into her own sandwich and tried concentrating on just eating it.
“I hope your family isn’t upset about the extra hours you’ll be working.”
She washed down the food she had in her mouth with her ice tea before saying, “Trust me, they understand.”
“What about Ted Marshall?”
She did glance up at him then. “Ted Marshall in the accounting department?”
“Yes. I saw the two of you walk in together this morning and assumed that you were seeing each other.”
She shook her head. “I barely know the man. We just happened to be in the parking lot around the same time and walked in together. No biggie.”
D’marcus stared at her for a moment while she lowered her head and continued eating her sandwich. What on earth had possessed him to bring up Ted Marshall’s name? He was not the type of employer who got into his employees’ personal business. It really wasn’t any concern of his if she and Marshall had been dating. It was their business as long as they conducted themselves decently in the office.
A few moments later, his phone rang. It was Bob Chaney and, as far as D’marcus was concerned, he had received the call right on time. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could have endured being alone in the same office with his very attractive administrative assistant.
Opal glanced at her watch. It was close to eight o’clock and she had just completed filing all the electronic messages. It was time to call it a day, but before she left, she needed to check with D’marcus to make sure there wasn’t anything else he needed her to do. They had been busy in his office with numerous conference calls until around five that afternoon. She wondered where on earth the man got his energy. In addition to his regular business, he had received a couple of media calls regarding Dashuan Kennedy’s incident that past weekend.
Before logging off her computer, she picked up the stack of papers she needed him to sign. The door to his office was slightly ajar so she walked in—and stopped short. He was leaning back in his chair asleep. This was another first. Today at lunch she had seen him smile; now tonight she was watching him have a peaceful moment. The expression on his face was relaxed, unstrained and calm. She walked farther into the room and once again noticed the framed photograph of the woman he usually had sitting on his desk. Earlier, when he’d spread out the files on his desk, he had placed it in a drawer.
Curiosity made her move toward the desk to pick up the photograph and look at it. Something she had never done before. For some reason, he always placed it in the drawer when he left each day.
The woman was simply beautiful and Opal immediately knew she had to be the fiancée he’d lost, the one who had gotten killed in a boating accident two weeks before their wedding. She then wondered if Colleen was right and if D’marcus’s less-than-friendly attitude could be the result of a broken heart.
“What are you doing in here?”
Opal jumped at the sound of the gruff voice, nearly dropping the papers out of her hand as she quickly placed the frame back on his desk. She swallowed against the tightness in her throat and said, “I have papers for you to sign.”
He straightened in his chair. “But that doesn’t give you the right to bother my personal belongings, Ms. Lockhart.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Armstrong, but I was curious.” She then added, “She was beautiful.”
Instead of accepting the compliment he stared at her with ice-cold eyes. “You had no right to touch that photograph.” The anger in his voice almost made Opal’s pulse go still.
“I said I was sorry, sir, and it won’t happen again.” Anger tainted her voice, too. She was a person who respected everyone’s privacy and she hadn’t meant any harm. It wasn’t like she was planning on stealing the darn thing.
“These need your signature,” she said, handing him the papers. He took them from her and the room got extremely quiet. The only sound was the shuffling of papers. He handed them back to her and she turned and quickly walked out of his office, closing the door behind her.
As soon as Opal left, D’marcus stood and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. He walked over to the window and glanced up at the sky. Damn, what was wrong with him? It seemed he didn’t miss a beat when it came to chewing out Opal Lockhart about anything. He could understand her being curious about the photograph, especially since he went to great pains to lock it up each night. And she was his administrative assistant. There was nothing on his desk that she shouldn’t be allowed to touch.
He inhaled deeply. What was there about her that seemed to bring out the worst in him without her even trying. In fact, if he was honest with himself, he had to admit she was the most easygoing person he knew.
He heard her shutting down her computer for the day and knew he had to apologize for his behavior. Grabbing his jacket off the rack, he headed for his office door.
“The man is a tyrant, just like Ruby said,” she muttered to herself as she buttoned up her jacket. As predicted, an October cold front had moved in, changing the weather overnight. She’d even heard there was a strong possibility Detroit would be having its first snowstorm by the end of the week.
“Who’s Ruby?”
D’marcus’s question snapped Opal around. He was standing against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at her. “Excuse me?”
“I asked you, who’s Ruby?”
Opal stiffened slightly. Evidently, he’d heard her muttering to herself. She tilted up her chin and said. “Ruby is my oldest sister.”
He nodded. “And she thinks I’m a tyrant?”
Heat flooded her cheeks and she couldn’t look at him any longer. Instead, she looked down at her purse to get her car keys out. “Yes, that’s her opinion,” she said softly.
“And evidently yours, as well.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze again. “Not until tonight. Before now I just assumed you were demanding, like most bosses.”
D’marcus stared at her in silence for a moment and she stared back, refusing to look away. “Okay,” he finally said. “Because of my actions tonight I probably deserve that. I apologize.”
For the second time that day Opal felt her pulse go still. He was actually apologizing to her again. Before she could say anything he continued, “In the future I will try not to be a tyrant as well as not being overly demanding.”
His words surprised Opal and she didn’t know what to say. “If you’re about ready to leave we can walk out together,” he continued. “I’m not sure the parking lot is well lit. Be sure to contact someone in the maintenance department tomorrow about replacing those bulbs with brighter lights.”
“All right.” After taking the keys from her purse, she came from around her desk and waited while he turned off the lights. She should have assured him that she would be safe walking to her car alone, but her head was still whirling from his apology as well as the promise he’d made.
They caught the elevator in silence and walked out of the building without exchanging any conversation. She was surprised he knew exactly where her car was parked and walked her straight to it. He stood back as she opened the door and eased into the driver’s seat.
“And don’t forget what I said, Ms. Armstrong. I want you to be compensated any time you arrive at the office early.”
“Okay,” she said rolling her window down. She couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment. It seemed his gaze was focused on her lips. Heat flowed through her at the thought, and she quickly diverted her gaze from his and started her car.
She glanced back at him to say, “Good night.”
“Good night.” He stepped back as she put her car in gear and pulled