whole afternoon had been for her and yet she was still willing to help him out. It took every ounce of willpower to not ask her if this meant that she’d changed her mind about quitting. He wanted an answer, dammit! But a good business man knew when to push and when to bide his time. Right now he had no choice but to bide his time. She was graciously helping him and that would be enough for him.
Chapter Four
Three hours later, Holly politely called an end to their work session. She had been expecting Stephen to put up a fight but he simply nodded, closed the folder he was using and shut down the computer. If only he was this agreeable during the week! She didn’t realize she had spoken that out loud until Stephen said, “You never say when you want the day to end so I keep going.”
Unfortunately, he had a point. Proper manners that were instilled in her from an early age had taught her to respect her employers and that meant working when they needed you to work and not complaining about it.
“I really wish you would’ve told me how you felt about working late so much, you know. I’m not such an ogre, am I, that you couldn’t come to me and just ask?” He looked so vulnerable when she looked at him. He had run his hands through his hair about a hundred times during the last three hours and for some inexplicable reason, her hands itched to do the same.
Distance. She needed to put distance between them. It was ten o’clock. She could easily go to bed at this hour and not feel like she was running away. Unfortunately, she knew that Stephen was going to want an answer first before he just let her walk away. “No, you’re not an ogre. It’s like I told you in the car earlier, last night just brought everything to the surface. I didn’t realize how much it was bothering me until then. Does that seem weird?”
“I’m not sure that weird is the right word, but I guess sometimes we have no control over where our breaking point is on certain things.” With his hands in his pockets, Stephen stared at the floor before looking at Holly and saying solemnly, “I really am sorry; about working you so hard, keeping you from having a social life, calling you at two a.m….everything.”
“How could you know that it was bothering me if I never said anything? I’m as much to blame in this as you are. Sort of,” she looked at him through veiled lashes and grinned. “You are definitely to blame for the two a.m. thing, though.”
“Agreed.” Seemingly satisfied at the exchange of words, Holly went about straightening the office up before telling Stephen that she was tired and was going to go to bed.
“I’m going to go and grab my gym bag so that I have a change of clothes for the morning but if
“I know what you mean. I’ve got to be honest with you Holly, I promised myself that I would not bring up work or the Gideon project and as pleasant as this whole afternoon has been, deep down I am going crazy with the need to go and work on it!” He could have kicked himself. Sure, being honest was all part and parcel of being in the friend role but in that moment Stephen was sure that he had just blown everything; all of the headway he’d made in the friendship category was gone.
“As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t mind having something productive to do. As long as we set a time limit, I’ll help you. I am not going to stay up all night working, though. Is that okay?”
He could have kissed her right then and there but Stephen was sure that if he did, the topic of work and friendship would certainly be the furthest thing from his mind. Watching Holly all day, laughing with her, had been mildly arousing. He wasn’t used to being attracted to a woman under these circumstances and he certainly shouldn’t be feeling it towards his assistant. He had to get things back on track fast!
This whole afternoon had been for her and yet she was still willing to help him out. It took every ounce of willpower to not ask her if this meant that she’d changed her mind about quitting. He wanted an answer, dammit! But a good business man knew when to push and when to bide his time. Right now he had no choice but to bide his time. She was graciously helping him and that would be enough for him.
Chapter Four
Three hours later, Holly politely called an end to their work session. She had been expecting Stephen to put up a fight but he simply nodded, closed the folder he was using and shut down the computer. If only he was this agreeable during the week! She didn’t realize she had spoken that out loud until Stephen said, “You never say when you want the day to end so I keep going.”
Unfortunately, he had a point. Proper manners that were instilled in her from an early age had taught her to respect her employers and that meant working when they needed you to work and not complaining about it.
“I really wish you would’ve told me how you felt about working late so much, you know. I’m not such an ogre, am I, that you couldn’t come to me and just ask?” He looked so vulnerable when she looked at him. He had run his hands through his hair about a hundred times during the last three hours and for some inexplicable reason, her hands itched to do the same.
Distance. She needed to put distance between them. It was ten o’clock. She could easily go to bed at this hour and not feel like she was running away. Unfortunately, she knew that Stephen was going to want an answer first before he just let her walk away. “No, you’re not an ogre. It’s like I told you in the car earlier, last night just brought everything to the surface. I didn’t realize how much it was bothering me until then. Does that seem weird?”
“I’m not sure that weird is the right word, but I guess sometimes we have no control over where our breaking point is on certain things.” With his hands in his pockets, Stephen stared at the floor before looking at Holly and saying solemnly, “I really am sorry; about working you so hard, keeping you from having a social life, calling you at two a.m….everything.”
“How could you know that it was bothering me if I never said anything? I’m as much to blame in this as you are. Sort of,” she looked at him through veiled lashes and grinned. “You are definitely to blame for the two a.m. thing, though.”
“Agreed.” Seemingly satisfied at the exchange of words, Holly went about straightening the office up before telling Stephen that she was tired and was going to go to bed.
“I’m going to go and grab my gym bag so that I have a change of clothes for the morning but if
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