“Geneva told me you’re sick,” Caleb said, walking into her office without so much as a tap on the connecting door. “Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No.” Alyssa should have known their secretary would run to him with her concerns. Geneva, the traitor, had embraced every one of Caleb’s ideas and took it upon herself to keep him informed of everything that went on in the office as soon as it happened.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He frowned. “You do look pale. I’ll drive you—”
“I’m fine.” She glared at him as she keyed in the command to print her resignation. “Now, will you please leave?”
“You don’t feel well and you’re cranky as hell. But you’re fine?” An understanding smile suddenly turned up the corners of his mouth. “That time of month, huh?”
Exasperated, she threw up her hands and sat back in her desk chair. “Why do men automatically think of PMS when a woman wants to be left alone? Did it ever occur to you that I might be tired and just want a little peace and quiet?”
Instead of going back into his office as she requested, he sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “You were on your way to outline a retirement plan that you’ve been working on for the past week, then all of a sudden you turn the file over to Geena. If you aren’t sick, what’s the problem?” Before she could answer, he shook his head. “And don’t feed me that line about peace and quiet. What’s going on?”
Suddenly feeling much too tired to argue, she removed her letter of resignation from the printer, signed it and handed it to him. “I think this is self-explanatory.”
He scanned the letter, then shook his head. “You can’t resign.”
She laughed humorlessly. “I just did.”
“I’m not going to accept it.” He ripped the paper in half, rose to his feet, then rounded the desk to turn her chair to face him. Placing a hand on each of the chair arms, he had her trapped and she had no alternative but to listen to him. “Talk to me, Alyssa. Tell me what’s brought on this sudden decision to bail out of a job I happen to know you love.”
His face was only inches from hers and it took every ounce of her concentration to remember what he’d said. “You were wrong,” she finally blurted out before she could stop herself.
He frowned. “About what?”
Defeated, she fought to keep her voice even. “The gossip hasn’t died down about us. If anything, it’s led to more speculation among the employees.”
“That’s it?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“No.”
Caleb’s gut churned with a mixture of anger and desperation. He’d known they were still the favorite topic of idle conversation around the office and although he wasn’t happy about it, he’d done his best to ignore it. Trying to set the record straight once again would only make matters worse and add more grist to the rumor mill.
Unfortunately, that was only the tip of the iceberg. The possibility of Alyssa leaving the firm was what had him tied in knots. He wasn’t proud of having to rely on her without her knowing it, but he needed her expertise to keep things running smoothly until he got a grasp on what he was supposed to be doing.
But as important as her business acumen was to him, the real reason his stomach churned like a cement mixer whenever he thought about her leaving Skerritt and Crowe was far simpler. He’d hated to admit it, even to himself, but he just plain didn’t want to face coming to the office without her being there.
Noticing a tear at the corner of her big blue eyes, he removed her glasses and gently wiped it away. “Did you overhear something, sweetheart?”
She nodded. “According to some, you and I are having a grand old time in here.” She rolled her eyes. “Several times a day.”
He chuckled. “I’m good, but I wasn’t aware that I’m that good.”
Her cheeks turned a pretty pink. “I wouldn’t know any-thing about that. But I do know that I can’t effectively supervise when everyone thinks I’m sleeping with the boss.”
Lifting her chin with his index finger, he stared at her for several long seconds. God, she was pretty and it tore him up to see her upset like this.
“It’s going to be all right, Alyssa. I promise.”
“I don’t know how.”
She looked so dejected, it was all he could do to keep from taking her into his arms. But that would only add fuel to the fire if someone walked into her office and caught them.
As he continued to stare at her, a germ of an idea began to form. It was crazy enough that it just might work.
“I think I have a solution that will stop the tongues from wagging and allow you to keep your job here,” he said, smiling.
She looked doubtful. “I’m listening.”
“Let’s go along with the rumors.”
He laughed when she looked at him like he might not be playing with a full deck. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Probably.” He took her hands in his, then pulling her to her feet, took her in his arms. “My grandpa used to say that sometimes the only way to put out a fire is to throw kerosene on it.”
“In other words, insanity runs in your family?”
Caleb grinned. “Grandpa did have his share of peculiarities, but most of the time his logic made a hell of a lot of sense. Toss a little fuel on a fire and it burns itself out real quick and that’s the end of it. Leave it alone and it can smolder for a while, then flare up again and again.”
“Would you care to explain how that relates to our current problem?” To his satisfaction, she’d wrapped her arms around his waist and seemed genuinely interested in hearing him out.
“If we come out in the open and tell everyone that we are romantically involved, there won’t be anything left to speculate about.” He paused as something else came to mind. “In fact, as of right now, we’re engaged. Then, in a few weeks, we’ll announce that we’ve changed our minds and decided to just be friends.”
“Now I’m sure you’ve gone over the edge.” Pulling away from him, she stepped back and shook her head. “It would never work.”
“Sure it will. And the sooner we announce our big news the sooner we’ll be back to business as usual.” Giving her a quick kiss, he reached over to press the button on her intercom. He wasn’t waiting for her to come up with any more arguments why his plan was faulty. “Geneva, call a mandatory meeting of all employees for two this afternoon in the lobby downstairs.”
“Consider it done,” the secretary answered. “Is there anything else?”
“Nope. That’s it. Thanks, Geneva.” Turning back to Alyssa, he smiled. She had that deer-in-the-headlights look again. “Relax. In about an hour, we’ll make our big announcement and the problem will be over.”
She sank into her chair as if her knees would no longer support her. “Or just beginning.”
“Trust me, sweetheart. An engagement is just what the doctor ordered to take care of this little problem.”
She sighed. “Which doctor would that be? Kevorkian?”
Laughing, he headed back into his office. “Hang on to your sense of humor and everything will work out great. You’ll see.”
When he closed the door behind him, Caleb walked over to stare out the window behind his desk. A fake engagement? What the hell had he been thinking?
But when Alyssa had shoved her resignation at him, he’d felt like his stomach had dropped